IFS eNews No. 10, October 2003
IFS eNews appears quarterly. Ad hoc newsbulletins (fellowship announcements etc) are also sent out to all IFS eNews subscribers. We hope that it is an effective way to inform you about recent developments. Your comments on the contents of IFS eNews are most welcome to info@ifs.se
Developing Science - Science for Development
In this issue
1. MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR
2. IFS GRANTING PROGRAMME
2.1 Call for grant applications
2.2 IFS-CODESRIA Sustainable Agriculture Initiative
2.3 IFS-UNU/IAS "Agriculture for Peace" programme
2.4 Purchasing services for Africa outsourced
2.5 IFS & Cap-Net collaboration initiative
2.6 IFS Awardee initiates new Award
3. MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS
3.1 World Water Week 20034. IFS SECRETARIAT
4.1 IFS/IDESA office opened in Namibia
4.2 Upcoming: Board Meeting 2003
4.3 Staff news
4.4 New office for the Secretariat
5. ANNOUNCEMENTS
5.1 WANNPRES Meeting 2004
5.2 9th ICCA 2004
5.3 CPF Sourcebook for funding in Forestry
5.4 Economic Botany Journal inventory sale
1. Message from the Director
IFS is in the midst of a hectic season. In late September we moved to a new office which provides modern, spacious premises, somewhat further away from the immediate Stockholm city centre and considerably cheaper. The move went smoothly and we were off line only for a very short time.
Applications to the granting programme continue to soar. Young researchers have shown particular interest in our two new special initiatives: "Sustainable Agriculture" jointly with CODESRIA, and "Agriculture for Peace" jointly with UNU/IAS (read more about these below). We are now busy mobilising additional funds to make it possible to finance all applications of good quality.
A long-time partner of IFS is the Third World Academy of Sciences. TWAS celebrated its 20th Anniversary with a conference hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing on October 14-19 (see http://www.twas.org for more information). An important part of TWAS' strategy for the future is to invest in partnerships to support science development in less developed countries, and particularly in Africa. At the conference, TWAS Executive Director Professor Mohamed Hassan explicitly mentioned IFS as a partner in this endeavor. IFS is deligthed, and well prepared, to respond positively to this proposition. During the conference I held preliminary talks with TWAS and a number of African Science and Technology Commissions to prepare initiatives along these lines.
Michael Ståhl
IFS Director
2. IFS Granting Programme
2.1 CALL FOR RESEARCH GRANT APPLICATIONS
** Next deadline: December 31st, 2003 **
Applications are accepted at IFS all year-round. The selection process however works in six-month cycles. It follows that there are two "administrative" deadlines per year: June 30th and December 31st. Grants are awarded in May and December.
If you wish to have your application processed during the first half of 2004, you should make sure it arrives at the IFS Secretariat before December 31st, 2003. The final decisions for applications filed before the end of this year will be taken in May 2004, and communicated to the applicants by July 2004.
Get an application form from our website www.ifs.se or by placing an order at applications@ifs.se
2.2 IFS-CODESRIA SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE INITIATIVE IS A HIT
The deadline for multidisciplinary research teams to apply for research support through the IFS-CODESRIA Sustainable Agriculture Initiative passed on September 15th. We are pleased to note that the call for applications received a resounding response from researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa with over 60 teams applying for support. More information is available on www.ifs.se or the website of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa on http://www.codesria.org
2.3 IFS-UNU/IAS "AGRICULTURE FOR PEACE" PROGRAMME TAKES OFF
The United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU/IAS) and IFS received over 130 applications for Agriculture for Peace Fellowships during the three months preceding the August 15th deadline. This encouraging response from African researchers exceeded all expectations and is taken to be a strongly positive endorsement of our new partnership with UNU/IAS.
2.4 PURCHASING SERVICES FOR AFRICA OUTSOURCED
In June 2003 IFS appointed Sherwood Export (Pty) Ltd in Johannesburg, South Africa, to be the procurement channel for Sub-Saharan grantees approved in May 2003. The agreement is for a test period of six months and will be evaluated in the first half of 2004.
The agreement is in line with our objective to increase support in Africa. We believe that Sherwood Export has the expertise, systems and financial backing to ensure efficient provision of equipment and supplies to our grantees in Sub-Saharan Africa.
2.5 IFS & CAP-NET COLLABORATION INITIATIVE
IFS and the International Network for Capacity Building in Integrated Water Resources Management (Cap-Net) have prepared a Memorandum of Understanding for collaborative efforts. Cap-Net is an UNDP project and associated programme of the Global Water Partnership. Its role is to strengthen regional capacity building networks. The regional networks included in the IFS & Cap-Net discussions are the Central American Educational Institutions Network (REDICA) and the Arab Integrated Water Resources Management Network (AWARENET).
The purpose of the collaboration is to mobilise more young researchers into the scientific profession so that they can contribute to scientific knowledge production in the context of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). For IFS, the collaboration will, among other things, provide an opportunity to develop our approach to team grants.
Cap-Net's website is on http://www.cap-net.org
2.5 IFS AWARDEE DR M C NANDEESHA INITIATES NEW AWARD
"I am grateful to IFS for awarding me the IFS Jubilee Award. What I am today
is largely because of the IFS grant I secured in my early formative years.",
says Dr M C Nandeesha, IFS Jubilee Awardee in 2003. To acknowledge the talent
of other young researchers and provide them with social recognition at an
early age, Dr Nandeesha has decided to deposit his IFS Jubilee Award funds
with the Asian Fisheries Society, Indian Branch. The interest earned will
establish the "Professors T J Pandian and A J Matty Award for Excellence in
Aquaculture Research". Professors Pandian and Matty were Dr Nandeesha's project
supervisors during his period as an IFS Grantee.
3. Meetings and Workshops
3.1 WORLD WATER WEEK 2003
In conjunction with the World Water Week 2003 and the 13th Stockholm Water Symposium, IFS hosted an international seminar on "Strengthening capacity in developing countries for water resources research".
On the list of speakers were scientists and researchers from Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Jordan, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, as well as representatives of organisations working on capacity building. The current state of developing country water resources research was presented by way of issues such as arsenic contaminated drinking and irrigation water, excessive use of hazardous pesticides in agriculture and fishing activities, and nitrogen pollution due to excessive use of fertilizers.
The IFS seminar was arranged in collaboration with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Financial support was also provided by the International Network for Capacity Building in Integrated Water Management (Cap-Net), the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), and the International Science Programme (ISP).
IFS particularly wishes to acknowledge the efforts of the Stockholm International
Water Institute (SIWI) which annually arranges the Stockholm Water Symposium.
4. IFS Secretariat
4.1 IFS/IDESA OFFICE OPENED IN NAMIBIA
IFS is now represented in Windhoek, Namibia, by the newly established office for the IDESA (Innovations for Development in Eastern and Southern Africa) -project.
IDESA has the mission to encourage an innovative, entrepreneurial spirit in selected African countries. This is done by awards for invention and innovation. The awardees are identified through national competitions in the participating countries, in collaboration with local organisations. To date, eight countries are involved: Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
IDESA is supported by the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (Sida) through IFS.
For more information, contact IDESA Coordinator Sven-Uno Skarp on e-mail
ifs@africaonline.com.na or by phone/fax +264 61 255 778
The IFS/IDESA Windhoek office can also be reached by mail through the Embassy
of Sweden, PO Box 23087, Windhoek, Namibia
4.2 UPCOMING: IFS BOARD MEETING 2003
The annual meeting of the IFS Board of Trustees, the IFS Donors Group meeting and a Joint Forum will take place in Stockholm November 2-5, 2003. The theme of the 4th IFS Joint Forum will be "Proprietary Science and Developing Countries", with discussions on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) issues for developing country scientists.
4.3 STAFF NEWS
IFS staff welcomes Glauter Pinto de Souza, who will spend six months at the Secretariat in Stockholm working on his PhD research. Mr Pinto de Souza is a civil servant at CNPq (the Brazilian S&T Council) and is enrolled in a doctorate course at the Department of Sociology at University of Brasilia. His PhD research is an analysis of the impact of policies established by international organisations associated with ICSU (the International Council for Science) on Brazilian Scientific communities. IFS and TWAS (Third World Academy of Sciences) are included as case studies. You can contact Glauter Pinto de Souza by e-mail on glauter@ifs.se (as of March 2004 again on glauter@cnpq.br)
Greetings from former IFS Acting Director and Head of International Relations Jacques Gaillard. He has now installed himself in Vienna and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), taking up the position as Director of the Division of Planning and Coordination at the Department of Technical Cooperation. You can reach Jacques Gaillard on his e-mail J.Gaillard@iaea.org
4.4 NEW OFFICE FOR THE SECRETARIAT
Still in central Stockholm but with a considerable savings in rent, the IFS Secretariat is enjoying improved working conditions in terms of space. An office-warming party took place on October 24.
Our new postal and visiting address is
International Foundation for Science (IFS)
Karlavägen 108, 5th floor
SE-115 26 STOCKHOLM
Sweden
Telecommunications are as before:
main phone nr +46-8-545 818 00, fax +46-8-545 818 01,
e-mails to staff in the form firstname.lastname@ifs.se and
website at www.ifs.se
5. Announcements
5.1 WANNPRES MEETING 2004
The First Scientific Meeting arranged by the Western Africa Network of Natural Products Research Scientists (WANNPRES) will take place August 16-19, 2004, in Legon-Accra, Ghana. The theme is "Harmonizing Scientific and Indigenous Knowledge Systems for the Management of Malaria and HIV/AIDS". Abstracts are invited on any of the following topics:
- Efficacy of natural products for treatment of malaria and management of
HIV/AIDS
- Safety of natural products used in the treatment of malaria and management
of HIV/AIDS
- Efficacy of natural products used in the treatment and management of other
diseases of public health importance
- Quality and Standardization of natural products
- Ethics and code of conduct for natural product research scientists
For more information, e-mail Professor Marian E Addy at the Chemistry Department of the University of Ghana on wannpres@ug.edu.gh
5.2 9TH INTERNATIONAL CHEMISTRY CONFERENCE IN AFRICA (ICCA) 2004
The African Association of Pure and Applied Chemistry (AAPAC) is making the 1st Announcement and Call for Papers for the 9th International Chemistry Conference in Africa (ICCA). The theme of the conference is "Chemistry Towards Disease and Poverty Eradication", and it will be held in Arusha, Tanzania, August 2-7, 2004.
For more information, go to http://www.udsm.ac.tz/News_events/9icca.html or contact Dr M A Kishimba or Mr C A Mgina at the Chemistry Department of the University of Dar es Salaam, e-mail Kishimba@chem.udsm.ac.tz or Mgina@chem.udsm.ac.tz
5.3 CPF SOURCEBOOK FOR FUNDING IN FORESTRY
The online Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) Sourcebook is an excellent tool in the search of funding sources, policies and delivery mechanisms, with particular focus on sustainable forest management projects in developing countries. It covers a wide range of funds from those supporting individuals and small NGOs to those available to larger institutions, forest enterprises and governments.
Find the Sourcebook on http://www.fao.org/forestry/foris/webview/cpf/index.jsp?geoId=0&langId=1&siteId=2225
The CPF homepage is on http://www.fao.org/forestry/foris/webview/cpf/index.jsp?siteId=1220&langId=1
5.4 ECONOMIC BOTANY JOURNAL INVENTORY SALE
The Society for Economic Botany (SEB) is selling back issues of the Economic
Botany Journal for the cost of shipping and handling from the US. A list of
available back issues and estimates of prices can be found on the SEB website
at http://www.econbot.org/journal/order_back_issues.html
Requests can be e-mailed to allenpress@econbot.org
The sale closes on December 1st, 2003.
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