The national STI sector has been undergoing change at an extraordinary pace over the past few years, a process that has been termed the “STI revolution.” This is reflected in the directive of H.E the President of the Republic of Uganda to establish national secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation at the Office of the President (STI-OP) and to unveil industrial research for STI development beginning with nine priority industrial value chains at the heart of the national economy.
However, this rapid transition of the STI sector has been taking place in an institutional void or insufficiency. The speed of change has significantly outpaced the capacity of traditional STIEs to provide the necessary frameworks to ensure an appropriate balance between the STI services required by the STI-OP under the new dispensation of “product or perish” (industrial value chains development), and the provision of their traditional services as institutions under in their respective sectors of education, health, agriculture, and industry among others.
With this realization, in 2022, the STI-OP awarded an institutional and human capital development grant to pave way for the establishment of a partnership entity as a foundry for STI and STI human capital development. This is the genesis of FONSTI initiative.