Highlights

A) National Centre of Competence in Research ‘North-South’ (NCCR N-S): «Research Partnerships for Mitigating Syndromes of Global Change»
For the first time, all relevant Swiss research institutes which have many years of experience in research partnerships and which are associated under the umbrella of the KFPE have worked out a common programme. In March, they submitted a joint proposal for a NCCR under the leadership of Hans Hurni of CDE (Centre for Development and Environment) to the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). This programme would be realised within the framework of the NCCR through research partnerships between institutions in Switzerland and the South and/or East. It would synergise the multifaceted experience of research institutions in Switzerland and their partner countries for the first time. The research proposed in the programme is designed to address the most pressing problems of global change experienced by developing and transition countries. Finally, the research concept also proposes the development of disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary methodologies to respond to the world-wide need for practical solutions and more participatory approaches, i.e. partnerships.
In summer 2000, the NCCR N-S was selected by the SNSF and made it to the short-list because of its high scientific and innovative standard. In autumn, it was further evaluated by the Swiss Federal Department of the Interior. This Department decided to put the NCCR among a group of four NCCRs to be postponed until a decision for supplementary funding has been taken by the Swiss Parliament, probably in June 2001.
The current status of the NCCR North-South is thus a position on the waiting list, the programme starting at the earliest in autumn 2001. However, there is a need to continue careful preparation of the programme and to satisfy the increasingly strong demands of the partners in developing and transition countries. In view of this, the SDC (Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation) and the SNSF signalled in early January 2001 that an intermediate activity could be financed, provided that the NCCR core institutions would also add some input. Such activity, designed as a «Syndrome Pre-Synthesis Project» has been approved and started in March 2001.

B) Enhancing Research Capacities in Developing and Transition Countries
On behalf of the SDC and the SNSF the KFPE organised an international workshop in September 2000 which was attended by over 100 representatives from all over the world, including researchers, representatives from funding agencies, NGOs and politicians.
The workshop

• provided an overview of the experience gained in research partnerships with developing and transition countries;
• critically assessed the different strategies and tools used by funding agencies in their efforts to enhance research capacity in developing and transition countries;
• led to open discussions on principles for strengthening research capacity and institutions in the South and the North in order to enhance their contribution to sustainable development.

A book related to the workshop theme will be published in June 2001.

Conceptual / strategic plans

In 2000 the KFPE developed some ideas of which the following two shall be realized as of 2001:

A) Peer-Reviewing Criteria for Research Partnership Projects
The current reference system used to assess research projects and research results privileges disciplinary knowledge and is guided by the logic of the so-called 'hard' sciences. Its orientation is too strongly determined by institutions and issues related to an international research agenda that reflects priorities of the North. It is therefore difficult to gain international recognition for research projects based on partnership with institutions in the South and the East and aimed at promoting the understanding and solving of development problems in developing and transition countries. . What must remain unquestioned, of course, is the requirement that the thematic and methodological quality of research in partnership projects must be outstanding.

In assessing research partnership projects, however, complementary criteria should also be taken into account, as for example:

• how relevant is the project for a country’s general development?
• to what extent does it contribute towards building or strengthening capacity?
• how adequate and pertinent is it for solving development problems and corresponding adaptations and adjustments?
• is the commitment of the project a medium or long-term one?
• what kind of interdisciplinary and / or transdisciplinary approach does the project have?

The goal of the project suggested here is to produce a publication on review criteria which permits a better and easier assessment and selection of proposals relating to research partnerships and submitted to research funding organisations and their reviewers. This should allow such proposals to achieve higher relevance and better integration.

B) A Collaborative Impact Study
In order to assess research partnerships as instruments of research promotion, an impact study of a representative sample of research partnership projects will be carried out. Thanks to a Learning Partnership Agreement drawn up by the World-Band Institute (WBI) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation this impact study will be closely linked to the evaluation oriented activities within the Global Development Network (GDN) activity programme.

Objectives of the study
To assess the short, middle and long-term impact of research partnership projects on

• national policies in S and N (including research policy)
• research communities in S and N
• administration and funding agencies in S and N and
• end-users.

To provide development agencies with tools to improve

• their approach to supporting research partnership projects and
• the overall impact of their projects.

To increase the analytical capacity of Southern and Eastern partners, enabling them to develop their own capacity to evaluate partnership experiences and to design their own rules and strategies for dealing with external assistance.

The major output resulting from the study will be a publication containing an overview of the various research partnership models, the individual impact case studies and the conclusions and recommendations of the study.

Partners Involved
The organisational tasks and the co-ordination for the implementation of the study will be entrusted to the KFEP. In order to draw from a variety of approaches and experiences the WBI and the SDC will motivate an additional number of 4-6 partner countries / institutions to participate actively in the impact study. So far the Netherlands (RAWOO), Denmark (DANIDA) the Economic Research Forum for Arab Countries (ERF) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have confirmed that they are willing to participate.


Homepage
Main innovation: A News-Site with relevant new information in R&D, a short description and a link to most KFPE-associated institutions, the main sponsors of the KFPE, different innovations on ‘Swiss Research Partnership Projects‘, for example ‘Research activities of Swiss institutions with long experience in partnership projects‘.
New international links were added to informative Homepages in the area of R&D.

Some important conferences and workshops attended or organised by the KFPE

• In February the KFPE organised a Mutual Learning Session during the International Transdisciplinary Conference in Zurich: «Mutual learning in an intercultural context: Swiss experiences of transdisciplinary research partnerships with developing countries». Researchers from North and South attended the session which led to interesting discussions with a strong personal touch.
  Summary
• In April 2000, the First Swiss Global Change Day took place in Berne. The president of the KFPE, Prof. Hans Hurni, presented a lecture on the following topic «Relief from the Syndromes of Global Change: What can Research Partnerships contribute?» and participated together with Daniel Maselli (member of the KFPE executive board) in the round table discussion.
• The Swiss Commission of UNESCO organised a conference with the title «The Social Regulation of Science». Research partnerships with developing countries was the main theme in the afternoon of the second day where the KFPE’s president participated in a discussion round.
• In November the AIRE (Agence pour l’Investissement dans la Recherche à l’Etranger) invited the KFPE to a conference entitled «Chercheurs en équipe dans les pays du Sud». Kaspar Wyss from the Swiss Tropical Institute represented the KFPE. He gave a lecture on the KFPE-Guidelines and on experiences made in the Swiss Priority Programme Environment, Module 7 «Environment and Development».