SciDev.Net

This paper from the Association of Commonwealth Universities outlines the commitments and activities made by major international partners — specifically the G8 countries — to developing African higher education between 2000 and 2004.

Projects are analysed by topic — from human resources development to HIV/AIDS to science and technology — and region. The authors highlight trends in donors' strategies for supporting African higher education, presenting development portfolios and case studies from France, Germany, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and the United States, among others. They suggest improvements in aid delivery, including collaboration between donors and increased communication about individual donor strategies. They also call for more networking and collaboration across higher education institutions within Africa, while noting that these face financial constraints.

The authors conclude that there is a particular need for donors to provide more support to science and technology projects — as a crucial driver of socioeconomic development.

This paper is based on the premise that all countries, especially under-developed ones, need to invest in science and technology (S&T).

It describes and compares Arab countries in the Gulf and Mediterranean regions with others around the world and finds that that neither the Gulf nor the Mediterranean countries investigated possess sufficient human or financial resources to enhance S&T performance.

The paper finds that the role of the private sector in research and development is non-existent and that high scores of Gulf countries on gross domestic product and human development indices do not necessarily translate into high scores in S&T indicators.

The paper also finds a lack of cooperation within and between Gulf and Mediterranean countries and the rest of the Arab world. However, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia show active scientific cooperation with the international community, particularly with countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, notably France. The study suggests geographical proximity, rather than social proximity alone, may also spur S&T collaboration.

The paper is useful for S&T policymakers in OIC countries, Arab countries in particular.