In 2014, the African Union adopted the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa 2024 (STISA-2024). The first 10-year part of the Union’s longer-term Agenda 2063, 2019 marks the strategy’s halfway point, and an opportune time to take stock and evaluate its performance so far. However, the STISA-2024’s original timeline did not incorporate a mid-term evaluation.

Dr Chux Daniels (SPRU) has been working with the African Observatory for Science, Technology and Innovation (AOSTI) and other key stakeholders to develop a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework, which will be used to gather and analyse key data from STISA-2024’s first five years of implementation. In this policy brief, Dr Daniels outlines the strategy’s priority areas and objectives, why an M&E framework is necessary, and presents key considerations and recommendations for its development.

These recommendations include:

• Basing the framework on a ‘result value chain’ model, which can be used to map the inputs, outputs, outcomes and impact of each of the strategy’s aims
• Creating a set of core indicators to synchronise data collected from different regions, which vary in their goals, scopes and reporting mechanisms
• Garnering sufficient support and participation from all actors involved, to ensure data is collected accurately and effectively
• Commencing monitoring and evaluation as soon as possible, trialling an initial set of indicators in the strategy’s pilot phase
• Aligning the framework’s core indicators with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the broader aspirations of Agenda 2063
• Producing an accessible manual alongside the framework, with a core set of relevant definitions to harmonise the language across users

Read the policy brief ‘Evaluating Public Policies in Africa: insights from the Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy for Africa 2024 (STISA-2024)‘ [PDF 642KB]