Transcript Document

Capacity Building through
International Research
Collaboration
Professor Thomas Rosswall
Executive Director
ICSU, Paris
The World: Rising Inequities
• Inequities are rising within countries and
between countries
• Assets of world’s 3 richest people exceed
combined GDP of poorest 48 countries
• World’s 15 richest people have assets that
exceed total GDP of Sub-Saharan Africa
I. Serageldin, IAC
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The Knowledge Divide
• OECD countries spend more on R&D than
economic output of the 61 poorest nations
• High income countries earn 42 time that of
low income countries but spend 218 times
more on research
• IBM was granted 2756 patents in the US
(1999), while 134 countries together were
granted 2643
World Bank S&T Strategy
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Status of Science in Africa
• Public budget cuts
• Higher education and research systems
in decline
• National coordination bodies dissolved
or with no political influence
• Nearly no recruitment during the 1990s
• Poor salaries – staff often go unpaid
• Brain drain
J. Gaillard, IFS and IRD, Johannesburg 2002
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Bending the Curves
The Gap
2003
Time
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Bending the Curves
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Support of individuals
Support of institutions
Support of national science policies
Change of attitudes
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Support of Individuals Recurring Difficulties
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Equipment repairs
Purchasing equipment
Access to equipment
Access to scientific documentation
Access to vehicle
Access to supplies
Lack of technicians
Data processing
Field work difficulties
Lack of time
IFS MESIA Report 2 (2001)
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Action
• Expand small comptetitive grant schemes to
young scientists (IFS-TWAS model)
• Training courses for repair and mentainenace of
equipment (e.g.,IFS, TWAS)
• Strengthen efforts to provide scientific literature
(e.g., INASP)
• Training courses in writing grant applications and
scientific papers (e.g., IFS)
• Networking S-S and N-S through collaboration in
international coordinated research
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Coordinated Research
The four global
change programmes,
especially IGBP and WCRP,
provide the framework for the science
on which IPCC assessments are built.
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Earth System Science
Partnership
• an integrated study of the Earth System,
• the changes occurring to the System, and
• the implications for global sustainability.
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Bellagio Report, 1990
START Mission
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To conduct research through regional
networks of collaborating scientists
and institutions
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To enhance scientific capacity in
developing countries
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To mobilize the resources for
activities in developing countries
Portfolio of START Activities
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Capacity Building
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Regional Research
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Cross-cutting, Integrative activities
Capacity Building Activities
Types of START Capacity Building Programs
Regional Science Planning and Research Workshops:
Collaborative Research Networks:
Short Term Fellowships:
Visiting Scientists and Lecturers:
Dissertation/PhD fellowships:
Small Grants Program:
Young Scientists Awards:
Advanced Institutes:
Training Institutes/Courses:
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To-date
75+
50+
175
121
25
100+
163
30
150+
~ 1500 scholars from developing countries involved in START
activities in 2003-2004
~ 150 young scientists currently conducting research under
START support
Monsoon Asia Integrated Regional Studies
Tibet
Solar
Physical
Monsoon
Process
Industrial
Emission
Radiation
Integrated
Monsoon System
Land Use
Biological
Process
Regional Anthropogenic Forcing
Land/
Ocean
Atmospheric
Chemistry
Impacts
Sustainable development of the region
Natural Forcing
Assessments of Impacts & Adaptation to
Climate Change (AIACC)
Objectives
• Build capacity in developing countries for
research in support of climate change
adaptation
• Advance scientific understanding of
climate change impacts, adaptations and
vulnerabilities
• Link the research community with the
policy community to support national
communications and adaptation planning
No size fits all
• The regions are different
• The countries are different
• Inequalities within countries (top 100 US
Universities account for 80% of federal R&D
funding; the remaining 2350 for 20%)
• All the capacity building components are
essential: They reinforce each other
• The whole is more than the sum of the parts
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We have identified the
problems.
There are solutions
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