Coalition for African Research and Innovation (CARI)

Research and innovation at the forefront of Africa’s drive to achieve the SDGs through resource mobilisation, strategic advocacy and partnership development

The Coalition of African Research and Innovation (CARI) is a sustainability platform set up by the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) in partnership with African and global partners. CARI is an initiative to build a highly coordinated, well-funded and African-led platform to improve systematic collaborations and scale up resources for African Science Technology & Innovation (STI) to achieve outcomes that would help more Africans lead better lives sooner.

The CARI Strategic Framework

Vision: A well-funded, strongly supported and highly coordinated, African science, technology and innovation community, led by Africans to assist Africans to lead better lives sooner.

Mission: Leverage resource mobilisation for investment, undertake strategic advocacy to harness leadership and foster systematic collaboration to coordinate STI in Africa.

CARI has been conceived as an ambitious platform that will support major Science Technology & Innovation (STI) initiatives in Africa by unlocking a quantum leap in funding. At the AAS, the CARI platform is positioned to address the expansion and sustainability of the large portfolio of current and future programmes being implemented by the AAS agenda setting, funding and programme implementation platform, the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA). The strategy direction requires that while CARI partners will advocate, design and fund initiatives, the implementation of those CARI-inspired programmes to be based at the AAS will be done through the AESA platform which over the last four years, with support from African and global partners, has been created and strengthened to become the premier grant making and programmes implementation platform in Africa. However, CARI also presents an opportunity to engage and work with a wider range of partners, including African governments, global funders, industry leaders, civil society, philanthropy and private sector, that address priority research areas to deliver the promise of STI in Africa.

The approach to building the CARI ‘Coalition’ is centred on ensuring inclusive participation of all stakeholders, to create a highly coordinated, well-funded, innovative African STI community. It starts by bringing these stakeholders together, to engage in a single, ongoing conversation that yields commitments to work together in new ways to meet short-term development outcomes while building long-term capacity.

Themes	Outcomes	Impact
Resource Mobilisation	Increased investment of resources for African Science Technology and Innovation (STI) programmes.	A well-funded, strongly supported and highly coordinated, African science, technology and innovation community, led by Africans to assist Africans to lead better lives sooner.
Strategic Advocacy	Government support through regulatory changes and fiscal incentives that drive investment into transformative STI programmes on the continent established.
Systematic Collaboration	Improved coordination, cooperation and participation of STI initiatives amongst actors that fund, conduct and engage in Africa.

Meet the Team

Isayvani Naicker Director of Strategy and Partnerships

The CARI Strategic Framework

Vision

A well-funded, strongly supported and highly coordinated, African science, technology and innovation community, led by Africans to assist Africans to lead better lives sooner.

Mission

Leverage resource mobilisation for investment, undertake strategic advocacy to harness leadership and foster systematic collaboration to coordinate STI in Africa.

Resource Mobilization

Where the AAS is working closely with stakeholders to drive increased investment of resources for African STI programmes.

Strategic Advocacy

Where the AAS provides a platform to support and establish the Government regulatory changes and fiscal incentives that drive investment into transformative STI programmes on the continent.

Systematic Collaboration

Which focuses on improving coordination, cooperation and active participation in STI initiatives amongst actors that fund, conduct and engage in Africa.