Capacity Building through International Research Collaboration Professor Thomas Rosswall Executive...

Capacity Building through Capacity Building through International Research International Research

CollaborationCollaboration

Professor Thomas RosswallProfessor Thomas RosswallExecutive DirectorExecutive Director

ICSUICSU, , ParisParis

11 November 2005 World Science Forum - Budapest 2

The World: Rising InequitiesThe 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


The Knowledge DivideThe 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


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


Bending the Curves

The Gap

Time

2003


Bending the Curves

• Support of individuals

• Support of institutions

• Support of national science policies

• Change of attitudes


Support of Individuals - Support of Individuals - Recurring DifficultiesRecurring Difficulties• 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)


ActionAction

• 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


Coordinated Research

The four global change programmes, especially IGBP and WCRP, provide the framework for the science on which IPCC assessments are built.


• an integrated study of the Earth System, • the changes occurring to the System, and• the implications for global sustainability.

Earth System Science

Partnership

START MissionSTART Mission

• To conduct research through

regional networks of collaborating

scientists and institutions

• To enhance scientific capacity in

developing countries

• To mobilize the resources for

activities in developing countries

Bellagio Report, 1990Bellagio Report, 1990

Portfolio of START ActivitiesPortfolio of START Activities

• Capacity Building

• Regional Research

• Cross-cutting, Integrative activities

Capacity Building ActivitiesCapacity Building Activities

Types of START Capacity Building Programs To-date

Regional Science Planning and Research Workshops:75+

Collaborative Research Networks: 50+Short Term Fellowships:

175Visiting Scientists and Lecturers:

121Dissertation/PhD fellowships: 25Small Grants Program: 100+Young Scientists Awards: 163Advanced Institutes: 30Training Institutes/Courses: 150+

~ 1500 scholars from developing countries involved in START activities in 2003-2004

~ 150 young scientists currently conducting research under START support

Imp

acts

Reg

ion

al An

thro

po

gen

ic Fo

rcing

IntegratedMonsoon System

IndustrialE

mission

Land Use

PhysicalMonsoonProcess

AtmosphericChemistry

BiologicalProcess

Tibet Solar

Radiation

Land/ Ocean

Su

stainab

le develo

pm

ent o

f the reg

ion

Natural Forcing

Monsoon Asia Integrated Regional StudiesMonsoon Asia Integrated Regional Studies

Assessments of Impacts & Assessments of Impacts & Adaptation to Climate Change Adaptation to Climate Change

(AIACC)(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 allNo 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


We have identified the We have identified the problems.problems.There are solutionsThere are solutions

Capacity Building through International Research Collaboration Professor Thomas Rosswall Executive...

Documents

Transcript of Capacity Building through International Research Collaboration Professor Thomas Rosswall Executive...