Uganda Stakeholders receive training on GO-SPIN

UNESCO Global Observatory of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Instruments (GO-SPIN) is a programme designed to expose — through the rigorous application of an assessment lens— usable insights about science, engineering, technology and innovation (SETI) policies and their context. This programme is helping UNESCO Member States to create local capacity for analyzing SETI evidence-based policies in order to detect gaps and introduce reforms and upgrades to their national innovation systems and its governance. It promotes building capacity to monitor and evaluate the policy performance, and situates the performance of each individual national policy. In this way, the scope of standard SETI assessment can be widened, to consider country-specific contexts, as well as emerging knowledge of technological advances that contribute to sustainable development. While complementing efforts to promote evidence-based SETI policymaking as well as efforts to evaluate policy performance, GO-SPIN offers a good baseline for the promotion of national scientific and technological foresight studies.

Nevertheless, the lack of, or weaknesses in data, information, indicators, and capabilities to formulate, analyze and monitor SETI policies and instruments continue to be a major challenge in many countries. Consequently, the objective of GO-SPIN programme is to fill these gaps.

From 12 to 16 April 2021, STI stakeholders in Uganda were trained on the GO-SPIN methodological approach to support the establishment of STI baselines and the development and implementation of evidence-based policies and investment plans. The training was jointly organized by UNESCO, Uganda National Commission for UNESCO (UNATCOM), and the Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation (MoSTI) of Uganda.

This training workshop is an attempt to help SETI stakeholders in Uganda to implement methodologies and tools for assessing evidence-based SETI policies from a much broad context than the traditional input-output indicators’ approach. It will also allow the participants to collect and standardize information for the creation of full inventories.

In her opening remarks for the training, Ms. Ann Therese Ndong Jatta, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa emphasized the importance of the evidence-based decision-making and inclusive policies towards sustainable development. According to the remarks by Ms. Rosie Agoi, Secretary-General of UNATCOM, the GO-SPIN training will promote synergy and increased coordination between government offices and STI stakeholders in harnessing STI to accelerate achievement of national development priorities.