At the first African Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology (AMCOST), countries committed themselves to developing and adopting a common set of indicators. One of its key outcomes was the adoption of NEPAD's African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (ASTII) in 2005 to contribute towards a better quality of STI policies at the national, regional and continental levels. The objective of ASTII is to support and strengthen the capacity of Africans to develop and use STI Indicators in development planning and policy.
More specifically ASTII aims to:
-
Develop and promote the adoption of internationally compatible STI indicators;
-
Build human and institutional capacities for STI indicators and related surveys;
-
Enable African countries to participate in international programmes for STI indicators; and
-
Inform African countries on the state of STI in Africa.