Carlos Aguirre-Bastos International Consultant

1. Draft Procedure Manual for the Operation of the National Research, Science and Technology Fund of Namibia Carlos Aguirre-Bastos International Consultant UNESCO National Conference on Research and Innovation 20 August 2013, Windhoek, Namibia

2. Research: What for? • To improve conditions of and accelerate development • Research outputs to: • Inform and influence policy – scientific base to take decisions • Drive social innovations – improve society´s wellbeing • Drive economic innovations- competitiveness and productivity • Enhance cultural value of science For research to fulfil such roles it must be well conducted and of quality, thus leadership, funding, researchers and institutions, and the capacity to utilize research findings are key to its success

3. RESEARCH AND INNOVATION FUNDING IN NAMIBIA • Act 23 of 2004 determines the creation of the National Research, Science and Technology Fund First Decision: • To fund research • To fund innovation

4. Funding Research and Innovation • Non fiscal incentives: grants, loans, subsidies, venture capital funds, guarantee mechanisms • Fiscal incentives: inside and outside corporate taxes National Research, Science and Technology Fund of Namibia, is defined (by Act) as basically a research project granting mechanism. So innovation must be promoted through the support of specific “research” projects in the enterprise

5. Strategic Concepts • NRSTF operates as a competitive mechanism • Funds projects in a bid mechanism according to established priorities • Funding raises level of future researchers and provide adequate infrastructure for research and facilitate mobility • ‘Seed’ projects are financed as a basis for developing substantial long-term research • Competition is key to excellence allows: outcomes of highest quality, and generates returnsto public investment in research

6. Strategic Concepts • Collaboration stimulates research and innovation; mobility of actors in national research and innovation system encourages and facilitates cross-cutting interactions and free flow of ideas and knowledge • Excellence and collaboration serve to build and sustain two key components of a forward looking and productive national research effort – capability and focus Thus needed a streamlined and balanced system of funding mechanisms promoting excellence, scale, focus and concentration of Namibia’s publicly funded research and innovation effort, that will deliver enhanced efficiency, effectiveness and accountability.

7. FundingToday • Ministry of Education funds routine research at the University of Namibia and the Polytechnic. • Support runs around 1% – 2% of their overall recurrent budget. It has been recommended that this amount increases to at least 10%. • Line ministries provide funding to their sector research • Donor grants and subventions, often as part of international agreements and in some cases administered through a NGO, such as Namibia Nature Foundation or the Rössing Foundation • Commissioned research, funding client usually donors, or ministries funded by donors and multinational organisations such as the various UN or European Union organisations. • In 2012 Government provided a fund of 47 million Namibian dollars for a two year period, for research grants. • 20 million dedicated to research (for financing Namibia-South Africa joint call) while the other 50% is destined to administrative tasks.

8. Problems • Public funds are channelled to public bodies • Donor funding is mainly channelled to private institutes • Commissioned research falls to either public or private bodies • There is no overall funding coordination or plan • There are gaps in the support for research • There is little focus on funding for research capacity development • Research is seldom linked to innovation • There is little long-term vision in the existing research programme • From the government funding agency point of view, it is difficult to direct such a programme towards national priorities • Accountability, if it is built into programmes at all, is not well developed

9. Funding now and the future

10. TOWARDS A FUNDING PROGRAMME • Act 23 of 2004 creates the “NRSTF” (Article 23) • Article 24 defines that the fund is constituted by resources from many sources • Defines that the Commission must manage the Fund • Resources available in the Fund must be used: - To pay the administrative expenses of the Commission - To pay the administrative expenses of every council - To fund the costs of any project or other activity of the Commission or by any research institute with the approval of the Commission; and - To pay remunerations and allowances payable by the Commission and such other expenses incurred by the Commission in the performance of its functions

11. What does it mean? • Commission has 15 commissioners + alternate commissioners • It has an Executive Committee • Foresees establishment of committees to perform different functions • Establishes a standing committee “Foundation for Research, Science and Technology”, whose functions are not specified. • Office of the Chief Executive Officer supervises the operation of the Fund. This governance system imposes a great burden on the funds

12. Some basic principles: • The Fund will support the strengthening of the RESEARCH AND INNOVATION SYSTEM • The Fund is the most valuable policy instrument to be developed and strengthened in the coming years. • The financing of S&T is characterised by insufficient focus on competition as a driver of excellence, marginal funding in many areas of research, and barriers to participation and collaboration • The Fund can be a policy instrument which will help to focus efforts and cooperation and linkages among the actors of the research and innovation system • The Fund is not an additional source of financing government administration • Funding arrangements need to be as simple as possible to administer and readily intelligible to researchers, institutions, industry and the wider community • Evaluation of projects will be a key instrument for guaranteeing transparency and quality

13. Basic principles • The Draft Procedure Manual will indicate the basis of the evaluation process. • Research to be carried out within a framework that demonstrates accountability to the government and the community, is transparent, is performance-driven and is capable of highlighting the return (economic or otherwise) on investment in research. • In order that Namibia stakeholders will benefit from the Fund, it is necessary the execution of a simple capacity building plan: Training of stakeholders in project writing, report writing, scientific and technical paper and document writing •  The Fund is managed as prescribed in the Act. In this case, the funding and policy making roles are in the hands of a single institution. • The Fund could be run as a separate institution (the Foundation) from the policy making body. In this case the Fund follows policy with some independence, but because it requires its own management mechanism it drains from the scarce resources. If this is the option, Act 23 must be modified

14. Basic principles • Whichever the case it is necessary to establish some mandatory provision defining that a percentage of the available funds to go into administration and a larger fraction to funding research and innovation • What to do about multiple funds (as exist today). A fragmentation of funding mechanisms is not necessarily conducive to building partnerships • But as stated in the Presidential Commission on Education, Culture, and Training, it is undesirable if the new source of funding were to replace the existing ones • It should supplement them and be used to provide, by a process of ‘gap filling’ the overall funding picture with coherence, purpose and sense of direction. • A case may be made in favour of a single fund and also of multiple sector funds. • What is important is to have a transparent, accountable and effective governance structures and processes and open further opportunities for co-investment.

15. Centres of Scale and Focus e Excellenc Centres Networks Capability Teams (linkage and discovery) Teams Individuals (early career researchers - discovery I “FUNDING PROGRAMME”

16. Types of Projects to be supported • Talent Search and Repatriation for R&D • Independent Research Scientist Development Award • Research Programme Project • Open Research Project • Small Research Project Grants • Conference Grants • Research Demonstration and Dissemination Projects • Exploratory Grants • Development Grants • Dissertation Grants • Promotion of R&D • Promotion of International R&D

17. Types of Projects to be supported • Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (Minority Program) • Postdoctoral Individual Award • Promotion of Regional R&D • Study of environmental phenomena and impact • Promotion of R&D for Protected Areas and biodiversity • R&D in Health • Research in social sciences and the humanities • Strengthening infrastructure: equipment, scientific instrumentation • Science against poverty

18. DRAFT PROCEDURE MANUAL • I. Definitions: definition of the terms included in the Manual • II. projects and activities to be financed • III. uses of the Fund’s resources • IV content and processing of applications • V acquisition of goods and services • VI process of evaluation of project proposals • VII allocation and disbursement of funds • VIII project implementation and monitoring process

19. PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES TO BE FINANCED • The Fund will allocate financial resources to eligible research and innovation Projects under the Funding Programme • The Fund is created to ensure the appropriate funding to research and innovation projects that can contribute to the discovery of new ideas and the advancement of knowledge in the sciences, focusing on high impact and innovative research • It is a policy instrument that allows generating new scientific knowledge and strengthening national research and innovation capacity and capability • The Fund will give preference to funding of areas defined as national priorities, while also respecting freedom of research • The Commission may identify flagship projects as an “urgent priority” Such projects, are not subject to the Fund’s calls but still have to fulfil the requirements set out in this Manual for preparation, evaluation and approval

20. USE OF THE FUND’S RESOURCES • Funding will be through an open bid procedure. For each specific component of the Funding Programme there will be a specific “call for projects”. • The content of each specific project proposals and their processing are determined in the Manual • Calls will be open between 4 - 6 months after publication. Each call will define deadlines for • The maximum amount of funding to be available for each individual project under each call will be defined by the Fund Administration • The Fund will define a fair system for the transparent evaluation of bids, based on the norms established in this Manual. Agreed reporting systems (with the scientific community) will be built into the award

21. Eligibility Criteria • The Fund is open to all researchers and groups of researchers who are employed on a permanent or contractual basis from the following organisations: • Government Research Institutions • Government Science, Technology and Innovation Agencies • Public and Private Institutions of Higher Education with accredited research programmes by the Commission • Expatriates working under contract with any of the above institutions are eligible to apply. However, the project must have a permanent Namibian co-researcher from the same institution • Researchers wishing to be considered for funding must have their CV registered with the Commission’s Human Resources Data Base (to be created) • Private research laboratories and research centres accredited by the Commission, and including private sector firms with projects with clear innovation goals

22. CONTENT OF PROPOSALS • Project Title • Project Objectives • Research Background • Research Methodology • Project Activities • Milestones • Risk of the Project • Benefits of the Project • Outputs Expected (scientific, technological or innovation) • Human Capital Development • Economic Contribution

23. CONTENT OF PROPOSALS • Infrastructural contribution • Research Collaboration • Project Schedule • Staff Cost Estimation • Project Funding • Summary of Relevant past Research Project • Contractual Obligations Under This Project • Ethical Clearance and Compliance To Other Related Regulations • Location of research projects • Project Duration • Responsibility of the project leader

24. EVALUATION Process • Screening by the Commission (two staff members) to assure the proposal meets all the requirements, it is not a technical or scientific evaluation (Institutional Screening Committee) • Once screened the project is evaluated by experts who undertake the Technical and financial evaluation of the proposal • The Fund establishes the ad-hoc evaluation team composed of two or three external experts knowledgeable in the project’s topics • The experts will preferably, but not necessarily, be foreign experts. Experts may come from the private or public sector • Projects evaluated by external experts are submitted to the Fund Approval Committee chaired by the Fund Administrator (This Fund Approval Committee could be the standing committee for funding defined in Act 23 of 2004) • The Committee approves the experts’ evaluation report and makes the final decision on funding the approved projects. Any decision made by the Fund Approval Committee is final.