Capacity Building through International Research Collaboration

1. Capacity Building through International Research Collaboration Professor Thomas Rosswall Executive Director ICSU, Paris

2. 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 World Science Forum - Budapest

3. 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 World Science Forum - Budapest

4. 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 World Science Forum - Budapest

5. Bending the Curves The Gap 2003 Time World Science Forum - Budapest

6. Bending the Curves • Support of individuals • Support of institutions • Support of national science policies • Change of attitudes World Science Forum - Budapest

7. Support of Individuals - Recurring 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) World Science Forum - Budapest

8. 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 World Science Forum - Budapest

9. Coordinated Research • The four global • change programmes, • especially IGBP and WCRP, • provide the framework for the science • on which IPCC assessments are built. World Science Forum - Budapest

10. Earth System Science Partnership • an integrated study of the Earth System, • the changes occurring to the System, and • the implications for global sustainability. World Science Forum - Budapest

11. Bellagio Report, 1990 • 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 START Mission

12. Portfolio of START Activities • Capacity Building • Regional Research • Cross-cutting, Integrative activities

13. Capacity Building Activities • Types of START Capacity Building Programs To-date • Regional Science Planning and Research Workshops: 75+ • Collaborative Research Networks: 50+ • Short Term Fellowships: 175 • Visiting Scientists and Lecturers: 121 • Dissertation/PhD fellowships: 25 • Small Grants Program: 100+ • Young Scientists Awards: 163 • Advanced Institutes: 30 • Training Institutes/Courses: 150+ • ~ 1500 scholars from developing countries involved in START activities in 2003-2004 ~ 150 young scientists currently conducting research under START support

14. Monsoon Asia Integrated Regional Studies Atmospheric Chemistry Industrial Emission Physical Monsoon Process Integrated Monsoon System Impacts Regional Anthropogenic Forcing Biological Process Land Use Sustainable development of the region Natural Forcing Tibet Land/ Ocean Solar Radiation

15. 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

16. 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 World Science Forum - Budapest

17. We have identified the problems. There are solutions Make it Happen! World Science Forum - Budapest