Background

Over the past years, Africa has received increased interest and experienced various activities in the digital and innovation scene, reflecting a growing recognition of its immense potential for socio-economic transformation. This has led to many funded initiatives and projects aimed at gathering knowledge, developing digital tools, products, and services, and facilitating partnerships between Europe and Africa.

Against this backdrop of collaboration and innovation, the Strengthening the Europe-Africa Digital Ecosystem Through Increased Research & Innovation Cooperation (SEADE) Project was established as a beacon of concerted efforts to deepen and broaden digital cooperation between Europe and Africa.

To drive meaningful digital cooperation across borders, through leveraging knowledge reservoirs, and harnessing the insights and methodologies honed from past projects and initiatives, the SEADE Project is excited to announce a call for submissions of success stories related to past innovation projects. Through joint efforts while integrating the best practices and lessons learned from past experiences, this call for success stories aims to chart a path toward sustainable and inclusive digital progress. This involves addressing the digital gaps, improving digital proficiency, and fostering sustainable development across both the European Union and Africa.

Objectives

The goal of this call for submission is to showcase and celebrate the successful outcomes and impactful stories from funded research & innovation (R&I) projects and initiatives with a focus on digital tools, technologies, approaches, and transformations, among other areas. By highlighting these success stories, we aim to:

1. Inspire collaboration: Demonstrate the potential for successful cooperation between Europe and Africa in the field of research and innovation.
2. Share best practices: Disseminate valuable insights and lessons learned to facilitate knowledge exchange and replication of successful models.
3. Recognize achievements: Acknowledge the contributions and dedication towards advancing the goals of fostering digital transformation.
4. Learn from failures: Identify pitfalls and failings of initiatives and projects to understand what works and doesn’t work in R&I efforts.

Themes

Submissions are invited across various thematic areas including but not limited to:

1. Digital Inclusion: Success stories demonstrating efforts to bridge the digital gap and promote inclusive access to digital technologies and resources.
2. R&I Collaboration: Examples of successful partnerships and initiatives between European and African institutions, leading to impactful R&I outcomes.
3. Capacity Building: Stories showcasing capacity-building activities, training programs, and initiatives aimed at enhancing digital skills and competencies.
4. Entrepreneurship and Startups: Case studies highlighting successful digital entrepreneurship ventures and startups resulting from cross-continent collaborations.
5. Policy Impact: Demonstrations of policy advocacy efforts and interventions that have influenced digital policy frameworks and fostered an enabling environment for innovation.
6. Market Success: R&I initiatives that have effectively bridged the gap between research endeavors and market success. This includes facilitating the transfer of knowledge, supporting the development of economic growth through innovative products or services, creating opportunities within the employment market, etc.

Submission Guidelines

Interested applicants are encouraged to submit success stories adhering to the following guidelines:

• Each submission should include a narrative outlining the project/initiative background, objectives, methodologies, achievements, challenges faced, and lessons learned. Visual aids such as photos, videos, and infographics are welcome to supplement the narrative.
• Submissions should be concise yet comprehensive.
• Entries must be submitted in digital format and may include supplementary multimedia materials.
• Submissions are accepted in English, with translations provided for non-English entries if necessary.

Submission Process

Interested applicants are to make their submissions via the link https://www.research.net/r/RnISS24 by 28^th June 2024.

Successful stories will be showcased through various channels including SEADE publications, digital platforms, and events organized by the project consortium, enhancing recognition and networking opportunities within the research and innovation community; furthermore, they will be recognized with an award as part of the project’s first event, with all selected submissions having the opportunity for widespread visibility and dissemination.

We eagerly anticipate receiving your inspiring success stories.

For inquiries or further information, please contact:

Mr. Agyemang Okyere Darko
Assistant Project Officer- SEADE
aodarko@aau.org

Cc: Miss Isabella Tetteh Ahinakwa
Assistant Project Officer, Dissemination- SEADE
itahinakwa@aau.org

Cc: Mr. Albert Edem Hottor
Assistant Project Officer, Outreach- SEADE
aehottor@aau.org