Politics, policy, polity and partnerships are the four pillars of our strategy to advance open science in Africa.

We are facilitating high level Global North-South-South strategic stakeholder engagement on Open Science Policy Dialogue at government and institutional levels with the goal of adopting best practices on Open Science.

The vision of the Open Science Dialogue is to have mandates at regional, national and institutional level.

Ongoing projects:

Regional Policy

East Africa

We are working with the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO) in promoting the adoption of Open Science principles and practices in East Africa. In the pipeline is Southern and Western Africa.

Institutional Policy

We are working with the Association of African Universities (AAU) in creating awareness on Open Science among Higher Education Institution leaders, with the objective of increasing university Open Science mandates in Africa.

How Resource Mobilization Theory Influences TCC Africa Open Science Partnerships

Resource Mobilization theory focuses on the assets and capacities of aggrieved groups to explain the rise, development and outcome of social movements, in this case, the movement will be creating the awareness and adoption of Open Science.

The aggrieved group in this case is African Global South Higher Education partners. The social movement is the adoption of Open Science, which, is a form of social justice where it strives to provide equitable access to research, which, was otherwise inaccessible.

The themes in resource mobilization theory are based on resources being a source of power, with resources obtained from a resource provider via various mechanisms to achieve an organization’s predetermined goals. Legally independent organizations rely on one another for growth.

The importance of resources in the development and success of social movements is another theme in resource mobilization theory. Resources include information, finance, media, labor, collaboration, legitimacy, and support from a power elite.

Regarding the two themes, TCC Africa actively works with partners from the power elite-Global North, including open access academic publishers and research data analytical providers. These partners provide the latest trends and information in Open Science, which TCC Africa then partners with influential higher education stakeholders in Sub Sahara Africa, who reach out to the respective national academic communities in their countries to facilitate Open Science Dialogue.