Background

The Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation) is a pan African, non-profit and public charity organisation that supports, strengthens, and promotes science and innovation in Africa. The SFA Foundation is committed to improving the quality of lives of African people and to promoting the uptake of research in communities, industry, and the public sector.

The goal of SFA Foundation is to support stakeholders in addressing the continent’s most pressing developmental needs by generating knowledge that solves problems and informs decision-making. The SFA Foundation serves the African research ecosystem by funding excellent research and innovation ideas; enabling interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers; and building and reinforcing environments that are conducive for scientists to thrive and produce quality research that generates new, locally relevant knowledge. SFA Foundation operations are hosted within the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) as a programme in the Republic of Kenya.

About H3Africa

H3Africa is an initiative launched in 2012 by the African Society of Human Genetics (AfSHG), the National Institute of Health (NIH), and Wellcome. H3Africa aims to facilitate a contemporary research approach to the study of genomics and environmental determinants of common diseases with the goal of improving the health of African populations. This decision was driven by the recognition that the African continent has remained underrepresented in genomics and environmental research despite having the greatest genetic diversity and being disproportionately affected by major diseases and environmental exposures.

The vision of H3Africa is to create and support a pan-continental network of laboratories that are equipped to apply leading-edge research to the study of the complex interplay between environmental and genetic factors which determines disease susceptibility and drug responses in African populations. Data generated from this effort will inform strategies to address health inequity and ultimately lead to health benefits in Africa. To accomplish this, the H3Africa initiative aims to contribute to the development of the necessary expertise among African scientists, and to establish networks of African genomic/genetics investigators by:

1. Ensuring access to relevant genomic technologies for African scientists
2. Facilitating integration between genomic and clinical studies
3. Facilitating training at all levels, and particularly in training research leaders
4. Establishing necessary research infrastructure

SFA Foundation is closing the delivery of phase II of Wellcome’s funding of the H3Africa programme. Over the last five years (2018-2023), $11M has been invested in 4 collaborative H3Africa networks spanning over 22 African institutions. The projects are currently on No Cost Extension until December 2023.

The SFA Foundation’s theory of change for H3Africa addresses these four strategic areas:

1. Scientific quality: To support human genomics and genetics research that will generate important findings and discoveries relevant to human health through collaborations for genomic research in Africa. SFA Foundation promotes collaborations with well-resourced universities, research institutions, and think tanks to strengthen capacity.
2. Research training: To expand expertise and experience in genomics-based biomedical research and environmental epidemiology in Africa through research excellence, skills development and mentoring of the next generation of genomics researchers.
3. Scientific citizenship: Foster mentorship, leadership, and equitable scientific collaboration and engagement with public and policy stakeholders. SFA Foundation recognizes that for research to achieve real impact, it must be communicated to policymakers and the public. Communicating research findings to policymakers will ensure that the results inform policy. At the same time, cultivating a culture of community engagement is also vital to raise public awareness and interest in science, increase the uptake of new health policies and treatments, and strengthen relationships with local communities.
4. Research management and environment: To cultivate professional environments to manage and support scientific research. SFA Foundation recognises that developing and supporting research requires that researchers have access to infrastructure needed to support genomics-based and environmental, as well as skilled administrative support to compete globally. Creating supportive, sustainable environments is crucial to developing research capacity.

Scope of Work

Implementation of the H3Africa programme is expected to wind down in the third quarter (Q3) of 2023. The end-term evaluation will focus on the entire implementation period and will capture:

1. Lessons learned and best practices: understanding what has worked, and what has not worked as a guide for future planning;
2. Emerging themes: uncovering innovative ways of working deployed across the 4 projects;
3. Challenges faced, risk management & planning: understanding the new norms of working including but not limited to post-COVID-19 and measures taken to resolve or mitigate against these challenges;
4. Preliminary indications of potential impact: addressing the extent and scope, including contributing to capacity development and achieving sustainable development goals;
5. Sustainability of the projects: the influence ecosystem strengthening has had on the coherence, effectiveness and efficiency of the projects including but not limited to the expansion of the projects, financial independence of institutions, and the trickle-down effects.

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