Data collection skills strengthened

The National Commission on Research, Science and Technology (NCRST), in partnership with NEPAD and the African Union Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (ASTII) Initiative, recently held a three-day Training of Trainers’ workshop in Windhoek. The main objective of this Training of Trainers Workshop was to impart skills among participants on conducting research, development and Innovation surveys. Through this workshop, participants gained expertise and confidence in the production of core Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Indicators, which will be important in the process leading to the publication of the national reports on STI statistics/indicators on a regular basis.

The participants came from both the commission and the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), as this forms part of the collaboration between the two institutions. This collaboration was formalized in August this year with the aim of facilitating the establishment of a national RSTI information management system, which will serve as a source and repository of information that is relevant to science, technology and innovation related matters.
The agreement is also meant to foster the application of the data to understand the state of the National Innovation System in order to support the development of evidence-based policy as well as constructive feedback to all stakeholders in research, science, technology and innovation. “This is the second time that NCRST and NEPAD – ASTII Programme has held a training workshop in Namibia. Following the success of the first National Training Workshop on the same subject, which was held here in August this year, we partnered once again with NEPAD. We are very thankful to the NEPAD Agency for always being a supportive partner, particularly the African Union Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (ASTII) Initiative Programme and for assisting member states in contributing toward improving the quality of STI policies at national, regional and continental level, as well as by strengthening Africa’s capacity to develop and use STI indicators”, said Dr Diina Shuuluka, GM: Research, Science, Technology and Innovation: Coordination and Support at the commission.
The commissions vision attempts to galvanize the various stakeholders and mechanisms/means that make up the funnel towards the creation of Research, Science, Technology and Innovation deliverables into a Research and Development commitment and spend that as a lead indicator will further socio-economic development in the context of a knowledge-based economy.