Governments have a key role to play in creating an environment conducive to economic growth. We supported two projects in Rwanda and Uganda which, while targeting different arms of government, both aimed to strengthen policy-making and implementation.
Gatsby’s settlor David Sainsbury served in the UK Government as Minister of Science and Innovation from July 1998 until November 2006, and our programmes in governance built on his experience. During his time in government, Lord Sainsbury came to feel that outdated and inefficient processes and institutions were frustrating politicians’ attempts to deliver change and best serve the public. He founded the independent think-tank the Institute for Government to help bring about reform in the UK.
The challenges facing leaders in Africa are more severe and politicians’ inability to implement their vision for economic development leaves people locked in poverty. To help address this, Gatsby supported the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative (AGI) to strengthen the capacity at the heart of the Rwandan Government to make and implement policy. Gatsby also funded AGI to disseminate the lessons from the project, with the ultimate aim of spreading its impact beyond Rwanda.
In parliamentary democracies, parliament can play a key role in strengthening policy-making by scrutinising legislation proposed by government. To fulfil this function effectively, politicians and parliamentary staff must have access to reliable information to make informed decisions. This is particularly crucial in issues surrounding science and technology (S&T), which are increasingly important for African countries’ economic development.
Therefore, we funded the UK’s Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) to run a project improving the Ugandan Parliament’s access to and use of S&T information. Again our aim was to incubate a project trialling new approaches, allowing it to demonstrate the effectiveness of these approaches and encourage their adoption elsewhere, ensuring wider impact. Organisations who worked with POST in Uganda have since launched similar projects across Africa.
Projects
We supported the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative to help build the capacity and functioning of institutions at the centre of the Rwandan Government. The programme has also supported the Government in developing a broader capacity building strategy.
We have funded a project aimed at improving the quality of information on science and technology used within the Ugandan parliament in order to increase parliament’s ability to scrutinise government proposals, thus strengthening the policymaking process.