The Joint EU-African Union Innovation Agenda gives new momentum to intercontinental cooperation in research and innovation for sustainable growth.
Last week, the EU-African Union (AU) Summit took place in Brussels to give new direction to EU-Africa relations. It offered the opportunity to set the foundations for a renewed and deeper Africa-EU Partnership based on trust and mutual interests.
During the Summit, heads of states acknowledged the development of the recently published EU-AU Innovation Agenda draft to enhance the impact of R&I and is designed to support sustainable growth and jobs, especially for the youth.
The Innovation Agenda is part of the Global Gateway Investment Package (see SwissCore article) and follows four principal objectives: i. translation of innovative capacities and results into tangible outputs; ii. strengthening of innovation ecosystems; iii. development of sustainable and mutually beneficial higher education and R&I partnerships; and iv. upscaling of instruments and programmes that can take forward existing successful initiatives. The Innovation Agenda is based on the goals of the SDGs of the UN Agenda 2030, the AU Agenda 2063, the Science, Technology, Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA 2024), the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa 2020-2030, the EU Communication on the Towards a comprehensive Strategy with Africa, and the EU’s Global Approach to R&I.
The Summit also saw the publication of an independent expert report on how R&I can support sustainable development in Africa-EU cooperation. The report recommends building on, and expanding, already existing R&I cooperation. These include the EU-Africa Research and Innovation Partnership on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture, the AU – EU R&I Partnership on Climate Change and Sustainable Energy and the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnerships (EDCTP). Overall, the expert report recognises the need for increased investments in R&I infrastructure, policy governance, and capacity building as well as funding. The guidance of the report was included in the presented Innovation Agenda draft.
In the Innovation Agenda, universities assume a central role in developing relations between both continents. A vital concern of the agenda is the “brain-drain” of young, talented African researchers that needs to be reversed into a “brain-gain”. The agenda identifies the need to reinforce existing research and innovation funding programmes and the creation of new programmes to support higher education and research.
The Agenda is organized in terms of short-, medium- and long-term actions. Over the short-term key actions include fostering links between government and business; strengthening cooperation of higher education institutions, research centres, and organisations with a focus on knowledge transfer, teaming, twinning and learning mobility activities (e.g. ERASMUS +, MSCA). The support for technology and innovation hubs, as well as accelerators and incubators, should be increased (see the recently wrapped up Africa-Europe Innovation Partnership). Medium-term goals include re-skilling and / or upskilling citizens of all ages, promoting joint masters and doctoral degrees as well as reinforcing inclusive mobility of students, researchers and staff by building on existing programmes (e.g. MSCA). The Agenda further foresees technology transfer in health and the improvement and development of quality vaccine, medicines and health technologies. Under the green transition focus, a notable priority involves developing and producing renewable fuels in Africa. Over the long term, the Agenda calls for the promotion of a special focus on youth and women, reinforcing and facilitating inclusive and affordable access to research and innovation structures, fostering new or strengthening existing joint centres of excellence, and modernising and reinforcing research and higher education systems. It also aims to design and implement new and innovative methods and tools for future health threats; and improve agricultural innovation ecosystems. A further objective is to connect Africa with the European Open Science Cloud.
The activities presented in the Innovation Agenda will be financed through Horizon Europe (including the Horizon Europe Africa Initiative, as well as through possible association of third countries from Africa to Horizon Europe), the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI)-Global Europe, the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+), and other relevant AU-EU programmes. Additional contributions from EU Member States are projected. To reinforce public participation and strengthen the proposed Innovation Agenda, the European and African Union Commissions launched a public consultation. The African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and The Guild endorsed the Innovation Agenda in a joint statement, especially welcoming the central strategic focus on strengthening the research capacity of the African universities in the long term. Ernest Aryeetey, Secretary-General of ARUA, particularly highlighted that universities’ central place in the relationship as an opportunity to develop knowledge economies throughout Africa for sustainable development and transformation. Jan Palmowski, the Guild’s Secretary-General, said that the Innovation Agenda is “significant not for universities in themselves, but for what they will enable universities to achieve for the transformation of African societies, for our joint capacities to address societal challenges in Europe and Africa, and for relations between the AU and the EU”.