MINISTRY OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

Their core work

Cameroon's national government body responsible for setting and funding scientific research priorities. In H2020, they appear as an institutional partner in large EU-Africa research programs, representing the country's research governance in international consortia rather than conducting laboratory or field research directly. Their role is to align national research agendas with EU and African Union priorities, facilitate access to Cameroonian scientific communities, and co-fund activities in food security and renewable energy. As a public authority, they bring political legitimacy and cross-ministry coordination capacity that academic or technical partners cannot provide.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 engagement (2016-2018), the ministry's thematic focus was specific and applied: food and nutrition security, sustainable agriculture, and climate adaptation in agrofood systems — all pressing national priorities for Cameroon. By the second project (2020 onward), the thematic framing broadened to the Africa-Europe axis itself, with renewable energy emerging as a second strategic pillar. This suggests the ministry is following Cameroon's national development agenda, which has increasingly elevated energy access alongside food security. The shift is not a departure from their original mission but an expansion of institutional engagement to new sectors of the EU-Africa research partnership.

The ministry is steadily broadening its EU-Africa engagement from food and agriculture toward renewable energy, tracking Cameroon's national development priorities — future collaborations in clean energy, climate resilience, or African agricultural innovation policy are the most likely areas of interest.

How they like to work

This ministry has never coordinated an H2020 project — it joins exclusively as a participant. Both projects are large, multi-country consortia (LEAP-AGRI and LEAP-RE span 111 partners across 36 countries), which is consistent with an institutional partner that contributes political access and national-level coordination rather than technical deliverables. Working with them means working through a government structure, with longer response cycles but the advantage of official national endorsement and potential access to Cameroon's research community and infrastructure.

Despite only two projects, they have touched 111 unique consortium partners across 36 countries — a consequence of participating in two of the largest EU-Africa research umbrella programs. Their network is geographically broad, spanning Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and North Africa, though it is thin in depth given the limited direct collaboration history.

What sets them apart

As the official national ministry for scientific research in Cameroon, they are the authoritative gateway to Cameroon's state-backed research environment — something no university or NGO partner can replicate. Consortia that need African government co-signatories, access to national research funding instruments, or policy alignment with Cameroonian institutions will find this organization uniquely positioned. Their value is institutional rather than technical: they open doors and confer legitimacy in a country that is underrepresented in EU research partnerships.

Highlights from their portfolio

• LEAP-AGRI
  The largest-funded project (EUR 207,574) and a flagship six-year EU-Africa partnership on food and nutrition security — one of the most ambitious collaborative programs linking European and African national research funders.
• LEAP-RE
  Represents a strategic pivot into renewable energy through the Long-Term Joint EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership, running through 2026 and signaling the ministry's expanding institutional mandate.