Enhancing South-South Cooperation: Opportunities for Funding Initiatives in STI Systems

Official Side Event at FfD4 

Please note that this event will take place at the official venue of the UN Financing for Development Conference (FfD4), held at FIBES Sevilla Exhibition and Conference Centre –Room 22, Event ID 1976563 

To attend, participants must be registered for the main FfD4 Conference: https://financing.desa.un.org/about-ffd4

The session will delve into understanding national STI systems in developing countries (as recommended by the UNGA 2023 report) to build roadmaps for improvement. It will highlight specific strategies for enhancing infrastructure, promoting knowledge transfer, and assessing local institutions’ readiness for new technologies.

The discussion will identify concrete opportunities for joint research, innovation and development, regional networking, and leveraging collective bargaining power, alongside exploring diverse funding sources such as international development agencies, blended finance, bilateral/multilateral partnerships, and philanthropic organizations.

Why to attend?

Participants will gain actionable strategies for fostering effective Global South cooperation, strengthening technological capabilities, and identifying funding mechanisms for sustainable development, driving shared innovation and economic growth.

• Actionable Strategies: Development and dissemination of concrete strategies for fostering effective Global South cooperation in STI and for securing diverse funding mechanisms for sustainable development.

• Enhanced Understanding: Improved insights into innovative financing models that successfully scale global south cooperation.

• Strengthened Partnerships: New and reinforced commitments for co-funding, joint ventures, and technology transfer initiatives.

• Increased Resource Mobilization: Direct engagement with potential financiers, leading to increased likelihood of securing grants, concessional loans, blended finance deals, and other investments for scalable, high-impact projects.

Proposed Action Points for discussion

1. Initiate Global South STI Systems Analysis:
•Develop and finalize a framework for comprehensive data collection on Global South STI cooperation.
•Timeline: By Q4 2025 – Monitor/Quantify: Framework document completion.

2. Develop Pilot STI Improvement Roadmaps:
• Commence development of 5 pilot national STI improvement roadmaps for selected developing countries.
• Timeline: By Q2 2026 – Monitor/Quantify: Progress reports on roadmap development per country.

3. Formalize Global South Collaborations:
• Facilitate and aim for minimum 4 new formal Global South STI cooperation agreements signed.
• Timeline: By Q2 2026 – Monitor/Quantify: # formal agreements signed.

Conclusion and Call to Action

A comprehensive analysis of STI systems and a renewed commitment to Global South cooperation are fundamental to unlocking Global South potential for sustainable development. This session, will serve as a dynamic platform to rethink and reshape financing and partnership models, positioning Global South countries as a leader and innovator in global sustainable development. We call upon all stakeholders to join us in this vital endeavor to enhance technological capabilities, foster innovation tailored to specific contexts, and collectively accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Agenda

10:30 – 10:35 AM (5 min) – Opening Remarks Setting the Stage
• Moderator: Introduction to the session’s objectives, the critical role of Global South cooperation in STI, and its relevance to FfD4 and SDG achievement. (Senior Global South Cooperation Expert from ISTIC- (Ms Sharizad Dahlan – Director of the International Science, Technology and Innovation Centre)

10:35 – 10:50 AM (15 min) – Keynote Address: Understanding and Building Robust STI Systems for the Global South
Speaker: Prof Bonginkosi Emmanuel “Blade” Nzimande – Hon Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (TBC)

10:50 – 11:35 AM (45 min) – Panel Discussion: Concrete Opportunities & Innovative Financing for Global South STI Cooperation

Panellists/Speakers:
•Panelist 1: Dr. Caroline Siebold, Executive Officer, Bureau of Strategic Planning, UNESCO
– Focus: Building sustainable STI ecosystems through strategic coordination and forward-looking frameworks. Highlights how UNESCO’s efforts align national and regional priorities with global development agendas to create enabling conditions for long-term investment in STI. Emphasizes the role of South–South collaboration in addressing shared challenges, strengthening institutional resilience, and unlocking inclusive, equitable development opportunities across the Global South.

Panelist 2: Dr Kaven Naidoo, Group Executive: Business Excellence and Integration – Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) South Africa
– Focus: Enhancing infrastructure and innovation ecosystems; assessing local institutions’ readiness and capacity for new technologies. Promoting knowledge transfer among institutions; showcasing successful joint ventures in R&D and regional networking.

Panelist 3: Dr María Jesús Prieto-Laffargue – Former President, World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), Spain
– Focus: Building engineering capacity and education in the Global South to effectively built for robust STI ecosystems. Fostering impactful multi-stakeholder partnerships (government, industry, academia, civil society) to drive engineering innovation and secure diverse STI funding streams. Sharing insights from her WFEO leadership on strengthening global engineering collaboration to accelerate STI development and South-South cooperation.

Panelist 4: Dr. Gustavo Merino, Director Division for Social Policies – UNESCO’s Social and Human Sciences Sector or Mathilde Rodrigues, Programme Specialist at UNESCO’s Social and Human Sciences Sector
– Focus: Paper presentation: Using social protection systems as a case study, this paper highlights their dual role: They not only reduce poverty but also serve as a productive economic investment. These investments are crucial for enhancing resilience, supporting economic participation, and reducing inequalities. The publication aims to bridge a critical financing gap by arguing for scaling up social protection investments to foster sustainable development globally.

Key Themes

•Building comprehensive STI systems roadmaps for Global South Cooperation
•Strategies for infrastructure enhancement, knowledge transfer, and technology readiness
•Leveraging collective bargaining power and regional networking
•Innovative financing models: blended finance, bilateral/multilateral partnerships, philanthropic funding
•Opportunities for joint research, development, and formal Global South agreements

1135 – 1155hrs AM (45 min) Interactive Q&A Session: Insights, questions, and identification of actionable next steps.

1155 – 1200hrs (45 min) Closing Remarks (11:55)

Summarize key insights, takeaways and actionable strategies from the session

Outline potential outputs for discussion and commitment: Initiating a framework for comprehensive data collection on South-South STI cooperation. Commencing development of 5 pilot national STI improvement roadmaps for selected developing countries. Aiming for a minimum of 4 new formal South-South STI cooperation agreements signed. Reiterate the call for collective action to unlock the Global South’s potential in sustainable development through STI.