UNESCO is organizing a national stakeholders’ workshop in Gaborone (Botswana) from 14 to 16 February 2011, at which the government of Botswana will present the country’s draft science, technology and innovation (STI) policy, as well as an action plan for implementation. Funded by UNESCO and the Government of Spain, the workshop is the culmination of a process which began in 2008 when the Government of Botswana decided to revise its policy, with UNESCO support. The revised policy was then submitted to the President's Cabinet for approval. In parallel, UNESCO identified an international expert, at the request of Botswana, to advise and work with the government in preparing the terms of reference, governance structures and monitoring and evaluation benchmarks for the action plan. Both the policy and action plan are due to be submitted to the Botswanan parliament in April 2011.

A second workshop is due to take place on 22-25 February 2011 in Harare (Zimbabwe). UNESCO has been working with the Government of Zimbabwe since 2009 to prepare a national status report, the first step in the STI policy review process, highlighting the country’s STI needs which will be launched at the workshop, along with a series of recommendations prepared by UNESCO in collaboration with the Government of Zimbabwe. The workshop will be an opportunity for stakeholders to debate the proposed revision to the STI policy and present a draft action plan for the policy’s implementation. This workshop is also funded by UNESCO and the Government of Spain.

Science policy formulation in Africa

• Read past country studies and reports from UNESCO’s Science Policy Studies series
• The workshop was one of a series of UNESCO workshops designed to build capacity in STI policy reviews in Africa.

Contact the UNESCO co-ordinator