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This week heralds a significant strengthening of the relationship between Africa’s science and innovation research, policy and investment communities, and the members and coordinating partners of the  with the opening of a new strategic alliance at the  in South Africa.  This enhances the ties between TIPC’s founding institutions –  the , the  in Spain and the Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� Centre for Global Challenges (UGlobe) based in the Netherlands.

The official opening of the new forms part of the programme for , the continent’s key science, technology and innovation (STI) symposium, held from 22 to 26 May, at the ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� of Pretoria’s recently created . TIAH will expand and deepen the TIP methodology across its network to engage new audiences and practitioners to utilise key resources and tools such as,  TIPC’s  (TIP RL),  and the .

Founding , the South Africa  have been intrinsic in creating their country’s community of practice, the , with strong leadership and collaboration across key actors in the region including the , the ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� of Johannesburg and . This will be now be extended across the continent to embed the transformative policy, experimentation, evaluation and outcomes surrounding the Transformative Innovation Policy (TIP) approach.

The establishment of TIAH will expand research collaboration, policy impact and investment opportunities between more partners in the region and beyond. TIPC’s ground-breaking innovation method is set to create a host of transformative change agents, operations, investments, and programmes for change across a pivotal network of over twelve African countries, dedicated to experimenting and implementing  TIP across sectors and systems to reach towards the ambitions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The TIAH network includes science and innovation agencies, universities, and policy institutes from Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The UoP’s Future Africa campus, where TIAH is based, hosts leading scientists and scholars from across the globe and spans a wide range of disciplines to leverage the benefits of transdisciplinary research for addressing the world’s grand challenges. Future Africa seeks “to provide a dynamic living, learning and research environment where a community of scholars and other societal role players will engage to advance excellence in scholarship, dialogue and impact.”

Following the launch, the TIPC TIAH research-policy-action programme will draw investment from a range of international funders from both the private and public spheres to develop green and equitable pathways to sustainability using pioneering social and technological innovations to leverage and activate Africa’s vision, capability and potential as outlined in Agenda 2063, The Africa We Want.

, TIPC and Transformative Investment (TI) creator, Academic Director and Professor of Global History and Sustainability Transitions at the Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� Centre for Global Challenges said:

“Africa is an excellent demonstration of the different stages of Transformative Innovation Policy Consortium (TIPC) work globally. It shows the evolution of TIP, starting with the Three Frames of Innovation Policy theory,  first presented in Pretoria in 2016; the continent demonstrates what it takes to be part of a journey from conceptual thinking through theory to practice to outcome. The launch of the Transformative Innovation Africa Hub (TIAH) represents the start of a new phase in Innovation for Transformation globally.”

With the creation of TIAH, the evolution of TIP and other transformative agents across the region, there is a substantial focus on cutting-edge research and policy engagement to achieve transformative change. Other key partnerships, along with TIAH, being announced at Africa Week 2023  include:

• Feed-Protect-Care Global PhD Collaborative Platform
• The Curtin ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� Centre for Australia-Africa Relations and development of a new Science Diaspora Diplomacy initiative
• The UP Faculty of Health Science partnership with Numolux
• The Futures Literacy Incubator
• The International Science Council-Future Africa MoU
• The Future Earth African Leadership Centre
• The Knowledge Equity Network