Academic literature on the topic 'Building – Botswana'

159 Background: With cancer accounting for 1 in every 7 deaths worldwide and 60-70% of cancer deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries, any advancement in cancer care should include understanding to alleviate structural inequalities that produce these global oncological disparities. Rutgers-Cancer Institute of New Jersey (R-CINJ) Oncology Fellowship program, through partnerships with Rutgers Global Health and University of Botswana (UB), established a global oncology program in 2018 to provide young oncologists in training with this educational opportunity. Aims included understanding challenges faced by cancer patients in Botswana, evaluating opportunities to improve oncology care at Princess Marina Hospital (PMH), scholarly collaborations, and exchange knowledge. Methods: In partnership with PMH, UB, and Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW), R-CINJ created a global oncology program consisting of a 1 month rotation at PMH in Gaborone, Botswana, as well as longitudinal research/quality improvement (QI) projects. Two 3rd year oncology fellows rotated with house officers and oncologist at PMH. Weekly video conferences facilitated communication during the elective. Projects continued throughout 3rd year of fellowship, in conjunction with programmatic meetings. Results: Fellows gained exposure to cancer care using limited resources. In working with PMH staff, mentorship was provided, QI ideas were shared, and organizational changes were implemented. Scholarly activity was undertaken to examine trends in chemotherapy utilization at PMH over a 12-month period to assess patterns of malignancy and issues with stock outs. Relationship between pathology at PMH, UB, and Rutgers-CINJ and Rutgers Biomedical Engineering was established to expand digital pathology services in Botswana. Conclusions: Our global oncology program is a successful start to an ongoing partnership to help improve cancer care in Botswana. Future directions include development of cancer protocols in Botswana, helping limit medication shortages, and establishing telemedicine based collaboration to assist with diagnosis and improve pathology turnaround time.

e18161 Background: With cancer accounting for 1 in every 7 deaths worldwide and 60-70% of cancer deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries, any advancement in cancer care should include understanding to alleviate structural inequalities that produce these global oncologic disparities. Rutgers-Cancer Institute of New Jersey (R-CINJ) Oncology Fellowship program, through partnerships with Rutgers Global Health and University of Botswana (UB), established a global oncology program in 2018 to provide young oncologists in training with this educational opportunity. Aims included understanding challenges faced by cancer patients in Botswana, evaluating opportunities to improve oncology care at Princess Marina Hospital (PMH), scholarly collaborations, and exchange knowledge. Methods: In partnership with PMH, UB, and Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW), R-CINJ created a global oncology program consisting of a 1 month rotation at PMH in Gaborone, Botswana, as well as longitudinal research/quality improvement (QI) projects. Two 3rd year oncology fellows rotated with house officers and oncologist at PMH. Weekly video conferences facilitated communication during the elective. Projects continued throughout 3rd year of fellowship, in conjunction with programmatic meetings. Results: Fellows gained exposure to cancer care using limited resources. In working with PMH staff, mentorship was provided, QI ideas were shared, and organizational changes were implemented. Scholarly activity was undertaken to examine trends in chemotherapy utilization at PMH over a 12-month period to assess patterns of malignancy and issues with stock outs. Relationship between pathology at PMH, UB, R-CINJ, and Rutgers Biomedical Engineering was established to expand digital pathology services in Botswana. Conclusions: Our global oncology program is a successful start to an ongoing partnership to help improve cancer care in Botswana. Future directions include development of cancer guidelines and protocols in Botswana, helping limit medication shortages, and establishing telemedicine based collaboration to assist with diagnosis and improve pathology turnaround time.

The study of public signage is termed linguistic landscape (LL). Landry & Bourhis (1997) define the notion as “the language of public road signs, advertising billboards, street names, place names, commercial shop signs, and public signs on government buildings combines to form the linguistic landscape of a given territory, region, or urban agglomeration” (p.25). The present study intends to contribute to this development in Gaborone the capital city of Botswana. The aim of this study is to show that LL can provide valuable insight into the linguistic situation of Gaborone Botswana, including common patterns of language usage, official language policies, prevalent language attitudes, and the long-term consequences of language contact, among others. This was be done by analyzing the data collected from specific public domains such as street signs, advertising signs, building names, warning notices and prohibitions, billboards, shop signs, informative signs (directions, hours of opening), etc. in Gaborone.

ABSTRACTBefore 2008, it was common knowledge around the world that insulation always saved air conditioning energy in buildings. In 2008 a phenomenon called anti-insulation was brought to light by Masoso & Grobler. They demonstrated that there are instances when insulation materials in a building directly increase building energy use. Researchers around the world then echoed the message. Recent work by some of the authors investigated the anti-insulation phenomenon in summer and winter for both hot climatic regions (Botswana) and cold climatic regions (Canada). Their study concluded that there is still a mystery of exaggerated sources of heat inside the building aggravating the anti-insulation phenomenon. They hypothesized that incident solar radiation through the windows could be one of the causes. This paper therefore focuses on eliminating direct solar radiation through windows by applying external shadings on a previously anti-insulation building. The energy saved is evaluated and the possible reversal of anti-insulation studied. The study is useful to energy policy makers and the building industry as it showcases the existence of a possible silent killer (anti-insulation) and demonstrates that investing large sums of money on insulation in buildings may not be the most economic thing to do in building design decisions.

Botswana has a long history of indigenous marital therapy. This indigenous therapy is embodied in the indigenous philosophy of motho ke motho ka batho (I am because we are). This philosophy promotes togetherness, connectedness, collectiveness, compassion, love and harmony and the building of sustainable relationships among families. The paper explores some of the indigenous therapeutic marital approaches used during wedding ceremonies amongst them, songs, proverbs and group counselling. It also argues that these indigenous marital approaches build family relations and are a continuous source of therapy for the married couple; in addition to relieving women from marital stress and maintaining strong family relationships even after the marriage has ended.

This thesis is an investigation of the ways in which activities of house-building are woven into the histories and biographies of the people of Ngamiland in nothern Botswana. Criticising those approaches in anthropology that have tended to see forms of buildings as the symbolic expressions of (or metaphors for) aspects of social order, the thesis argues that building practices are themselves embedded in the current of social activity - that is, of dwelling - which, over time, is generative of both persons and places. Just as every inhabitant enfolds within his or her person a set of relations with others, which are played out in the manifold tasks of everyday dwelling (including building), so every place (including the buildings found there) embodies a set of relations with other places. The first set of relations, essentially social, are captured by the notion of the taskscape, the second set, essentially material, by the notion of landscape. The thesis seeks to demonstrate the dynamic interplay between taskscape and landscape, or between social and material relations over time. The thesis argues for several important ways in which this dynamic relationship can be considered anthropologically. The first is the notion of the 'otherplaceness' of dwelling, in which the inherent interconnectedness of the landscape is highlighted, describing the ways in which both personal biographies and the material biographies of places are mutually creative over time. This is extended to investigate the relationship between social and material permanence in the landscape through an analysis of the ways in which building with concrete has affected everyday dwelling. Another key notion is that dwelling involves a wide range of social practices that can be understood as containing both forces of a centrifugal (movement away from a centre) and centripetal (movement toward a centre) nature, being an important aspect of how social practice and homestead form are interrelated over time. This is also extended in the final chapter through an exploration of the ways in which the materiality of the homestead is interwoven with memory, biography and personal history.

Botswana was left underdeveloped in 1966 when it gained its independence from Great Britain. However, with the discovery of diamonds in the late 1970s, the economy of the country changed and two decades later the construction industry had experienced phenomenal growth. A growth propelled by the dominance of foreign contractors and the few citizen contractors available at the time resulted in a competitive environment in the industry. However, citizen contractors were unable to compete on the same level with their foreign counterparts, which was attributable to various factors such as a lack of resources and of business and technical experience. Being a major player in the construction industry, and realising the need to equip and encourage its own base of citizen contractors to actively participate in construction activities, the government of Botswana adopted new measures and policies that were meant to address the imbalances in the construction industry much to the advantage of citizen contractors. The rationale behind this study is to investigate the performance of citizen building contractors following the introduction of preferential procurement policies by the government of Botswana. This research study adopted the descriptive and analytical survey method which entailed the use of questionnaires and a review of the related literature for gathering relevant data. The sample strata included building contractors, consultants, and clients in the Botswana construction industry in Gaborone, Francistown, Selebi-phikwe, Maun, Serowe, and Lobatse. The empirical findings revealed that there is indeed a need to review some of the government assistance programs for citizen contractors in order to avoid the abuse of government resources and to further increase the citizen contractor’s knowledge base, skills, resources and capacity through mentorship and workshops. vi It is therefore incumbent upon government to protect those beneficiaries who genuinely require such assistance by critical assessment of the ineffective policies for the benefit of the whole industry

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research assignment was done to determine the status and awareness of green building solutions in Gaborone, Botswana for the year 2014. In a third world country like Botswana, design and development of ‘green building’ is low on the agenda. As with many other third world countries, other basic needs and services are missing and many people believe that all of those should be sorted out before items such as green building solutions can be looked at. Interviews were conducted with executives of companies in the property development industry or companies that make use of commercial office space. Through these executives, access was gained to the employees who were requested to complete an online survey. The focus of the interviews and surveys was to gain information of the companies’ awareness of and involvement in green building solutions, their view on the willingness to pay for such solutions and on its implementation in the future. In the findings, it became clear that cost is the most important aspect, especially when renting, while when investing, most participants were willing to contribute towards green building solutions with the understanding that this would contribute to lower running costs, and therefore returns on the investment made.

The poor quality of public buildings in the Botswana construction industry has been surrounded by controversy and strongly held opinions. The work reported here attempts to indicate some salient issues affecting the quality management system, with particular reference to the construction phase. Three propositions are addressed by the work. First that quality problems related to public building processes in Botswana are primarily due to an inappropriate project organizational structure. Secondly, that the traditional building procurement system provides a poor quality management system. The third proposition is that the traditional building procurement system does not facilitate derived quality levels as defined by the contract drawings and specifications. Five objectives of this study are identified and various issues which are fundamental to the research are reviewed. The first is the way in which the Botswana public building sector is organized, focussing on the building construction process. The second is the review of quality management theories both in the manufacturing and construction industries. The third is the relationship between the project management structure and project quality management, and the quality of building. The fourth is the proposal of a conceptual framework of an appropriate quality management system. Finally, recommendations about how to deal with organization of public building projects in order to select appropriate quality management systems are given. Information is obtained on the research areas through the use of the following methods: 1. Consultations with quality management practitioners and review of the Quality Management literature. 2. Questionnaires to architects, quantity surveyors, engineers, construction firm executives, contracts managers, site managers, trade foremen and skilled tradespersons, on quality management problems and procurement systems. 3. Case studies investigating approaches to site quality management in general and the adequacy of quality management documents. 4. Semi structured interviews investigating public building clients views on the quality management system and project procurement systems. The data collected are analysed using triangulation (qualitative and quantitative methodologies) methodology and the main results are reported below. The primary conclusion to be drawn is that the quality management system purported to be in use in the Botswana public building sector differs significantly from that recommended in the theory, resulting in poor quality buildings. This is primarily due to the use of an inappropriate building procurement system. In general the traditional building procurement system in the Botswana public building sector is used as a 'default system'. There are indications to suggest that it is used merely because the clients and consultants have failed to consider the issue of appropriateness. An appropriate quality management model for the construction phase is proposed with a proviso that the Botswana public building sector should establish appropriate methods of selecting appropriate procurement systems as a prerequisite in formulating appropriate quality management systems for various projects.

The objective of this study is to analyse and evaluate the current system of procuring Building Contractors for public sector building projects in Botswana. The study further seeks to find strategies to recommend for improving the current system of procurement. The analysis and evaluation is carried out by first dividing the main problem into sub-problems. The sub-problems help to form the questions for the interviews and the questionnaire. Chapter one introduces the reader to the main problem and defines the scope of the problem and the delimitations. The second Chapter is a review of the related literature and a brief outline of the procurement process and the relevant legislation. The analysis and evaluation of the information and data collected is carried out in Chapter three. This is a very important Chapter since it addresses the questions raised by the main problem and the sub-problems and states the extent to which the hypotheses are affirmed or not affirmed. Chapter four is dedicated to the recommendations and strategies for improving the procurement system. The last Chapter summarises the main findings and outlines and recommends areas for further study. This treatise comprises some important findings and can form a useful initiative towards developing strategies for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector system of procuring building Contractors in Botswana.
Thesis (MSc (Project Management))--University of Pretoria, 2004.
Construction Economics
unrestricted

Botswana has adopted policies in its construction industry aimed at developing its citizen contractors to a standard comparable to any other. Towards this end, it has instituted a number of interventions one of which is to provide these contractors with an advance loan to enable them mobilize on site. This facility greatly enhances their chances of success. This study is an evaluation of this scheme and provides a valuable feedback on the scheme's effectiveness, its shortcomings as well as offering some suggestions as to how its administration can be improved. This it does through a critical analysis of the performance of beneficiaries over a six-year period, identifies reasons for their failure and tries to address concerns of the key players in the application of the scheme. The major findings are that the scheme has not been as successful as expected. The biggest problem seems to be the diversion of loan funds from their intended purpose. Rigorous sustained training of contractors and monitoring of their progress in skills attainment is the recommended solution. The Government's intervention should also target other role players in the industry for support including emerging suppliers and plant leasing companies, to break down existing monopolistic structures.
Dissertation (MSc (Project Management))--University of Pretoria, 2004.
Construction Economics
unrestricted

This study examines the inter-related concepts of Green Building and Town Planning using Gaborone, Botswana as a case study. Modern cities are faced with urban and environmental challenges and the major question faced by practitioners trying to plan environmentally friendly development is: what can be done in planning practice to address the identified challenges? Conventional buildings consume huge amounts of construction material, use a lot of portable water, use energy and emit a lot of green house gases during operation which contributes to climate change. Green building is considered as a means of addressing some of the environmental challenges associated with conventional buildings. The study follows both a qualitative and quantitative approaches to collect data to establish whether GB is practiced in Gaborone and if not what barriers exist. It is established that people in the property development sector in Gaborone are aware of the need to practice GB. However, planning authorities and policy makers are not supportive GB initiatives. Green Buildings have a higher initial construction cost but they also attract higher rental turnover and a high value. This study concludes that an incorporation of Green Building concepts into Town Planning policy and practice can provide meaningful contribution towards safer, more comfortable and sustainable environment for urban communities.

Student Number : 9709225V - MSc project report - School of Construction Economics and Management - Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
This research was conducted in order to highlight the misconception that there may be a single answer to the challenges of energy efficient design; a “single elixir that will be the answer to all problems” (Holm, 1996). Existing literature pertaining to energy efficient design principles was analysed and tested against a well known example of Southern African energy efficient building practice; the Botswana Technology Centre (BOTEC). BOTEC was selected as the case study for this investigation because it was designed to be a living exhibition of energy efficient design and as such a manual or ‘elixir’ for alternate design. BOTEC was analysed on site, personal interviews were held with the architect and a questionnaire was circulated to the users of the building in order to observe whether the principles used at the BOTEC building are appropriate and represent the “single elixir, the answer to all problems,” with regard to energy efficient design (Holm, 1996). Although BOTEC appears to perform well, interviews with the users of the BOTEC building suggest that the building does not perform well in winter at all. Interviews with the architectural consultant who worked on the BOTEC building expose a simple oversight in design which leads to ‘this building’s underperformance in winter’. In concurrence with Holm therefore, this report ultimately shows that there are no perfect solutions to energy efficient design and by applying a once successful solution without taking cognisance of specific climatic and geological differences, the building will not function correctly.

Of the African countries that initiated social assistance programmes prior to the 2000s, Botswana stands out in that its policy-making was not the result of settler or immigrant populations. Reforms in Botswana stemmed instead from the imperatives of drought relief in an agrarian society, fuelled by the ruling party’s concern first to establish the authority and legitimacy of the post-colonial state and then to ensure re-election in the face of electoral competition from opposition parties. State-building was made possible also by extraordinary economic growth. The result was a system of social assistance that covered a large part of the population but was also distinctively conservative in terms of the value of benefits, a preference for in-kind over cash transfers, and the prioritization of workfare. Botswana’s path to social assistance prefigured the path followed by many other African countries in the 2000s.

The process of establishing appropriate institutional frameworks and information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure backbones to support future development of e-democracy is not an easy task. Botswana has started building its e-democracy institutions as it accords citizens the opportunity to participate in the democratic process using appropriate ICT platforms out of the realization that participatory democracy is crucial in placing a country at a competitive edge in the contemporary global socio-economic value chains. Towards this goal, the first initiative has been the establishment of the e-government taskforce team, which has been mandated with the development of an e-government strategy commensurate with Botswana’s local context. The establishment of the e-government taskforce team has been done in tandem with putting in place appropriate ICT infrastructures and legal, institutional, or regulatory frameworks. This chapter presents an exploratory study that aims to discuss the different interventions that are being put in place by the Botswana government and its co-operating partners as setting the foundation for implementing full-scale e-democracy applications such as e-forums and e-voting. The chapter also presents obstacles and challenges that have not been met, insofar as building virtual public spheres in the realm of participatory e-democracy in Botswana is concerned. Attention is given to how virtual public spheres should be used as collaboration and networking platforms both in the private and public sectors of Botswana. It is anticipated that the different approaches that have been employed by Botswana towards this course may prove useful to other emerging nations who may have intentions of implementing ICT infrastructure and encouraging virtual public spheres as a means to building viable e-democracy.

This chapter explores how female entrepreneurship is a growing phenomenon in Africa. Particularly, the chapter critically examines the use of the instrument of rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) in as far as it has influenced business growth and social mobility across the region. The implications are that, largely, it is an instrument that gives agency towards achieving gender parity at business and household levels, respectively. In trying to answer pertinent questions, the study engages country-based case studies. The countries used include Botswana, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Cameroon. These have been chosen because of their differential demographic, political economies, ideological, and religious foundations. Some have experienced serious and tectonic macro-economic challenges which may have worked to cement or to destroy efforts in building female entrepreneurship let alone the utility of ROSCAs as a tool towards business stability and wealth building.

Academic Leadership involves managing people in higher education and also elsewhere. Academic leaders could emerge due to their committed and continued pursuit in research; quality assurance; strategies adopted; marketing abilities; contributing education to wider community; developing new programmes and timely reviewing them. The research is aimed at reviewing the literature that exists in this field and to find out the degree or state of academic leadership that exists within the University of Botswana (UB) and how far UB academic leadership has impacted on its vision and mission statement. Primary data was collected through administering a questionnaire within UB on selected five strata of graduate students, academic staff, lower, middle and top management. Respondents were happy with the Academic Leadership in the areas of motivation, professionalism, sense of belonging, building consensus and communication skills.

Chapter 6 examines the history of Britain’s colonization of South Africa as a clash between imperialists like Cecil Rhodes—who wielded liquor as a tool to get indigenous leaders drunk and sign away rights to their land—and native African tribal leaders. Rhodes’s greatest obstacle in his planned Cape Town–to-Cairo railroad were the prohibitionist leaders of Bechuanaland (present-day Botswana)—King Khama, Sebele I, and Bathoen—who in 1895 went so far as to travel to England to plead to Queen Victoria and the Colonial Office to maintain their sovereignty against white incursions and their prohibition against white liquor. Harnessing British temperance networks and building goodwill, the Bechuana kings emerged victorious: Bechuanaland would remain a protectorate, but not folded into Britain’s Cape Colony, foiling Rhodes’s machinations.

This report maps the African landscape of Open Science – with a focus on Open Data as a sub-set of Open Science. Data to inform the landscape study were collected through a variety of methods, including surveys, desk research, engagement with a community of practice, networking with stakeholders, participation in conferences, case study presentations, and workshops hosted. Although the majority of African countries (35 of 54) demonstrates commitment to science through its investment in research and development (R&D), academies of science, ministries of science and technology, policies, recognition of research, and participation in the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI), the following countries demonstrate the highest commitment and political willingness to invest in science: Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. In addition to existing policies in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), the following countries have made progress towards Open Data policies: Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda. Only two African countries (Kenya and South Africa) at this stage contribute 0.8% of its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to R&D (Research and Development), which is the closest to the AU’s (African Union’s) suggested 1%. Countries such as Lesotho and Madagascar ranked as 0%, while the R&D expenditure for 24 African countries is unknown. In addition to this, science globally has become fully dependent on stable ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) infrastructure, which includes connectivity/bandwidth, high performance computing facilities and data services. This is especially applicable since countries globally are finding themselves in the midst of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), which is not only “about” data, but which “is” data. According to an article1 by Alan Marcus (2015) (Senior Director, Head of Information Technology and Telecommunications Industries, World Economic Forum), “At its core, data represents a post-industrial opportunity. Its uses have unprecedented complexity, velocity and global reach. As digital communications become ubiquitous, data will rule in a world where nearly everyone and everything is connected in real time. That will require a highly reliable, secure and available infrastructure at its core, and innovation at the edge.” Every industry is affected as part of this revolution – also science. An important component of the digital transformation is “trust” – people must be able to trust that governments and all other industries (including the science sector), adequately handle and protect their data. This requires accountability on a global level, and digital industries must embrace the change and go for a higher standard of protection. “This will reassure consumers and citizens, benefitting the whole digital economy”, says Marcus. A stable and secure information and communication technologies (ICT) infrastructure – currently provided by the National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) – is key to advance collaboration in science. The AfricaConnect2 project (AfricaConnect (2012–2014) and AfricaConnect2 (2016–2018)) through establishing connectivity between National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), is planning to roll out AfricaConnect3 by the end of 2019. The concern however is that selected African governments (with the exception of a few countries such as South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia and others) have low awareness of the impact the Internet has today on all societal levels, how much ICT (and the 4th Industrial Revolution) have affected research, and the added value an NREN can bring to higher education and research in addressing the respective needs, which is far more complex than simply providing connectivity. Apart from more commitment and investment in R&D, African governments – to become and remain part of the 4th Industrial Revolution – have no option other than to acknowledge and commit to the role NRENs play in advancing science towards addressing the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals). For successful collaboration and direction, it is fundamental that policies within one country are aligned with one another. Alignment on continental level is crucial for the future Pan-African African Open Science Platform to be successful. Both the HIPSSA ((Harmonization of ICT Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa)3 project and WATRA (the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly)4, have made progress towards the regulation of the telecom sector, and in particular of bottlenecks which curb the development of competition among ISPs. A study under HIPSSA identified potential bottlenecks in access at an affordable price to the international capacity of submarine cables and suggested means and tools used by regulators to remedy them. Work on the recommended measures and making them operational continues in collaboration with WATRA. In addition to sufficient bandwidth and connectivity, high-performance computing facilities and services in support of data sharing are also required. The South African National Integrated Cyberinfrastructure System5 (NICIS) has made great progress in planning and setting up a cyberinfrastructure ecosystem in support of collaborative science and data sharing. The regional Southern African Development Community6 (SADC) Cyber-infrastructure Framework provides a valuable roadmap towards high-speed Internet, developing human capacity and skills in ICT technologies, high- performance computing and more. The following countries have been identified as having high-performance computing facilities, some as a result of the Square Kilometre Array7 (SKA) partnership: Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zambia. More and more NRENs – especially the Level 6 NRENs 8 (Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, and recently Zambia) – are exploring offering additional services; also in support of data sharing and transfer. The following NRENs already allow for running data-intensive applications and sharing of high-end computing assets, bio-modelling and computation on high-performance/ supercomputers: KENET (Kenya), TENET (South Africa), RENU (Uganda), ZAMREN (Zambia), EUN (Egypt) and ARN (Algeria). Fifteen higher education training institutions from eight African countries (Botswana, Benin, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, and Tanzania) have been identified as offering formal courses on data science. In addition to formal degrees, a number of international short courses have been developed and free international online courses are also available as an option to build capacity and integrate as part of curricula. The small number of higher education or research intensive institutions offering data science is however insufficient, and there is a desperate need for more training in data science. The CODATA-RDA Schools of Research Data Science aim at addressing the continental need for foundational data skills across all disciplines, along with training conducted by The Carpentries 9 programme (specifically Data Carpentry 10 ). Thus far, CODATA-RDA schools in collaboration with AOSP, integrating content from Data Carpentry, were presented in Rwanda (in 2018), and during17-29 June 2019, in Ethiopia. Awareness regarding Open Science (including Open Data) is evident through the 12 Open Science-related Open Access/Open Data/Open Science declarations and agreements endorsed or signed by African governments; 200 Open Access journals from Africa registered on the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ); 174 Open Access institutional research repositories registered on openDOAR (Directory of Open Access Repositories); 33 Open Access/Open Science policies registered on ROARMAP (Registry of Open Access Repository Mandates and Policies); 24 data repositories registered with the Registry of Data Repositories (re3data.org) (although the pilot project identified 66 research data repositories); and one data repository assigned the CoreTrustSeal. Although this is a start, far more needs to be done to align African data curation and research practices with global standards. Funding to conduct research remains a challenge. African researchers mostly fund their own research, and there are little incentives for them to make their research and accompanying data sets openly accessible. Funding and peer recognition, along with an enabling research environment conducive for research, are regarded as major incentives. The landscape report concludes with a number of concerns towards sharing research data openly, as well as challenges in terms of Open Data policy, ICT infrastructure supportive of data sharing, capacity building, lack of skills, and the need for incentives. Although great progress has been made in terms of Open Science and Open Data practices, more awareness needs to be created and further advocacy efforts are required for buy-in from African governments. A federated African Open Science Platform (AOSP) will not only encourage more collaboration among researchers in addressing the SDGs, but it will also benefit the many stakeholders identified as part of the pilot phase. The time is now, for governments in Africa, to acknowledge the important role of science in general, but specifically Open Science and Open Data, through developing and aligning the relevant policies, investing in an ICT infrastructure conducive for data sharing through committing funding to making NRENs financially sustainable, incentivising open research practices by scientists, and creating opportunities for more scientists and stakeholders across all disciplines to be trained in data management.