Who We Are

Africa in Science (AiS) is an online platform and Think Tank that tracks, analyses, visualises and evaluates the scientific research output of academic and research institutes in Africa. The aim is to uncover and bring to the fore under-researched and neglected topics in Africa, and to better understand how societal, economic and education sectors impact the scientific output and merit of research in Africa. Thus, generating an outlet that will ultimately stimulate the efficient allocation of resources and funding of science in Africa.

• AiS Online: Our Africa-centric datahub and database serve as an open access knowledge hub that informs the world about science in Africa.
• AiS ThinkTank: Our reports and reviews aim to understand and rationalise the impact of education, human development and socio-economic status on research in Africa.
• AiS Community: AiS lectures and bitesize videos feature under-researched and neglected topics in Africa and promote knowledge and collaboration between scientists in Africa and its diaspora around the globe.

OUR VISION

We, at AiS, envisage research into issues that originate from and/or affect local populations should be led and conducted by regional academic and research institutes. In recent years, the number of scholarly articles published by African scientists has risen dramatically. However, the impact of education, economic and societal sectors on research output by Africa-based institutes has received little attention from a scientometric perspective. Our vision is to create a data-driven, evidence-based mechanism that tracks and evaluates the quality of the scientific output of Africa-based institutes, whilst taking into account the impact of education and socio-economic status and making the data accessible to researchers, organisations, governments, philanthropists, pharmaceutical companies, private investors and members of the public.
Such data has the potential to assist governments in transforming their countries, organisations to more efficiently direct their resources and members of the public to be better informed.

OUR MISSION

AiS exists to highlight the fast-growing yet seemingly overlooked scientific research output of Africa-based universities and institutes, using a plethora of country-specific indices.

Our goal is to :

• Track the growth of African research through peer-reviewed scholarly articles authored by Africa-based researchers.
• Raise local and global awareness of the rich scientific diversity across the continent.
• Inform governments, non-profit funding bodies and members of the general public in Africa and around the globe about under-researched and neglected topics in Africa.
• Assist governments, private and public organisations and/or philanthropists with efficient allocation of funding, subsidies and investment in science in Africa.

AiS engages with local communities in Africa to contribute to the continued growth of science in Africa by mentoring and providing apprenticeships to early-career professionals in the fields of scientometrics, bibliometrics, publishing, software development and cloud engineering.

Our Work

AiS: The Africa-centric Datahub, Database and Cloud-Based Software

The website www.africainscience.org is a cloud-based, free-to-access platform that draws on the content of our Africa-centric database to:

1. Track the publication of peer-reviewed scientific articles by institutes in Africa.
2. Relate article information to educational and socio-economic indices including Gross Domestic products (GDP), population, literacy, gender parity, corruption and Human Development index.
3. Crystallise these into succinct graphics in a user friendly format. The platform aspires to serve as a knowledge hub that supports and informs stakeholders in African science.

AiS: The Think Tank

AiS ThinkTank utilizes our Africa-centric database and online hub to conduct data-driven, evidence-based research that aims to:

1. Understand better the link between research output and economic and societal impact.
2. Uncover the numbers behind scientific research progress in Africa.
3. Publish independent, multi-disciplinary scientific research reports, annual reviews and educational video lectures.
4. Share scientometric analysis that includes AiS's unique Africa-centric metrics with our community in and outside Africa.
5. Increase the visibility of scientific research of Africa-based universities and institutes.
6. improve strategies for the support of scientific research in Africa by local and international governments, not-for-profit organisations, pharmaceutical companies and private investors.
7. Aid efficient allocation of funding, subsidies and investment in science in Africa.