Science Diplomacy as a Catalyst for Regional Cooperation in Africa – A Case of DSTI and the NRF

This article examines science diplomacy as practiced by South Africa's DSTI and the NRF, demonstrating a shift from symbolic political gestures to structured, co-funded partnerships in regional collaboration across Africa. It highlights considerable advances in human capital development, knowledge generation, and infrastructure sharing throughout the continent, based on data from cooperative funding efforts. Furthermore, the article proposes a novel methodology for evaluating bilateral partnerships, emphasising science diplomacy as a vital tool for converting Africa to a knowledge-based economy. The analytical approach consists of historical policy analysis, a programme-level evaluation of DSTI-NRF projects, and a case study of the South Africa-Tanzania Joint Research Programme. It examines the evolution of South Africa's science diplomacy since 1994, including scholarship initiatives, inter-agency agreements, and governance institutions such as Joint Committees. The methodology converts these findings into criteria for analysing variables such as strategic alignment, institutional preparation, and collaboration intensity, providing assistance for the design and administration of bilateral science diplomacy initiatives. Finally, the article shifts science diplomacy from a mostly state-centred and aid-driven approach to a collaborative model of regional governance and knowledge generation. It defines scientific diplomacy as a meso-level governance mechanism that promotes reciprocal partnerships and establishes a reproducible evaluation approach to deepen scholarship on globalisation and the political economy of knowledge in the Global South.