IFS eNews No. 12, June 2004

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

1.1 New Grants approved
1.2 IFS Impact Studies

2. IFS Strategy

2.1 Asia/Pacific in focus 2005
2.2 IFS at "Crop Science 2004"

3. IFS Granting Programme

3.1 Call for Applications: NEXT DEADLINE JUNE 30!
3.2 Timetable for Granting Decisions
3.3 Natural Products under scrutiny
3.4 Message from an IFS Grantee

4. Partnerships & Funding

4.1 DFID validates Sustainable Agriculture Initiative
4.2 IFS/FAO Memorandum of Understanding
4.3 Nutrition Third World funds IFS Grantee
4.4 IFS bonds with Bio-EARN
4.5 IFS/Syngenta Foundation collaboration in Mali

5. Proposal Writing Workshops

5.1 IFS/SEI Workshop - Sweden
5.2 IFS/REDICA Workshop - Costa Rica

6. IFS Secretariat

6.1 Upcoming: Governance Meetings November 2004
6.2 Executive Committee Meeting
6.3 Staff News

7. Announcements

7.1 Meetings Bulletin Board
7.2 Relaunch of AJOL

1. Message from the Director

 

1.1 NEW GRANTS APPROVED

I am happy to announce that IFS approved 140 new Research grants for the "Spring" session 2004.

IFS thus continues the trend of financing an increasing number of grants (120 were approved during the first half of 2003). The new Grantees were selected among 491 applications which were registered at IFS during July-December 2003. These applications have been pre-screened by the IFS secretariat and passed on to Scientific Advisers during August-December 2003. The eight Scientific Advisory Committees (SAC) held their meetings in April and May and provided the final recommendations to the Secretariat.

Among the newly approved grants 60% are awarded to young scientists in institutions in Low Income and Lower Middle Income Countries, and 31% of the new Grantees are women.

I want to thank the some 500 Scientific Advisors who took time to assess applications and the 35 members of the SACs who spent a very busy weekend prioritising applications. Your services to the incoming generation of scientists are invaluable!

The new Grantees will be informed by email in a week's time. Researchers whose applications did not succeed will, in due time, receive written comments from IFS on how to improve their research projects.

 

1.2 IFS IMPACT STUDIES

The series of IFS Impact Studies is taking a new turn. During the past few years IFS has conducted impact studies on country and regional level concentrating on the career of IFS Grantees. In March we initiated a new kind of impact assessment, which will evaluate the substantive content of accomplishments of IFS grantees. All research areas will be covered. We are starting with the Research Area "Natural Products". Read more in article 2.3 below.


Michael Ståhl
IFS Director

2. IFS Strategy

 

2.1 ASIA/PACIFIC IN FOCUS 2005

IFS will have a special focus on Asia & Pacific during 2005.

Our primary goals are

A number of visits and events are planned, including a regional IFS Assembly in August 2005 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We will kick-off the focus year with an IFS Seminar at the 4th International Crop Science Congress in Brisbane, Australia, on September 30, 2004 (Read more below).

 

2.2 IFS AT CROP SCIENCE 2004

IFS is a minor sponsor of the 4th International Crop Science Congress and 5th Asian Crop Science Congress in Brisbane, Australia, September 26 ö October 1st, and will host both a seminar and a small exhibition during these meetings. The Director and some other staff will be on location, and are very interested to meet with IFS Grantees, former Grantees or Advisers present. Please let our coordinator Brian Porter (brian.porter@ifs.se) know if you have plans to attend in Brisbane!
The 4th International Crop Science Congress website is on http://www.cropscience2004.com

 

3. IFS Granting Programme

 

3.1 CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

** Deadline for next session: June 30, 2004 **

Project proposals are welcome at the IFS Secretariat throughout the year. However, there are two administrative deadlines: June 30th and December 31st.

If you apply now - before June 30th - your project proposal will be evaluated in the incoming second session of this year ("Winter 2004" or "2004W").

Granting decisions for applications that have arrived at the IFS Secretariat during the period January-June 2004 are made in January 2005.

3.2 TIMETABLE FOR GRANTING DECISIONS

The IFS Research grants are awarded following a competitive process. The evaluation and granting process starts twice a year, after the administrative deadlines of December 31st and June 30th. The timeframe from deadline for applications to final decisions is roughly 6 months.

Applications are first pre-screened at the IFS Secretariat.
To pass prescreening and get accepted for further evaluation a project proposal has to be

Accepted applications that have arrived at the IFS Secretariat during the first half of the year (January to June - before June 30th) are processed in the second half of the year, with granting decisions in January the following year.

Applications that arrive at the Secretariat July to December (before December 31st), and get accepted at prescreening, are evaluated during the first half of the following year, with granting decisions in June.
Applicants are notified whether or not they have been awarded an IFS Research grant during the months following the decisions (July-August and February).

3.3 NATURAL PRODUCTS UNDER SCRUTINY

The IFS Research Area "Natural Products" is being evaluated. The evaluation is set off by a survey of the most common topics chosen by the IFS Grantees working with Natural Products. This research agenda will then be compared with the international mainstream or research frontier, as well as with the development challenges facing the regions where the Grantees work.

Prof Herman Niemeyer (Chile) has been engaged to be responsible for the assessment phase. Ulrika Huss is working with the compilation phase at the IFS Secretariat in Stockholm. AFASSA (Coordination of Natural Products Research Networks in Africa, Asia and South America) will provide additional analytical comments on the results. The results of the evaluation will be presented at the IFS Governance Meetins in November 2004.

Natural Products is the first in line of the eight IFS Research Areas which will all be separately evaluated regarding the accomplishments of their Grantees. The decision to conduct this survey on the substantive aspects of the IFS Granting programme was made by the IFS Board of Trustees in November 2003.

3.4 MESSAGE FROM AN IFS GRANTEE

Ex-IFS Grantee Professor Liu Shu-Sheng will be one of the seven "Plenary Sparkers" for ICE 2004; the XXII International Congress of Entomology in Brisbane, Australia, August 15-21, 2004. ICE 2004 is a satellite meeting to 4th International Crop Science Congress (see article 2.2 above).

"The invitation is a big challenge as well as a big honour. IFS support has played important roles in the development of my career. I would like to thank IFS for the support over the years", says Professor Liu.

Liu Shu-sheng was an IFS Grantee 1990-95, working on a project entitled "An investigation of behavioural and ecological variations among populations of Trichogramma dendrolimi Matsumura in China". In 2000, he was awarded the IFS Silver Jubilee Award. Professor Liu has served as an IFS Adviser - "although I have not been able to contribute much in this regard in the last two to three years because of other commitments". We are very happy that his being fully engaged elsewhere has brought him recognition on the international scene, and wish him a sparkful plenary!

To read more about the XXII International Congress of Entomology - "Strength in Diversity", go to http://www.ice2004.org


4. Partnerships & Funding

 

4.1 DFID VALIDATES SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE INITIATIVE

The British Department for International Development (DFID) demonstrates strong support for IFS by channelling up to a total of GBP 225 000 (EUR 335 000) to the IFS/CODESRIA joint ãSustainable Agriculture Intitiativeä over a three year period (as of 2004).

4.2 IFS/FAO MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

IFS and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the aim to share resources and develop joint activities to promote research and technology in developing countries.

The agreement establishes a base for collaborative programmes and co-sponsoring and co-organization of seminars and workshops. New opportunities for exchange of information and expert consultations between IFS and FAO will lead to synergies in science capacity building.

Read more in the FAO Newsroom http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2004/38147

4.3 NUTRITION THIRD WORLD FUNDS IFS GRANTEE

Nutrition Tiers Monde/Nutrition Third World (NTW) is going to co-sponsor a Cameroonian IFS Grantee working with beta-carotene contents in dried food products.

Nutrition Third World (NTW) is a non-profit organisation based in Brussels, Belgium, that supports developing country scientists in their research to combat malnutrition.

4.4 IFS BONDS WITH BIO-EARN

The Stockholm Environment Institute has involved IFS in the East African Regional Programme and Research Network for Biotechnology, Biosafety and Biotechnology Policy Development (Bio-EARN).

IFS was contracted to co-ordinate the evaluation of concept notes for Bio-EARN PhD-projects. The assessments of project proposals were done by IFS Advisers specialized in relevant scientific fields. In addition, SEI engaged IFS to provide Bio-EARN PhD-students in Sweden a course in project conceptualisation, which took place in Stockholm in April (Read more in article 4.1 below).

SEI's website is on http://www.sei.se
To find out more about Bio-EARN, go to http://www.bio-earn.org

4.5 IFS/SYNGENTA FOUNDATION COLLABORATION IN MALI

IFS and Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) have embarked on collaboration in Mali. SFSA will provide USD 48 480 (EUR 41 000) towards a project that will produce a workshop, and two Research grants within the IFS Granting programme.
Read more about Syngenta on http://www.syngentafoundation.org


5. Proposal Writing Workshops

 

5.1 IFS/SEI WORKSHOP - SWEDEN

** Training Workshop on Developing and Writing Competitive Research Proposals, April 26-30, Stockholm, Sweden **

The four last days of April, an IFS proposal writing workshop was organized on IFS home turf for the East-African PhD-students enrolled in the Bio-EARN sandwich PhD programme. The Bio-EARN PhD programme is run by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), with funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

IFS Adviser Peter Wood, UK, together with IFS staff, offered seasoned training to twenty workshop participants from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Their hosting institutions in Sweden are the Swedish University of Agricultural Science (SLU), the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and Lund University.

5.2 IFS/REDICA WORKSHOP - COSTA RICA

** IFS/REDICA Scientific Capacity Enhancing Workshop for Potential Applicants for IFS Research Grants, May 24-28, San Jos≥, Costa Rica **

IFS partner REDICA (the Central American Network of Engineering Institutions) hosted a regional proposal writing workshop for 23 hand-picked scientists conducting research related to the sustainable management of water resources. IFS provided funding and a much appreciated trainer; Argentine IFS Adviser Edith Taleisnik.

Our warmest thanks are extended to Lilliana Arrieta and her team at REDICA. Their work prior to the workshop (all practical arrangements, including head-hunting the participants and advisory services during the preparation of their project proposals) and contributions to the programme are invaluable.


6. IFS Governance & Secretariat

6.1 UPCOMING: GOVERNANCE MEETINGS NOVEMBER 2004

IFS Governance Meetings will be held in Vienna November 27-30, 2004. The topic for the annually occuring Joint Forum will be a presentation and discussion of the results of the external evaluation of the Natural Products Research Area and the summary of the five IFS Impact Study reports (a.k.a. MESIA studies) published to date.

6.2 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

The IFS Executive Committee (EC) met in Stockholm May 8-9, 2004. On the agenda was among other items the Secretariat's Mentorship project. The final document on the Mentorship Programme will be presented at the Governance Meetings in November, but the Secretariat was given a green light to proceed with fundraising immediately.

The EC also discussed a regional meeting for potential donors, IFS Affiliated Organisations and the IFS Governance Meetings in South/South East Asia in August 2005.

6.3 STAFF NEWS

IFS bids a fond farewell to Ingela Taxell, long-time Purchasing Manager, who is enjoying her days of retirement as of May 28, 2004. Ms Taxell joined IFS in 1989, so she has been kitting out IFS Grantees working with animal production, aquaculture, food science, natural products and water resources with equipment and supplies for 18 years. Her commitment to improve the working environment of scientists in developing countries also materialized in her close collaboration with the Network of Users of Scientific Equipment in Eastern and Southern Africa (NUSESA).

IFS staff and your colleagues all around the world will find the empty place you have left behind very hard to fill! Thank you, Ingela.

 

7. Announcements

7.1 MEETINGS BULLETIN BOARD

** If you have an invitation to an event that could be of interest to the readers of IFS eNews - people working in fields related to the sustainable management of biological resources - e-mail it to info@ifs.se for publication in this section of next IFS eNews! **


** WANNPRES SCIENTIFIC MEETING 2004, August 16-19, Legon-Accra, Ghana **

Western Africa Network of Natural Products Research Scientists (WANNPRES) is making the 2nd announcement for its first Scientific Meeting to be held at the University of Ghana in August.

The theme is set to "Harmonizing Scientific and Indigenous Knowledge Systems for the Management of Malaria and HIV/AIDS"
Results of original research on medicinal plants used for the treatment or management of various diseases of public health importance, especially malaria and HIV/AIDS, will be presented and discussed. Abstracts are invited on any of the following topics:

Deadline for Registration: May 31st.
Abstracts are accepted until June 15.

For more information, contact the Meeting Secretariat by e-mail wannpres@ug.edu.gh or fax +233-21-500305

Postal address:
WANNPRES Office
Chemistry Department
PO Box LG 56
University of Ghana
Legon-Accra, Ghana

** II INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, October 18-22, 2004, Havana, Cuba **The Cuban Section of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SCBBM) is organizing its 2nd International Symposium on Biochemistry and Molecular Biology within the 5th International Congress on Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, to be held October 18th - 22nd, 2004, at the Havana International Conference Center.

The aim is to discuss, in a wide cultural and social atmosphere, the most recent scientific and teaching advances in all fields of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

For more information, go to http://fbio.uh.cu/scbbm
or contact Maria Eliana Lanio, by e-mail scbbm@fbio.uh.cu or fax +(53)-7-8321321

** 11TH CONGRESS OF AFRICAN ASSOCIATION FOR BIOLOGICAL NITROGEN FIXATION, November 22-27, 2004, Dakar, Senegal **

The African Association for Biological Nitrogen Fixation (AABNF) is making the 1st Announcement for its 2004 meeting focussing on the "Impact of Biological Nitrogen Fixation on Agricultural Development in Africa". This congress is bilingual, with simultaneous translation to French and English provided.

Founded in 1982, AABNF is a multidisciplinary group bringing together soil scientists, agronomists, microbiologists, nutritionists, policy makers and others interested in the promotion of research and training, and use of biological fixation (BNF) systems to increase food production and alleviate malnutrition in Africa.

For more information, go to http://www.ird.sn/aabnf2004
or contact the AABNF Congress Secretariat by e-mail aabnf2004@ird.sn or fax +(221)-8321675

Postal address:
Secrétariat AABNF 2004
Laboratoire de Microbiologie
Centre de Recherche de Bel-Air
BP 1386
Dakar, Senegal

7.2 RE-LAUNCH OF AFRICAN JOURNALS ONLINE (AJOL)

African Journals Online (AJOL) was launched in 1998 by the International Network for Scientific Publications (INASP) with only 10 journals. By January 2004, it had over 175 African journals covering most subject areas (agricultural sciences and resource management, arts, culture, language and literature, health, science and technology, and social sciences).

AJOL has now been re-launched with a number of new features and improved facilities, such as full searching and browsing facilities, free access to tables of contents and abstracts for all titles, document delivery service, as well as an e-mail alert function. Services are free of charge to both users and participating journals (with charges only for document delivery requests from outside developing countries).

Journals included in AJOL are scholarly in content with peer reviewed articles, and publish a mixture of pure and applied research as well as review papers. An evaluation of the AJOL service undertaken at the end of 2002 showed that participating journals benefit from the international visibility, with an increase in international submissions and citations. Users value access to African research that they have been unable to locate from other sources. In 2003, AJOL registered 4000 new users, and the demand for document delivery reached to over 650 articles.

Visit the new AJOL website on http://www.ajol.info and sign up for email alerts to any journals of interest.

INASP also welcomes new journals onto the service – go to http://www.ajol.info or e-mail ajol@inasp.info

 

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