Paper long abstract:

During the last 20 years many centers of excellence have emerged with African science systems, but the concept 'excellence' remains ill-defined and its geographical dimensions are not well understood. This paper introduces the notions of 'global excellence' and 'local' excellence' to study this process and its implications. Where 'global' is primarily determined by reputation in the international scholarly community, 'local' tends to be perceived in terms regional or national socioeconomic considerations.

An empirical quantitative study of global excellence, based on highly-cited research publications with one or African authors, shows a large degree of dependence on collaboration with non-African international partners. Detailed analysis of highly-cited publications produced by 16 research-active universities in Africa also highlights the dependency on foreign aid and international funding for science.

The notion of local excellence remains underdeveloped; information is scarce, performance indicators and measures are virtually non-existent. A critical appraisal of the current situation leads to general recommendations on how global excellence and local excellence can be better aligned, and should be implemented within evidence-based assessment frameworks of African research.