Science and Technology and Development in Eastern Africa-From Rhetoric to Actions: Citizens’ Agency in the Implementation of STIs Policies

Abstract

There is now a consensus that Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) are central to development and policy is crucial for their successful implementation. Through STI, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 aspires to build well-educated citizens, enhance skills revolution and build Africa’s economies. However, most African countries are still struggling with the domestication of STI despite the overall improving progress and integration of STI policies in National Development Plans (NDPs). STI are yet to be effectively hinged on state institutions for public policy, raising concern over the efficacy of policy implementation and whether STI are appositely coupled with state politics. This chapter is a modest attempt to illuminate this crucial issue, specifically focusing on policy implementation deficits and how to find solutions by improving citizen agency repertoires, mainly citizen participation, policy entrepreneurship, lobbying and mobilisation. The chapters show how the state-and nation-building political conditions and policy structures pattern the realisation of STIs in development in Eastern Africa. We focus on the Rwandese, Ugandan, Kenyan and Tanzanian implementation experiences of STI.