From 12th to 16th May 2025, the SADC Secretariat for Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) Indicators, in partnership with the African Union Development Agency’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) and the Centre for Science, Technology, and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII) at the HSRC, convened a Regional Training Workshop on STI Measurement in Dar Es Salam, Tanzania. Funded by the World Bank under the Regional Statistics Project, the workshop addressed key gaps in R&D and innovation measurement.
Bringing together statisticians and STI experts from national statistics offices and ministries across SADC member states, the workshop sought to strengthen institutional collaboration, disseminate best practices, and establish clear roadmaps for sustained STI data production. Participants benefitted from hands-on training in applying international guidelines, including the Frascati and Oslo manuals to ensure methodological rigour in their respective national systems.
The HSRC’s Dr Yasser Buchana and Natasha Saunders from the Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII) were instrumental in delivering the training. Dr Buchana spearheaded sessions on innovation measurement, drawing upon CeSTII’s extensive expertise in survey methodologies, while Ms Saunders led discussions on R&D surveys. They jointly presented on digital transformation and data governance, introducing CeSTII’s newly developed toolkits, such as the Digital Transformation Roadmap Toolkit and the Data Governance Toolkit, to support evidence-based policymaking.
The workshop highlighted SADC’s and CeSTII’s shared commitment to promoting evidence-driven policy towards regional industrialisation. A key outcome included actionable roadmaps for member states, reinforcing the importance of institutional frameworks for STI data collection. With technical support from AUDA-NEPAD, UNESCO, and AOSTI, the event marked a key step forward in advancing the SADC Protocol on Statistics and the AU’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA-2034).
For more information, contact the SADC Secretariat or visit https://www.sadc.int/ or contact Dr Yasser Buchana (ybuchana@hsrc.ac.za).