Reverse Linkage

85 DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION as Africa. The continent contains diverse populations of over one billion, with about 3,000 ethnic groups, speaking thousands of languages. Moreover, African countries are endowed with high economic potential in various fields and sectors such as energy and mining, agriculture and arable land, human resources, and a large market for trade. With all of the economies at different levels of development, a mapping of the resource centres in the various countries can help support peer-learning, knowledge, expertise, expe- rience sharing, and technology transfer, all crucial to SSC interventions. Secondly, mapping the resource centres helps to create a global picture of the institutional actors and a better understanding of their activities in connection with the development agenda and needs of each country. It also assists development partners and decision-makers in identifying, formulating and implementing policies and strategies, and, in this specific case, to help IsDB and its partners to better devise SSC interventions. Thirdly, the mapping exercise is an effective mechanism to understand countries’ capacities and experience as well as assess their ability to cooperate internationally within the framework of SSC initiatives. It is possible to assess whether the centres have the requisite institutional infrastructure for the exchange and sharing of skills, knowledge and experi- ence with other partners in the African countries., Below is a non-exhaustive list of resource centres, based on ACBF’s experience in working on various policy related issues in Africa with the many institutions it has supported as well as the work done with IsDB. The Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA): providing quality research and policy support to government and key stakeholders With the support of the African Capacity Building Foundation, KIPPRA is an autonomous public institute established in 1997. As a think tank, KIPPRA conducts research and analysis on public policy issues with the goal of providing advice and technical services to policy makers and stakeholders. KIPPRA has created an enabling environment and has effectively contributed to increased demand for research to inform public policy. The Institute has, by and large, helped to intensify and expand dialogue on the role of research in public policy process by stakeholders from government, the private sector, and the media. Between October 2012 and May 2014, KIPPRA’s main research products included three Kenya Economic Reports (2011, 2012, and 2013), 93 media articles, 40 discussion papers, and 72 client reports. The Pan-African Institutes of Science and Technology (AIST): improving the quality of high education in science and engineering for effective technological innovations to support the economic development of Africa AIST comprises the African University of Science and Technology (AUST) in Abuja, Nigeria; the International Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering (2iE) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; and the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) in Arusha, Tanzania. These institutions aim to build scientific and entrepreneurial skills in life sciences at a pan-African level. With the support of ACBF and other partners, AIST has been providing high quality facilities for graduate and post-doctoral studies and research that has facilitated bridging the gap between research and industrial development through effective technological innovations for the sustainable economic development of the continent. Again, with ACBF support, several Master’s and PhD students have won various international awards includ- ing the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) fellowship sponsored by the Gates Foundation, USAID and the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa. In 2014, following research works supported by ACBF through a scholarship and research seed fund, students published more than 385 peer- reviewed articles in accredited journals. The Institute of Food Technology (ITA): high quality agricultural products for a competitive and dynamic market The ITA was established in 1963 to undertake research in food technology. It has five research laboratories focused on phytosanitary analysis, microbiology, chem- istry, mycotoxins (harmful chemicals produced by fungi), and biotechnology. The ITA has approximately 90 researchers and scientists, 19 per cent of whom are women, and has developed many technologies in the area of food processing. Using a training-of-the-trainers approach, the ITA is managing to train more than 100 women farmers per year. It is awarded an average of 50 contracts every year, both from the private sector and in public development projects, to carry out research and to develop products. It won IsDB’s Prize for Science and Technology in 2007, in view of the importance of the research as well as its contribution to development in Senegal in general. Examples of resource centres in Africa