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Funding Transformation: Grantee Perspectives on Strengthening Innovation Systems in Africa
No full textAfrica has experienced strong economic growth in recent decades, but this growth has not consistently delivered sufficient jobs, resilience, or shared prosperity. Realising Africa’s economic potential requires that its digital progress and growing market integration lead to sustained economic development (Singne et al. 2026). Central to this is strengthening innovation systems through investment in, and development of, industrial capability, innovation, markets, and infrastructure, aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9.Yet, innovation systems across Africa remain fragmented, under-financed, and weakly connected to markets. These gaps prevent research, innovation, and entrepreneurship from contributing to economic development at scale. Strengthening innovation systems is critical for translating digital economy opportunities into productive activity and avoiding pathways that lock economies into low productivity and limited value addition.Over the past five years, the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has invested £32 million in African innovation systems through its African Technology and Innovation Partnerships (ATIP) programme. Delivered through the Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA) Fund, Global Alliance Africa, the Funguo Innovation Programme, the Sankore project, and ATIP Flex Funds, ATIP implemented new funding approaches that support coordination, brokerage, learning, and sustained interaction between research, industry, and finance designed for African institutional and market realities. The programme engages with grantees (innovation intermediaries, entrepreneurs, universities, research institutes, consultancies, and think tanks) as active ecosystem actors rather than passive recipients. Grantee experiences reveal how markets and finance systems can be strengthened in practice.This Briefing, the second in a three-part series, sets out the perspectives of ATIP grantees on funding transformation in the context of the academic literature (Khene, Roberts and Daniels 2025) and wider ATIP programme lessons. While Briefing 1 examined ATIP’s well-evidenced contributions to knowledge, technology, and culture system dimensions, this Briefing explores how ATIP’s funding approaches addressed market and financial gaps, strengthened intermediaries as system infrastructure, and built lasting connections between research, firms, and markets. It offers practical lessons and useful insights for others working in this field, with the hope of advancing a shared understanding of what works in national innovation systems strengthening, and why it matters.</p
Perceptions des experts sur les vaccins au Sénégal
No full textCet ensemble de tableaux de bord présente une évaluation comparative des écosystèmes de recherche et développement (R&D) pour l'agriculture régénérative (RA) et les vaccins humains au Ghana, au Nigeria et au Sénégal. Élaborées dans le cadre du projet « West African Research & Development Ecosystem Scorecard » financé par le Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), ces fiches offrent un aperçu concis et factuel des atouts, des contraintes et des conditions favorables qui déterminent les performances en matière de R&D dans chaque pays.Les fiches d'évaluation s'appuient sur les données d'une enquête de perception des experts (EPS), qui a recueilli des informations structurées auprès d'experts et de parties prenantes clés des trois écosystèmes nationaux. Les réponses ont été analysées dans cinq domaines clés (politiques et réglementations, infrastructures, processus et gestion, parties prenantes et réseaux, et culture de la recherche) afin de générer des fiches d'évaluation codées par couleur qui permettent une interprétation intuitive et une comparaison entre les pays.Le projet visait à développer un cadre analytique rigoureux, une méthodologie innovante de tableau de bord et une évaluation empirique afin d'aider les acteurs politiques nationaux et régionaux, les instituts de recherche et les bailleurs de fonds à renforcer l'environnement propice à la R&D. Il était dirigé par l'Université Kwame Nkrumah des sciences et technologies (KNUST) au Ghana. Des équipes de recherche au Ghana, au Nigeria, au Sénégal et au Royaume-Uni ont collaboré dans le cadre d'un partenariat équitable et d'une approche intégrée de transfert des connaissances tout au long du cycle du projet.Ces tableaux de bord ont pour but d'éclairer le plaidoyer politique, de stimuler le dialogue entre les parties prenantes nationales et de contribuer aux efforts en cours pour améliorer le fonctionnement, la coordination et l'impact des écosystèmes de R&D en Afrique de l'Ouest.</p
Social Protection Financing in the Sahel: The SASPP
No full textThis case study is part of a series on the financing of social protection in countries experiencing protracted crises. It is based on analysis of international datasets, interviews with experts, and a review of existing literature. It focuses on the financing of social protection in countries experiencing protracted crises in the Sahel, with a particular focus on the Sahel Adaptive Social Protection Programme (SASPP), to build a body of research digging into financing mechanisms for social protection in some of the world’s most fragile and complex contexts.</p
Digital Infrastructure Interventions to Address Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Needs
No full textThis rapid evidence review collates available evidence on digital infrastructure interventions to address climate adaptation and mitigation needs drawing on lessons from across the world to inform the Ethiopian context. The review draws upon an expanding evidence base that includes academic and grey literature. The evidence base is evolving with an increasing range of countries rapidly adopting digital infrastructure interventions to address complex challenges. The evidence notes that whilst digital infrastructure interventions can support adaptation and mitigation efforts, they can also be challenging to implement for a variety of social, economic and technical reasons.</p
Expert Perceptions on Regenerative Agriculture in Ghana
No full textThis set of scorecards presents a comparative assessment of the Research and Development (R&D) ecosystems for Regenerative Agriculture (RA) and Human Vaccines across Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal. Developed under the West African Research & Development Ecosystem Scorecard Project funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the scorecards provide a concise, evidence based overview of the strengths, constraints, and enabling conditions that shape R&D performance in each country.The scorecards draw on data from an Expert Perception Survey (EPS), which gathered structured insights from key experts and stakeholders across the three national ecosystems. Responses were analysed across five core domains—Policies & Regulations, Infrastructure, Processes & Management, Stakeholders & Networks, and Research Culture—to generate colour coded scorecards that enable intuitive interpretation and cross country comparison.The project aimed to develop a rigorous analytical framework, innovative scorecard methodology, and empirical assessment to support national and regional policy actors, research institutions, and donors in strengthening the enabling environment for R&D. It was led by Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana. Research teams in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and the UK collaborated through an equitable partnership and integrated knowledge translation approach throughout the project cycle.These scorecards are intended to inform policy advocacy, stimulate dialogue among national stakeholders, and contribute to ongoing efforts to improve the functioning, coordination, and impact of R&D ecosystems in West Africa.</p
An Epistemological Break: Redefining Participatory Research in Capabilitarian Scholarship
No full textIn putting together this special issue of “Epistemological Break: Redefining par-ticipatory research in capabilitarian scholarship”, we wanted to push at the(decolonial) boundaries of participatory research. Our intention was not tomake claims about a perfect version or understanding but rather to encouragea debate about participatory research, and how there is a variety of practiceswhich may be more or less oriented to transformative education processes,relationships and flourishing. Therefore, this special issue builds on the devel-oping literature on participatory research and capabilities (for example, Walkerand Boni 2020; Martinez-Vargas 2022; Mkwananzi, Cin, and Marovah 2021).ES/N010094/1RLO</p
<p dir="rtl">العاملات في الخطوط الأمامية والمساعدة الاجتماعية في اليمن</p>
No full textتؤدي العاملات المعنيات بتقديم المساعدة الاجتماعية في اليمن أدواراً محورية في جعل برامج التحويلات النقدية أكثر استجابة لاحتياجات النساء والفتيات. فمن خلال عملهنَّ في مجتمعات متضررة من النزاع والفقر والتفاوتات الاجتماعية، تتحمل هذه العاملات أعباء عمل ثقيلة، ومسؤوليات جسيمة، ومخاطر شخصية. وقد أفادت العاملات في الخطوط الأمامية اللواتي يتولين تقديم التحويلات النقدية الممولة دولياً في محافظتين (عدن وحضرموت)، بوجود محاولات محدودة فقط لتحسين شروط توظيفهن أو ترقيتهن، مع غياب الدعم الكافي لسلامتهن وصحتهن النفسية. إن تحسين المساعدة الاجتماعية في اليمن يتطلب توفير أجور أفضل، وفرصٍ للقيادة، ودعمٍ شاملٍ للعاملات في الخطوط الأمامية.</p
Patchworks of Provisioning: Social Assistance in Beirut’s Informal Neighbourhoods
No full textIn crisis-ridden Lebanon, popular and political discourse often accuses some nationality groups of unfairly benefiting more from aid than others, undermining social cohesion. This study empirically examines how social assistance is distributed across Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian people living in Beirut’s diverse informal neighbourhood types. Using a mixed-methods approach, structured survey findings highlight statistically significant neighbourhood as well as nationality effects in aid receipt. The study challenges narratives of aid bias, urging policymakers to prioritise vulnerability over nationality, and address the structural marginalisation of urban informal areas and its inhabitants to promote equity and social cohesion in Lebanon.</p
Expert Perceptions on Regenerative Agriculture in Nigeria
No full textThis set of scorecards presents a comparative assessment of the Research and Development (R&D) ecosystems for Regenerative Agriculture (RA) and Human Vaccines across Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal. Developed under the West African Research & Development Ecosystem Scorecard Project funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the scorecards provide a concise, evidence based overview of the strengths, constraints, and enabling conditions that shape R&D performance in each country.The scorecards draw on data from an Expert Perception Survey (EPS), which gathered structured insights from key experts and stakeholders across the three national ecosystems. Responses were analysed across five core domains—Policies & Regulations, Infrastructure, Processes & Management, Stakeholders & Networks, and Research Culture—to generate colour coded scorecards that enable intuitive interpretation and cross country comparison.The project aimed to develop a rigorous analytical framework, innovative scorecard methodology, and empirical assessment to support national and regional policy actors, research institutions, and donors in strengthening the enabling environment for R&D. It was led by Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana. Research teams in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and the UK collaborated through an equitable partnership and integrated knowledge translation approach throughout the project cycle.These scorecards are intended to inform policy advocacy, stimulate dialogue among national stakeholders, and contribute to ongoing efforts to improve the functioning, coordination, and impact of R&D ecosystems in West Africa.</p
Taxing Plastic and Solid Waste in a Decentralised System: Evidence and Design Lessons from Uganda
No full textThis paper examines how national policy instruments and local service delivery interact to shape outcomes in plastic and solid waste management in Uganda. It situates plastics within the wider municipal waste challenge, and asks what combination of centrally set rules and taxes, together with locally delivered services and charges, can produce practical environmental gains under a decentralised system. The analysis focuses on two national instruments that have dominated the response to plastic waste – a ban on plastic bags, and a plastics excise – alongside the financing and operational constraints facing city authorities responsible for collection, transfer, and disposal.The study uses a qualitative design that combines a structured review of laws, strategies, and administrative records with published and unpublished budget and performance data. It draws on 40 semi-structured interviews with officials in national ministries and agencies, senior administrators in Kampala, Fort Portal, Gulu, Mbale, and Mbarara, and representatives of traders and industrial associations.Findings indicate that design changes, exemptions, and uneven implementation have limited the effect of national instruments on plastics use and disposal. At the same time, city authorities face narrow and volatile local revenue, delayed approval of local ordinances, and rising service expectations, which constrain routine collection and credible enforcement. The paper concludes that progress requires clearer and more salient central price signals, timely approval and enforcement of local ordinances calibrated to service technology and affordability, and a defined share of plastics-related receipts directed to city waste functions and recycling infrastructure.</p