29 Jul 2026

The Minister of Communications and Innovation Mr David Tshere has presented before Parliament the National Research and Innovation Council (NRIC) Bill of 2026, which aims to create the National Research and Innovation Council.

Mr Tshere told Parliament on Tuesday that the council would be tasked with overseeing the national policy on research, development and innovation and address funding challenges by implementing a governance model tailored to Botswana’s needs as well as collaborate with key stakeholders in the National System of Innovation (NSI).

He also said the Bill would enhance coordination to avoid redundancies, as well as promote and fund research initiatives while facilitating the translation of local knowledge into innovations for sustainable development.

Establishing the council as the central coordinating entity for Botswana’s NSI, Mr Tshere said it would enhance the value chain from research to product/service, increase funding for research, science, technology and innovation (RSTI) through local partnerships and ensure a well-coordinated RSTI landscape.

He said the council would promote collaboration between academia and industry, strengthen linkages with both local and international institutions and reduce redundancies in research.

Mr Tshere therefore said Botswana’s research and innovation would gain international recognition, leading to the establishment of more enterprises, higher international ratings and improved community participation in RSTI activities.

He further said sustainability of the council would involve implementing a blended revolving financing model to mobilise resources from the private sector, financial institutions and donors.

The minister said the council would initially be funded by budgets from Departments of Research and Knowledge Business, Innovation and Technology as well as the Botswana Innovation Fund Secretariat.

Additionally, he said key revenue streams would include government appropriations for foundational research, local and international partnerships as well as payments for coordination services such as accreditation.

Currently, Mr Tshere said Botswana’s NSI involved regulators, policymakers and knowledge generators, including public and private education and research organisations.

He said key players such as BITRI, NARDI, BVI, BGI and partnerships with institutions like Harvard and Baylor conducted applied research and technological development to foster innovation and inform decision-making across various sectors, particularly in STI activities.Mr Tshere also said educational institutions such as UB, BOU, BIUST, BUAN, BAC, Botho University, Limkokwing University and Ba Isago University also provided higher education essential for developing national research and innovation capacity, though currently on a smaller scale.

Additionally, Mr Tshere said NGOs and commercial entities engaged in research to foster innovation that aligned with their business strategies and promoted competitiveness and market growth. He said despite the developments that were taking place, the national landscape such as establishment of institutions and development of policies, Botswana NSI was underperforming, ranking 87th out of 139 in the Global Innovation Index of 2025, with a research and development intensity below 0.5 per cent of GDP, far from the targets of one per cent set by the African Union and two per cent nationally.

 This, he said was as a result of weak national coordination, poor stakeholder collaboration, institutional changes leading to fragmentation, an unsustainable financial model reliant on public funding, lack of laboratory accreditation and insufficient skills and infrastructure in universities.

Therefore, he said building and maintaining credibility for Botswana’s research and innovation oversight body was essential for transparency and fairness among stakeholders.

The minister said foreign partners preferred a formal, autonomous council for partnerships, necessitating an independent oversight body with clarified roles and responsibilities to enhance national research and innovation competitiveness globally. ENDS