Science, Parliaments and Africa Seminar

Organisers:
Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST)
International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP)

Date: 3rd November 4pm-7pm, Houses of Parliament
Chair: The Rt Hon Tom Clarke CBE MP

Parliaments across the world are expected to deal with a vast array of policy matters relating to science. In Africa, topical science policy issues range from malaria and climate change adaptation to nuclear safety and ICT infrastructure. To conduct effective scrutiny of government, parliamentarians need some understanding of the scientific information with which they are constantly bombarded. However, few African parliamentarians are educated to tertiary level in science and technology. Moreover, while UK parliamentarians can obtain advice on scientific topics from a variety of specialist staff, many parliaments in Africa do not have staff with relevant training.

This seminar brought together Members and staff from the UK and other European parliaments, civil servants, researchers, development practitioners and funders to focus on science in African parliaments. Presentations were given by Dr Julius Mugwagwa (Open University), David Dickson (Scidev.net), Dr Chandrika Nath (POST), Dr Kirsty Newman (POST/INASP), Alex O'Donoghue (Royal African Society) and Prof Moses Bockarie (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine). Presenters discussed why parliamentarians need access to research information and explored some of the challenges and opportunities in bridging the gap between researchers and parliamentarians.

See the Evidence Informed Policy Making page for more information on INASP/POST collaborations and work with Parliaments.