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ISC Regional Presence in Africa

The ISC and Future Africa are working together to design the future of the Council’s presence in Africa.

The ISC’s future regional presence will work with African scientists to strengthen the influence of African science at the global level.

Recognizing that African scientists must shape the value system for science and scientific practice in Africa, the ISC and Future Africa, a pan-African collaborative research platform, formed a partnership in December 2022 to establish a vision for the ISC’s regional presence, building on the scientific expertise and networks of both organizations.

Overview

December 2022: A high-level workshop on the margins of the Science Forum South Africa brought together nearly 100 delegates including ISC Members and National Academies to discuss collaboration to advance African science in a global context.
January 2023: Establishment of an ISC-supported joint ISC-Future Africa team, which is now engaged in preliminary research and consultations to map out the fundamentals of the ISC’s future presence in Africa.
May-November 2024: Ongoing survey of ISC Members.
January 2025: Coinciding with the ISC General Assembly, a report and proposal to the ISC Governing Board will make recommendations on the ISC’s future presence in Africa, and for collaborative avenues to accelerate the development of African science and enhance its global voice, visibility and influence.

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First name

Last name

On behalf of which ISC Member organization are you completing this survey?

Your position within this organization

Part A: Organizational information

1. Country where your organization is based

2. Year that your organization was established

3. Please indicate the main source(s) of institutional funding for your organization. Tick all that apply.

Part B: ISC membership

5. Have you nominated a representative for the ISC Governing Board in recent years?

Yes
No
Not sure

Please indicate the nature of your organizationu2019s engagement with the ISC since its establishment in July 2018

6. Have you nominated a representative for another ISC structure, e.g. statutory or project committee, or through an open call for nominations for experts, e.g. through UN processes such as IPBES or UNEP Foresighting? Tick all that apply.

Governing Board
Statutory committee (eg Committee for Freedom and Responsibility of Science)
A scientific committee (eg IPBES, UNEP, IRDR, CODATA)
Not sure
Other

Please indicate the nature of your organizationu2019s engagement with the ISC since its establishment in July 2018

7. Have representatives of your organization recently participated in ISC membership meetings, including General Assemblies and other membership events, e.g. Global Knowledge Dialogues? Tick all that apply.

ISC Global Knowledge Dialogue events
Mid-term Meeting of ISC Members (May 2023, Paris)
Quarterly Zoom meetings wth the ISC President
Other Zoom meetings dedicated to the ISC membership
Other

Please indicate the nature of your organizationu2019s engagement with the ISC since its establishment in July 2018

8. Has your organization recently participated in ISC projects, programmes or other initiatives?

Yes
No
Not sure

Please indicate the nature of your organizationu2019s engagement with the ISC since its establishment in July 2018

9. To what extent do you think your organization currently values its membership of the ISC?

We invite you to expand on your answer.

10. Is your organization a member of any other regional or international organizations?

Part C: Role of the ISC Secretariat

11. From the perspective of your organization, how would you rate the importance of the ISC for science and science systems development u2013 globally?

12. From the perspective of your organization, how would you rate the importance of the ISC for science and science systems development u2013 in Africa?

13. From the perspective of your organization, do you feel that the ISC through the collective strength of its membership could do more to advance science and science systems development - in your country?

14. From the perspective of your organization, do you feel that the ISC through the collective strength of its membership could do more to advance science and science systems development - in Africa?

15. How do you think your organization could engage more with the ISC and benefit from its ISC membership?

16. What role do you think of African ISC Members should ideally play in the ISC? E.g., how can African Members promote dialogue in ISC structures?

17. The ISC recently sent out a 'Call for input to the ISC Strategic Plan 2025-2028' (https://council.science/members/consultation-isc-strategic-plan-2025-2028). Please share your response:

We received this information and we will be responding as an organization
We received this information and we will not be responding
We did not receive this information.

Part D: State of science systems in Africa

18. What is the most significant challenge that your organization experiences in fulfilling its mandate?

19. Thinking about science systems more broadly, how do you rank the current state of science systems in your country in relation to the following issues?

	Poor	Fair	Good	Very good	Excellent
Science education	PoorScience education Poor	FairScience education Fair	GoodScience education Good	Very goodScience education Very good	ExcellentScience education Excellent
Research outputs	PoorResearch outputs Poor	FairResearch outputs Fair	GoodResearch outputs Good	Very goodResearch outputs Very good	ExcellentResearch outputs Excellent
Scientific capacities	PoorScientific capacities Poor	FairScientific capacities Fair	GoodScientific capacities Good	Very goodScientific capacities Very good	ExcellentScientific capacities Excellent
Intra-African collaboration	PoorIntra-African collaboration Poor	FairIntra-African collaboration Fair	GoodIntra-African collaboration Good	Very goodIntra-African collaboration Very good	ExcellentIntra-African collaboration Excellent
International collaboration	PoorInternational collaboration Poor	FairInternational collaboration Fair	GoodInternational collaboration Good	Very goodInternational collaboration Very good	ExcellentInternational collaboration Excellent
Science-policy interactions	PoorScience-policy interactions Poor	FairScience-policy interactions Fair	GoodScience-policy interactions Good	Very goodScience-policy interactions Very good	ExcellentScience-policy interactions Excellent
Science-industry collaborations	PoorScience-industry collaborations Poor	FairScience-industry collaborations Fair	GoodScience-industry collaborations Good	Very goodScience-industry collaborations Very good	ExcellentScience-industry collaborations Excellent
Innovation	PoorInnovation Poor	FairInnovation Fair	GoodInnovation Good	Very goodInnovation Very good	ExcellentInnovation Excellent
Funding of science	PoorFunding of science Poor	FairFunding of science Fair	GoodFunding of science Good	Very goodFunding of science Very good	ExcellentFunding of science Excellent
Open science	PoorOpen science Poor	FairOpen science Fair	GoodOpen science Good	Very goodOpen science Very good	ExcellentOpen science Excellent
AI	PoorAI Poor	FairAI Fair	GoodAI Good	Very goodAI Very good	ExcellentAI Excellent

Is there anything else youu2019d like to share about the state of national science systems in your country?

20. How do you rank the state of science on the continent in relation to the following issues?

	Poor	Fair	Good	Very good	Excellent
Science education	PoorScience education Poor	FairScience education Fair	GoodScience education Good	Very goodScience education Very good	ExcellentScience education Excellent
Research outputs	PoorResearch outputs Poor	FairResearch outputs Fair	GoodResearch outputs Good	Very goodResearch outputs Very good	ExcellentResearch outputs Excellent
Scientific capacities	PoorScientific capacities Poor	FairScientific capacities Fair	GoodScientific capacities Good	Very goodScientific capacities Very good	ExcellentScientific capacities Excellent
Intra-African collaboration	PoorIntra-African collaboration Poor	FairIntra-African collaboration Fair	GoodIntra-African collaboration Good	Very goodIntra-African collaboration Very good	ExcellentIntra-African collaboration Excellent
International collaboration	PoorInternational collaboration Poor	FairInternational collaboration Fair	GoodInternational collaboration Good	Very goodInternational collaboration Very good	ExcellentInternational collaboration Excellent
Science-policy interactions	PoorScience-policy interactions Poor	FairScience-policy interactions Fair	GoodScience-policy interactions Good	Very goodScience-policy interactions Very good	ExcellentScience-policy interactions Excellent
Science-industry collaborations	PoorScience-industry collaborations Poor	FairScience-industry collaborations Fair	GoodScience-industry collaborations Good	Very goodScience-industry collaborations Very good	ExcellentScience-industry collaborations Excellent
Innovation	PoorInnovation Poor	FairInnovation Fair	GoodInnovation Good	Very goodInnovation Very good	ExcellentInnovation Excellent
Funding of science	PoorFunding of science Poor	FairFunding of science Fair	GoodFunding of science Good	Very goodFunding of science Very good	ExcellentFunding of science Excellent
Open science	PoorOpen science Poor	FairOpen science Fair	GoodOpen science Good	Very goodOpen science Very good	ExcellentOpen science Excellent
AI	PoorAI Poor	FairAI Fair	GoodAI Good	Very goodAI Very good	ExcellentAI Excellent

21. What is your view on the general direction of science systems in your country?

Significantly going in the right direction
Going in the right direction
Neutral
Going in the wrong direction
Significanlty going in the wrong direction
Iu2019d prefer to answer this question orally

Please expand on your answer if you wish.

22. What is your general view about the long-term future of science systems in Africa?

I feel strongly positive about the future
I feel positive about the future
I am neutral
I feel negative about the future
I feel strongly negative about the future
Iu2019d prefer to answer this question orally

Please expand on your answer if you wish.

23. What is your personal view about the ability of your organization to influence and change science systems in your county/region?

We have strong influence on science systems in my country/region
We have a little influence on science systems in my country/region
Neutral
We have no influence on science systems in my country/region
Iu2019d prefer to answer this question orally

Please expand on your answer if you wish.

24. What, in your opinion, is the biggest challenge currently confronting science in Africa?

25. What in your opinion, are the key opportunities in African science to be leveraged on to strengthen the science ecosystem?

26. Please tell us about any existing pan-African platforms or forums that could be leveraged to strengthen African science.

27. Future Africa would like to learn more about whether you think there is any value in establishing a new pan-African platform or forum to collectively address the challenges and opportunities facing African science.

28. The ISC would like to know what kind of institutional presence on the continent would offer the best opportunities for meaningful integration of African expertise and perspectives in the work of the Council.

29. If there are any issues or comments u2013 related to the ISC, your organizationu2019s membership of the ISC, or the role of the ISC in your country and in Africa more broadly u2013 that you would like to raise for further discussion, please indicate what these are.

This survey is being conducted by Future Africa. If you have already participated in the survey, you do not need to take any action. If your organization has not participated in the survey to date, please contact Dr Kapfudzaruwa below.