The Global Research Council (GRC) is global organization dedicated to promoting the sharing of data and best practices for high-quality collaboration among research funding agencies worldwide. Since its Inception in 2012, the GRC hosts annual and regional meetings attended by approximately 60 Heads of Research Councils from around the world, as well as high ranking observers from Global Science Agencies, University Associations and Research Policy organizations.

This year, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) of Zambia in collaboration with the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) of Malawi will co – host the 6^th GRC Africa Regional Meeting from 22^nd – 24^th November, 2017 at Avani Victoria Falls Resort in Livingstone, Zambia.

Along with the GRC meeting, and as part of implementing the Science Granting Council Initiative (SGCI), the 2017 SGCI Annual Forum will be held at the same venue and co-hosted by the two institutions. The overarching theme for the forum is: Towards Effective Public – Private Partnerships in Research and Innovation in Africa.

African Science Granting Councils (SGCs) have, and will, continue to benefit from the existence of the GRC as a broker of such collaborative engagements. GRC additionally presents opportunities for SGCs to contribute to the collective shaping of principles on effective and efficient implementation of SGC national mandates in an increasingly transboundary world. SGCs in Africa have been participating in the GRC events since inception. The National Commission for Science and Technology in Malawi (NCST) and the National Science and Technology Council of Zambia (NSTC) as SGCs have also been active members of the GRC and have continued to benefit from the existence of the GRC and its strategic alliances. In preparing for the 2018 GRC Annual meeting, regional meetings of SGCs are held to deliberate and prepare regional positions on common themes provided by the GRC Board.

The 2017 Annual Forum provides an opportunity for Science Granting Councils to interact with other key science, technology, and innovation (STI) system actors such as the private sector, and policymakers to share experiences and learn from each other. The specific objectives of the forum are to:

• Enable the sharing of lessons and best practices on Public-Private Partnerships in research and innovation among Africa’s Science Granting Councils, private sector actors, scholars and policymakers across the world.
• Hold a reflective Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) workshop for participating Councils and Collaborating Technical Agencies (CTAs) and discuss the progress made by the CTAs and Councils in gathering data about the SGCI’s contributions to strengthening the performance and influence of the Councils;
• Discuss key issues/findings from the Political Economy (PE) case studies;
• Strengthen capacity of Zambia National Science and Technology Council to convene continental multi-stakeholder STI policy dialogues and debates;
• Introduce the SGCI to government, private sector, scientific and other key stakeholders in Zambia and the Southern Africa region; and
• Provide updates about the SGCI to members of the Advisory Committee (AC).

The co-hosting of this regional meeting enables further strengthening of NSTC and NCST capacities in building partnerships and networks in alignment with the work of the Science Granting Council Initiative. The co-hosting also serves as an important platform for igniting necessary strategic conversations and actions amongst SGCs on the African continent. The GRC Africa regional meeting will be preceded by a number of events including the Academic Symposium on Animal and Livestock Sciences that will be jointly hosted by NSTC, NCST, German Research Foundation (DFG) and National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF).

Contacts for the organization of the meeting and further enquiries are;

• Filipo Zulu, Manager (Programme Development and Implementation)-Email address: fzulu@nstc.org,zm; Telephone number:+260 211 255854;

• Mike Kachedwa, Chief Research Services Officer (Health, Social Sciences & Humanities)-Email Address: mkachedwa@ncst.mw; Telephone number: +265 1 771 550 (office); +265 999 360 516 (mobile)

More information about this event will be provided on this website and the official NSTC and NCST Facebook Pages