IFS launches pilot Collaborative Research Programme

Published: 2012-10-31

With the support of the Carnegie Corporation, IFS has launched a pilot project of its Collaborative Research Programme.

The Programme will award Collaborative Research Grants to small teams of early-career researchers in developing countries to undertake research on the sustainable management of biological and water resources.

The pilot launched this week will be limited to research on Neglected and Underutilized Species in five African countries (Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda). Based on the experience of the pilot methodologies and procedures for the IFS Collaborative Research Grants Programme will be developed which will subsequently be available to a wider group of young researchers in developing countries.

Those teams of scientists that are awarded research grants during the pilot project will pursue their research projects for up to three years.

Read more details about the Collaborative Research Grants Programme here.

7 comments

Comments

  1. Graham Haylor, IFS, Dec 06, 2012 at 10:48 AM

    Individual research grants are the core business of IFS and early-career scientists from all countries eligible for IFS support in Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America are welcome to apply. Our country eligibility is listed and defined elsewhere on this website. Bolivia for the reasons you raise is most definitely eligible.

    The collaborative research approach in the 10-year strategy is new for IFS. It is therefore being piloted first as a limited project, so that we can learn together on a smaller scale what works well and what works less well. Only in the pilot project, the research topics are limted to Neglected and Underutilised Species and the country colleagues eligible for the pilot project are limited to just the five countries.

  2. Carla Oporto, Dec 05, 2012 at 08:09 PM
    http://casa.fcyt.umss.edu.bo

    In Bolivia we also need support for research, these last years international cooperation , mainly from european countries diminished a lot, and we young researchers, with PhD degree also from european universities, can´t develop research projects of high scientific quality because of the lack of funds. Please take a look on South Amerrica.

  3. Graham Haylor, IFS, Nov 19, 2012 at 05:09 PM

    Following a long envisioning process with very substantial interactions with IFS stakeholders, we have debated this issue and the IFS Board of Trustees (BOT) have advised that our eligibility going forwards should reflect that we focus on early-career scientists from least developed countries. Going further the BOT have advised that the application age for women and men should be different. Therefore for first time IFS grant applicants, men may not be older than 35; and women, not older than 40 years of age.

    Global statistics indicate that women are not only unequally represented in science but also less likely than men to be involved in the planning, research, development or application of science. The underrepresentation of senior women scientists limits the role-models, mentors and professional networks available to girls.

    It is a priority for IFS to support women within developing world science, especially African research, and to enrich the scientific enterprise with the added diverse themes and perspectives that can be derived from a more balanced gender representation within science. The priority and the approach to empowering women in science, in the IFS strategy 2011-2020, builds on the learning from the 2009 IFS initiative ‘Developing Africa through Science, Technology, and Innovation in Agriculture: Women as key drivers’, undertaken with the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and RUFORUM, and from the IFS contribution to the CGIAR project ‘African Women in Agricultural Research and Development’ (AWARD). The approach aligns with the Norwegian Committee for Mainstreaming Women in Science, and contributes to the global agenda for gender equality and women’s empowerment implied by MDG 3. The focus on Africa reflects the identified needs, that are found to be most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa and supports the African Union declaration of 2010-2020 as the African Women’s Decade, which includes a thematic focus on the promotion of women in science and technology.

    IFS believes that mainstreaming a gender perspective in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) could enrich innovative problem-solving and decision-making, enhance social equity, women’s rights and contribute to the more effective achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the attainment of sustainable development. This priority within the IFS strategy is based on the premise that to strive for gender equity in science is not only an international obligation, but a wise approach to science management and governance.

  4. simon Owani Olok, Nov 18, 2012 at 08:14 AM

    You are limiting age to 35 for men and 40 for women yet we talk of genda equality are you really practicing that? Secondly, in most African countires, by the time one has a pHD or a Masters degree, majority will be well above 35 years of age. Consider increasing age limit to 42 for both male and female applicants.

  5. Graham Haylor, Nov 12, 2012 at 12:34 PM

    Individual research grants are the core business of IFS and early-career scientists from all countries eligible for IFS support in Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America are welcome to apply.

    The collaborative research approach in the 10-year strategy is new for IFS. It is therefore being piloted first as a limited project, so that we can learn together on a smaller scale what works well and what works less well. Only in the pilot project, the research topics are limted to Neglected and Underutilised Species and the country colleagues eligible for the pilot project are limited to just the five countries.

  6. Dr. Dikande, Nov 10, 2012 at 10:31 AM
    http://laramans.blogspot.com

    Scientists from all over the african continent should be given the same chance to access research grants not just some priviledged ones. Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, always thew same countries but yet you never see the outcome or better results than works from scientists in manifestly quarantined countries like Cameroon, etc.

  7. Chioma Blaise Chikere, Nov 06, 2012 at 04:08 PM

    The IFS collaborative research will be of immense assistance to sustainable development of Science and Technology in the Developing world. My University, University of Port Harcourt Nigeria will greatly benefit from this project.

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