The AU-EU Innovation Agenda continues to be characterised by a remarkable connectivity across the entire research and innovation ecosystem. It puts science at the centre of education, innovation, economic growth, and societal development, in support of the EU’s global approach, and the AU’s Agenda 2063.
What distinguished the AU-EU Innovation Agenda, even in its draft form, was a clear focus on developing long-term, equitable R&I partnerships, distinguishing very clearly between short, medium and long-term goals of science collaboration. This central – and truly groundbreaking – tenet has remained.
The final draft is even more articulate about the interdependence of both continents across many areas of science. In public health, this includes research and innovation on non-communicable diseases, genomics, poverty-related diseases, etc. In the green transition, it includes resilient agricultural and food systems value-chains, the sustainable management of water resources, and the sustainable management of cultural heritage.
In relation to the earlier draft, the need for science to address problems that are locally embedded has been strengthened. There is much greater emphasis now on, for instance, the importance of citizen science, even if – of course – the societal rootedness of research can and must be articulated in many ways.
There is now an explicit commitment – absent in the earlier draft – to the social sciences, arts and humanities (SSAH). This is evident not just in the emphasis on cultural heritage. Clearly, the goal of empowering communities requires a strong contribution by SSAH approaches and solutions, for instance through the cultural and creative industries, interdisciplinary peace research, or the translations of the SDGs to politics and every-day life.
The final AU-EU Innovation Agenda is strongly anchored in the need for the sustainability of investment in science and innovation – because that investment must be followed up by the building up of science and innovation capabilities to ensure a long-term return on investment. The need to strengthen manufacturing and SMEs must be underpinned by stronger ‘capacities for science’, including (crucially) by providing access to world-class research infrastructure. The Innovation Agenda spells out the need for talent circulation between the continents, including the need to scale up PhD and Masters’ collaboration between Europe and Africa.
This is a transformative agenda that provides a clear blueprint for how Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the EU’s Global Gateway can be addressed in practice. It challenges us all to do science collaboration sustainably, equitably, inclusively, with a clear focus on long-term societal transformation for the better. It shows very clearly how science connects Africa and Europe, how we can do better science and innovation together, and how science can be at the heart of societal transformation. It is now up to funders, universities, research organisations, SMEs and companies to rise to the challenge and ensure this is a living document.
Jan Palmowski
Secretary-General of The Guild – A contemporary historian, he started his career at the University of Oxford before moving to King’s College London where he taught European politics and EU integration. He was Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Warwick from 2013 to 2017. In this blog space, Prof. Palmowski engages with some of the wider questions around research, education, innovation and the EU. The views expressed here are his and not those of The Guild.