Support for Scientific Capacity Building in Developing Countries:
Coordinating and enhancing efforts
This joint workshop of the International Foundation for Science (IFS – www.ifs.se) and the KFPE was held in Berne, Switzerland from 9-10 November 2009.
The objective of the workshop was to analyse the emerging international “architecture” of research funding for young scientists in developing countries. The agenda centred on the major challenges faced by individual researchers and research institutions in developing countries. Furthermore the challenges for research donors to promote science and research in developing countries were discussed. Working groups were set up to discuss cooperation among research donors and supporting developing countries with weak scientific infrastructure. – The workshop was part of the external evaluation of IFS and provided an occasion for the evaluators to assess the IFS approach in a broader context.
Participants in the workshop included senior donor officials, representatives from research institutions as well as organisations implementing research-funding schemes. In order to engage a wider audience that could not be accommodated at the workshop, a short questionnaire survey was conducted in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the results were presented at the workshop.
This report (which can be downloaded below) does not purport to be comprehensive, but we hope that this summary of the challenges faced by individual researchers, research institutions and donors in supporting research in developing countries, may serve as a road map for others seeking to support scientific capacity building in developing countries. At the same time it should help the external evaluators to assess the IFS approach in a broader context.
Presentations to download:
Michael Stahl (IFS): IFS and the changing
research landscape in
developing countries
Nighisty Ghezae (IFS): Major challenges for individual researchers in developing countries
Atta-ur Rahman (COMSTECH, Pakistan): Challenges for researchers
and institutions in
developing countries!
Peter Sundin (ISP): Major challenges for donors to
promote science and research in
developing countries -
Some reflections based on experiences of the
International Science Programme (ISP)
Elisabeth Schenker (SNSF): Should and can the institutional links
between donors be strengthened?
Günther Hahne (IRD): Supporting developing countries with weak scientific infrastructure
