Strengthening Regional Teamwork Webinar Report (ASBS 2025)

NASAC organized its second 2025 Academy Synergy Building Sessions (ASBS 2025) webinar on 5^th June 2025 titled “Strengthening Regional Teamwork”. The webinar was attended by approximately 20 participants from African Science Academy secretariats.

The opening remarks by the NASAC Executive Director, Dr. Jackie Kado, emphasized the importance of collaborative work within institutions and across the continent, especially considering the recent endorsement of African regional hubs by the NASAC General Assembly. She highlighted that ASBS aimed to foster connections, share knowledge, and build trust among secretariat officials beyond formal meetings and strategic plans. She expressed hope that this meetings discussion will inspire more intentional regional collaboration in implementing NASAC programs across Africa.

She introduced the session speaker, Prof. Ishmael Masesane, the President of the Botswana Academy of Science (BAS) who shared BAS’s experiences of successful collaborations in the Southern African region. His presentation highlighted the collaboration of six academies in Southern Africa SADC region through webinars, meetings and other engagements, who together have promoted gender diversity, equity, and inclusion in science, technology, and innovation. These academies are the Botswana Academy of Science (BAS), Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), Zimbabwe Academy of Sciences (ZAS), Kingdom of Eswatini Academy of Sciences (KEAS), Lesotho Academy of Science and Technology (LAST) and the Academy of Science in Malawi. He noted the challenges of regional cooperation and the importance of including women to build a critical mass of scientists in countries with small populations. Prof. Masesane attributed the ease of collaboration to historical ties between Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini, which shared a university system in the past, and South Africa’s role as a regional hub.

His presentation highlighted the importance of continued collaboration and regional teamwork among science academies in Africa through joint activities among academies in respective economic zones, despite existing networking challenges. He suggests that economic zones can be leveraged for scientific collaboration, potentially involving their science desks and that academies at different developmental stages can learn from each other through these interactions, such as how to become established by an Act of Parliament. He also pointed out that collaborative activities inform policy development in areas like indigenous knowledge systems and mental health, across participating countries.

To allow participants to actively participate in the webinar, they were assigned into three breakout groups with distinct sub-topics related to the main topic. The three groups discussed the following:

Group 1: How can regional networks of academies streamline communication and coordination between member academies to enhance teamwork?

Group 2: What activities and initiatives should regional networks of academies undertake?

Group 3: What funding strategies must be adopted by regional networks of academies?

Some of the insights presented by the groups following their discussions were:

• Pooling of resources (including self-funding), networking for joint proposals and applying for larger funds as a group.
• Exploring funding strategies by liaising closely with national governments and aligning projects with government objectives to secure funding.
• Utilization and leveraging of existing regional economic hubs to widen funding opportunities and mitigate existing difficulties in accessing national research funds.
• Development of a science and technology interface focused on African topics, regions, and individual academies.
• A recommendation to take advantage of umbrella bodies like NASAC to strategize on funding avenues.

Professor Masesane suggested that academies should focus on research at the interface of science and community, as governments are more likely to fund projects that benefit people directly. He advised members to build relationships with key national ministries to identify available funding opportunities.

In conclusion, the ASBS Q2 webinar successfully highlighted the importance of regional collaboration among African science academies, highlighting practical examples and strategies for strengthening teamwork. Discussions emphasized the need for strategic communication, joint activities, and innovative funding approaches aligned with national priorities. Moving forward, the momentum generated should be harnessed to strengthen regional cooperation and position science academies as vital partners in Africa’s development.

The next meeting is scheduled to take place on 7 August 2025 under the topic Leading Organizational Change.