Research on Research in Africa: Mapping the Metascience Ecosystem (RoRI Working Paper No. 23)

This working paper maps the emergence and contemporary landscape of metascience research across Africa to support African institutions in setting their own research-on-research agendas. Drawing on bibliometric and policy-uptake data from Dimensions and Overton (2000–2024) alongside historical analysis, the study evaluates funding sources, collaboration networks, and policy impact across nine research communities and fifteen distinct topics. It reveals critical structural dynamics, including a heavy dependence on international funding, intra-continental collaboration lagging behind global partnerships, diverse national priorities, and limited policy integration, underscoring the urgent imperative for autonomous, African-led research information infrastructures and governance models.