Abstract:
The paper advocates for amending the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST) Act to formally position libraries, archives, and information institutions as core national knowledge infrastructure. It identifies a critical gap: despite UNCST's mandate to disseminate research, Uganda's outputs are often inaccessible—published behind international paywalls or lost in fragmented, unpublished formats—which stifles innovation and leads to duplicated efforts. The author proposes four key amendments: legally recognizing information institutions as essential STI infrastructure, mandating open-access deposition of publicly funded research in Ugandan repositories, including librarians in STI governance committees, and establishing a unified National STI Digital Knowledge Gateway. These changes aim to transform UNCST from a ceremonial clearinghouse into a functional system that preserves, organizes, and provides access to Ugandan knowledge, thereby fueling local innovation, ensuring research transparency, and maximizing the return on public investment in science and technology.
Description:
This presentation by Dr. Fredrick Kiwuwa Lugya argues for the strategic amendment of Uganda's UNCST Act to integrate libraries, archives, and digital repositories into the national science, technology, and innovation (STI) ecosystem. It highlights the systemic failure of Uganda to retain and utilize its own research, evidenced by case studies where critical findings are locked behind international paywalls or lost in personal archives, thereby crippling local innovation and leading to wasteful duplication. The core proposal is to legally redefine STI infrastructure to include knowledge institutions, mandate open-access deposition for publicly funded research, include librarians in STI governance bodies, and empower UNCST to create a National Digital Knowledge Gateway. These reforms aim to operationalize UNCST's mandate by building a centralized, accessible, and preserved national knowledge base, transforming research from a scattered, invisible asset into a functional "operating system" for Uganda's intelligence and innovation-driven future.
