The document discusses the development of a connected regional cyberinfrastructure in SADC to support data sharing and open science. It outlines the SADC Cyberinfrastructure Framework, which aims to enhance collaboration, data sharing, and open science through coordinated infrastructure, policies, skills, and partnerships across SADC member states. The framework is intended to accelerate research and innovation and promote socioeconomic development through a cohesive strategy and roadmap for cyberinfrastructure in the region.

1. Developments in connected regional SADC
Cyberinfrastructure [to Support Data Sharing &
Open Science]
AOSP-RDA Workshop@14th AAU Conference
7th-8th June 2017,Accra, Ghana
Dr Tshiamo Motshegwa.
Department of Computer Science,
University of Botswana

2. About UB
• Largest established university in Botswana,
- Top 5 (Rankings exc. SA Universities)
• 7 Established Faculties & Schools
- Science, Engineering and Technology, Faculty of Health Sciences,
School of Medicine, Business, Humanities, Social Sciences.
• School of graduate Studies & Well resourced Library
- 5 Stories high, 460,000 Books, 123,000 Full Text Journals, 200
Workstations
• Office of Research & Development
- Small commercialization unit, Research management systems, Digital
Repository for university research
• 9 Research Centres & Institutes,
• A detailed University Research Strategy approved 2008,
• Strategic goals and vision for research intensive institution.

3. PART I
Reflections

6. Outline
• Patterns and trends in research collaborations
• knowledge networks and nations
• SADC Cyber-infrastructure Framework
Initiative
• CI as Technologies, skills, people and policies
• Could CI enhance Data Sharing, Open Science and
distort knowledge networks of nations
• Summary & Further Talking Points

7. Pattern & trends research collaborations

8. Why Collaborate
• Seeking Excellence – working with outstanding
peers, benefits of scale, sharing burden of research
of research, breaking down complex tasks
• Benefits of joint authorship – citations per article
vs number of collaborating countries
• Capacity Building through collaboration –
especially for developing countries
• Access to facilities
• Funding
• Equipment
• Networks
• Geopolitical potential of Scientific collaborations

9. Report Observations
• Science is increasingly global
• Addressing questions of global significance
• Supported by Governments, business and philanthropists
• Striking increased activity in particular countries
• China overtaking Japan and Europe by publication output
• Rapid developments in India, Brazil
• New emergent scientific nations – Middle East, South East Asia, North
Africa, Smaller European countries
• Traditional scientific superpowers still lead the field
• US , Western Europe and Japan invest heavily, gain substantial returns
• Strengthening of traditional centers & Emergence of
new players
• Points to a multipolar scientific world
• Distribution of scientific activity concentrated in widely dispersed
hubs

10. Who is collaborating with who
and why?? And intensification
over time – 1996-2008

13. Observations – Methodology based
around joint authorship
• US dominant Role striking
• Only 29% of research output of US is internationally
collaborative
• Yet international collaborations involving US account
for 17% of all internationally collaborative papers
• Other global and regional hubs stand out & Role of
traditional scientific nations clear & there is growth
elsewhere
• Other trends ? – Linguistic and historical ties
• France and collaborations Francophone countries

16. Further Observations
• Regional collaborations & Geographical proximity?
• Not solely
• Though strong examples of regional units around resource sharing
and expertise
• Addressing issues borne out of similar environmental conditions,
hardware, physical resources or same language
• Political support underpinnings and research strategies and
coordination of efforts? EU, AU, ASEAN
• Emerging regional ties & growing influence of some
countries
• Before 2000 SA one of many centers of collaborations between African
countries -Senegal,Cameroon,Nigeria, Uganda, Morocco
• By 2008,network growth, more papers, SA as a collaborative linchpin
• Egypt and Sudan emerged as bridges between North and Sub Saharan
Africa (Neither having been in the network prior) – increased Domestic
production, substantial intensification of investments

17. R & D Expenditure as % GDP[
Source World Bank]

18. R & D Expenditure as % GDP[
Source World Bank]

19. Part II
Policy

20. SADC Cyber-Infrastructure (CI)
Framework
[ SADC member states & Working Group
Approved 30th June 2016 at Joint Meeting of Ministers of Education&
Training And Science & Technology, ]

21. SADC 15 Members

22. • Promotion of sustainable and equitable socio-
economic growth
• Economic wellbeing
• Improved standards of living and quality of life
• Industriliazation (2014)
• Promotion of common political values
• Freedom and social justice
• Promotion , consolidation and maintenance of
democracy, peace and security
• Peace and security for people of Southern Africa
SADC Common Agenda - Integration

23. SADC Governance & Decision
Making
[Source: A.Morgan, SADC Secretariat -1st East African Science, Technology & Innovation Regional Stakeholder
Meeting 23 August 2016 Kigali, Rwanda]

24. Policy Framework Landscape
• SADC Treaty 1992
• Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP
2005-2020) - Strategic directions wrt to programmes & activities
• Protocols e.g. SADC Protocol on STI 2008
• Strategies
- Strategic Plan on STI 2015-2020
- SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap 2015-2063
• Frameworks
- e.g. SADC Cyber-Infrastructure Framework
- SADC STI Climate Change Framework & Implementation Plan
• Programmes e.g SADC IKS Policy Platform, SADC Research Innovation
Management Capacity
• Drive towards SADC Vision 2050
• AU Vision 2063

25. The RISDP Priorities for 2015-2020
[Source: A.Morgan, SADC Secretariat -1st East African Science, Technology & Innovation Regional Stakeholder
Meeting 23 August 2016 Kigali, Rwanda]

27. Part III Infrastructure
SADC Cyberinfrastructure
Framework

28. But what is a Cyber-infrastructure?
A proposed working definition
• A key driver for knowledge based economy, comprising of
• Computation Resources - ranging from HPC to other computing
capabilities
• Research & Education Networks – Specialized broadband infrastructure
networks and service providers for education, research and innovation
• Data – Tools and facilities to enable efficient data driven discoveries,
technologies and innovations
• Policies – To enable optimal establishment and utilization of cyber-
infrastructure; generation, analysis, transport as well as stewardship of
information
• There are mature CI ecosystems out there
• EU Digital Single Market strategy powered by
cyberinfrastructures
• UK Data Forum robust National data structure for socio-
economic research

29. [Source: Colin Wright SADC/ET-ST1/1/2016/11 Document]
Elements of a well developed Cyber-
Infrastructure Ecosystems

30. Strategic Goals and Objective of
The Framework
• Will seed and form a basis for CI Strategic Plan to
• Promote high level quality education, research and innovation
• Accelerate Technology transfer, commercialization and
industrialization in SADC
• Promote shared CI Commons ( infrastructure and capabilities)
• Ultimate Goals are that it will
• Add value to Scientific Programmes
• Foster partnerships and collaborations
• Develop regional CI networks through interconnecting HPC
centers, Scientists and Research on regional priority challenges
• Proposes and implementation plan and governance
structure for CI strategic plan

31. Strategic Goals and Objective of
The Cyber-infrastructure (CI)
• The vision is that of an
• Education, research and innovation environment;
• That provides for Human Capital Development;
• And shared access to unique or distributed facilities
• To impact socio economic development in the SADC region;
• And promote knowledge based economy
• Strategic goals are to
• Promote high quality education, research and innovation
• Build CI capacity
• Promote CI Commons ( An environment to share education,
research and innovation resources),
• Accelerate Technology transfer, commercialization and
industrialization in SADC

32. From SADC HPC Framework
• 2009 Blue Gene For Africa Initiative at SA CHPC to build
high end computing capacity in the continent
• SADC HPC Forum Partnership- SADC member countries,
partners and advisors HPC technical meetings since 2011
• South Africa DST presented Draft Framework to guide
rollout of SADC HPC initiative to Forum in 2013
• Resolutions, focus areas, roadmap timeframes agreed
• Focus Areas, task teams, White Papers/Strategies
• Infrastructure – Tanzania, SA & Angola
• Research & Development – SA, Botswana, Lesotho, Zambia & Angola
• Human Capital Development – Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia
• Policy – SA
• Institutional Arrangements and Governance – SA,Tanzania, Secretariat
• Strategic Partnerships

33. IBM Blue Gene

34. SADC Forum Meetings
SADC 2013 HPC Forum delegates – Capetown
n
SADC 2014 HPC Forum delegates
– Skukuza, Kruger National Park
SADC 2015 HPC Forum delegates
– CSIR, Pretoria

35. Towards A SADC CI Framework
• Shift of focus to holistic CI framework in recognition of
• Need for holistic approach to computation and data intensive research
and applications
• Rapid escalation in the importance of data
• Collaborative Research and Data Sharing
• Growing dependence on Broadband Connectivity and
• Developments in regional integrated cyber-infrastructure
• Need for an integrated SADC Cyber-infrastructure Framework
• SADC Declaration on ICT indicates regional aspirations for
development of National ICT infrastructure
• Proposed CI Framework basis of coherent Strategy
,action plan, roadmap for holistic CI for SADC to
• Impact socio-economic development and industrialization
• Enhance education(developing technologies, but in use too)
• Support collaborative research, development and innovation

36. Alignment with SADC and African
Policy Instruments
• Proposed CI Framework is consistent with existing SADC
Policy Frameworks
• AU Agenda 2063 – The Africa we want
• STISA 2024 – Science Technology Innovation Strategy for Africa, 2024
• SADC Treaty
• SADC Protocol in Science, Technology & Innovation
• RISDP Revised 2015 – Revised Indicative Strategic Development Plan
• SADC Strategic Plan on STI (2015-2020)
• RIDMP- Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan -Digital SADC
2027
• SADC Industrialization Strategy (2015 -2063)
• The Cyberinfrastructure falls within the Research,
Innovation and industry development pillar of the Digital
SADC 2027 which is the ICT Chapter of RIDMP

37. Policy Alignment
SADC CI Framework
SADC Strategic Plan on STI 2015 - 2020
Protocol on STI
Revised Regional Indicative Strategic
Development Plan, RISDP
Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap
Regional infrastructure Development
Master Plan, RIMDP

38. Impact of CI
• Bedrock of Digital age, Digital transformation, knowledge
economy and Digital economies by virtue of impact on
• e-Education/Leaning, E-Health, e-Gov,e-Agriculture
• Regional Integration
• Collaboration using CI
• Using CI for sectorial collaboration, e.g. energy, education, health
• Impact on industrialization , e.g. industry 4.0
• Technology Transfer, commercialization as a consequence of research
and education advances
• Spectrum of other consequences
• Citizen Science
• Digital and Nationally shared information repositories vs libraries
• Disciplines previously untouched by eScience/eResearch
• Social media effect in social science, applications e.g. disaster
recovery

39. Situational Analysis- NRENs
• UbuntuNet Alliance as the internationally recognized
Regional Research and Education Network for Southern
and East Africa
• Regional RENS (RRENs) support NRENs in establishing
infrastructure and service capabilities
• Ubuntu Alliance current SADC countries include DRC,
Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa,
Tanzania and Zambia
• Two mature NRENS in SADC – South Africa (Combined
capabilities of SANReN + TENET) & Zambian ZAMREN
• Several fledgling NRENs evolving, e.g. Mozambique
MoREnet & Tanzania’s TENET
• UbuntuNET and mature RENs support nascent RENS

40. On Continental, Regional and
National Connectivity
CC BY 2.0,https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10134918

41. Situational Analysis- Data
• Developments in SADC member States with regard to
data, e.g.. e-government projects, data centers,
open data and open government initiatives
• South Africa’s DIRISA as a component of its NICIS
• The Open Data Platform for Africa
• from African Development Bank (AfDB) to boost access to quality data
necessary for managing & monitoring development results including
SDGs and African Action Plan 2063
• The Africa Data Concensus – Strategy for
implementing data revolution in Africa
• Create new statistical landscape, open up field of data production and
dissemination to state and non state actors
• Adopted in 2015 at HLC on Data Revolution
• Action plan will be guided by UNECA,AUC, AfDB, UNDP etc. in

43. Situational Analysis- HPC
• 2011 SADC Survey on HPC landscape in member
• Needs analysis in terms of industries and availability and
access to research communities
• Highlighted sectors of Engineering, education, energy;
Socio economic issues as climate change, health,
knowledge sharing, mining, indigenous medicine
• Region had strategic partnerships with international
HPC institutions to facilitate acquisition and
deployment of HPC equipment for initial systems
• Texas Advanced Computing center (TACC), Cambridge
HPCS,International Center For Theoretical Physics (ICTP)
and STEM TREK
• Summary of responses from member state at various
stages of development

44. Part IV
Toward Strategy and an
Implementation plan for
Cyberinfrastructure Framework

45. Cyberinfrastructure Focus Areas
• Focus Areas to be unpacked to develop CI Strategy
• Policy/Strategy Dev , institutionalization, implementation support
•E.g. SADC to develop Model Policy to be institutionalized by member states to create
conducive environment for promotion of CI
• Education, Research & Development and Innovation
•Support existing and new Centers of Excellence and provide tools
•CI Support for research by promoting collaborations and supporting flagship projects
• Human Capital Development
•Create a pool of CI experts
•Train beneficiaries to fully exploit services, by incorporating mainstream elements of
CI in Higher Education Curriculum and promoting e-Readiness for beneficiaries
• Infrastructure Development
•Infrastructure Sustainability (lifecycle management), establishment of RENs,
• Establish trusted data repositories that are regionally interferederated
•Internationally benchmarked policies and standards for data stewardship
•Open access, sharing and interoperability
• Resource Mobilization, Communication, Awareness & Advocacy; and
Strategic Partnerships

46. Implementation Mechanism
• Key Stakeholders in implementation of CI Framework are
• SADC Ministerial Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation
and Education and Training;
• SADC Ministerial Committee on ICT;
• Committee of Senior Officials;
• SADC Secretariat through the STI Unit and ICT Unit;
• Regional Cyber-Infrastructure Steering Committee;
• SADC ICT Thematic Group;
• Ad hoc International Advisory Experts Group;
• Experts Working Group on Infrastructure Development;
• Experts Working Group on Human Capital Development (HCD);
• Experts Working Group on Research, Development and Innovation;
• Experts Working Group on Research Data;
• Regional Centres of Excellence; and
• National Spokes/Hubs

47. Institutional Framework for SADC CI

48. Part V
Infrastructure Developments
and Human Capital
Development for CI

49. CHPC – Ranger workshop for Botswana &
Tanzania

52. University of Botswana TACC Ranger
Donation

53. SADC-TACC Workshop @ SC’15
[image source: Stem-Trek
19 Southern African scholars attend workshop at TACC – Source Stem-Trek

54. Upcoming US/Pan-African Workshop: HPC
On Common Ground @ SC16
[images source: Stem Trek]

55. Science [images source: CODATA]

58. • Research collaborations can be enhanced by substantial
and intensification investments to create multiple foci
in a multipolar scientific world
• Political support underpinnings and research strategies
and coordination are also important in enhancing
collaborations
• Regional collaborations are typically around resource
sharing and expertise
• Development of robust CI can also greatly enhance
research collaborations
• SADC is working towards a shared regional CI through a
proposed Framework
• Such a Framework could be extendible to the continent
Summary

59. • Data is an integral part of CI
• CI promotes data sharing through defined policies that
enable optimal establishment and utilization of cyber-
infrastructure; generation, analysis, transport as well
as stewardship of information
• As part of infrastructure development element of CIs,
trusted data repositories that are regionally
interferederated can be established, together with
Internationally benchmarked policies and standards for
data stewardship
• Open access, sharing and interoperability are also key
considerations
Summary

60. • Infrastructure developments to enable secure,
trustworthy data sharing
• Proposed research paradigm shift and a focus on
replicable needs-based research for Africa and Data
Sharing
• On data sharing & attribution and Intellectual property
issues
• Training needs for researchers for Open Science & Open
Data
• National and regional enabling Policies & strategies
Additional Talking points