Science Policies and Cooperation in Africa

Starting nearly from scratch in the early 1960s, Africa has experienced an academic boom and an impressive increase of scientists, much of the growth occurring in the 1970s. Valiant efforts have also been made to build up national research systems. But the results are far from satisfactory and the conditions under which scientific research is carried out in Africa today are clearly deteriorating. This situation has brought increasing concern among funding agencies and African decision makers who are now looking for new approaches and strategies for scientific cooperation. Following a brief overview of scientific research in Africa, the debate on African research and the evolution of policies supporting science and technology for development from the 1960s onward are reviewed. Donors' strategies, for the most part, are to argue for a revision of domestic policies on research management toward a policy of regional inte gration and of selective support to a limited number of "centers of excellence. " The questions raised by these new strategies are examined in the conclusion of this article.