African research faces significant challenges in gaining global prominence. At the international level, it remains largely marginalized in terms of visibility and impact, due to limited human and financial resources. In addition, Sub-Saharan African research continues to rely heavily on international funders that, in almost all disciplinary fields, set the research agendas and define methodological approaches, often confining African researchers to an ancillary position vis-à-vis their counterparts in the Global North. Downstream, the outputs of Sub-Saharan African research continue to have low visibility and limited access to global dissemination channels, while they are expected to comply with publication standards defined outside the continent. This state of play provides scant opportunities for context-specific knowledge and, even more so, for "endogenous knowledge1” to emerge. Finally, researcher’s collaborations and mobility within or across regions are infrequent, hindering the development of regional or continental research networks and perpetuating dependency dynamics. 

Science, especially through its technological and industrial applications, is a powerful force for both empowerment and domination. While debates around the decolonization of epistemological systems are longstanding, they gain renewed urgency in today’s global context, where research plays a central role in addressing development challenges in locally meaningful ways. This roundtable discussion will examine the structural asymmetries shaping research in Sub-Saharan Africa, exploring both the historical and present-day conditions for conducting research, the barriers to autonomy, and the possibilities for fostering sovereign research ecosystems. Special attention will be paid to the “downstream phase” of research processes, including questions pertaining to knowledge ownership and epistemological shifts in post- and decolonial contexts, to the inclusion of indigenous knowledge and languages, and to the research-policy interface. By engaging with these issues, the session directly aligns with the conference’s focus on the interplay between global trends and local solutions, and will highlight the need for inclusive research systems that empower local actors and valorize diverse epistemologies as a foundation for sustainable, resilient futures rooted in Africa’s own visions of development.