Lack of funding hampering research

Research experts have decried the lack of funding for research from governments and the private sector.Addressing a validation workshop on Rwanda Innovation Endowment Fund (RIEF) in Kigali recently, the Director General for Science, Technology and Research in the Ministry of Education, Dr Marie Christine Gasingirwa, called for more investment in research. RIEF is a project that is meant to promote research based on the country’s priorities.The establishment of the RIEF was one of the recommendations during a national workshop which took place in January 2010 convened by the government and supported by UNESCO and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).“RIEF is designed to stimulate research commercialization in public-private partnership by tapping the growing pool of hardworking and successful entrepreneurs who understand and are willing to promote innovation” She said the fund will help the country to shift from being an agricultural to a knowledge-based economy.Gasingirwa told The New Times that there is currently no specific budget from the central government for carrying out research, adding that there were many technologies scattered all over but lacked enough funds to finance them.She said that the government recently put in place a law that governs research in an effective and efficient manner.Joel Ogundayo, an international consultant in scientific research who attended the workshop, said: “Innovation is a key driver of the economic growth in the modern world”.RIEF will be based on the African Innovation framework which is commissioned by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).It will provide funding for scientific applied research projects and feasibility studies which will be implemented by education and research institutions and commercial institutions in the country.

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Lack of funding hampering research