A National research council of belize? Preliminary considerations 1 February, 2018 COBEC CONFERENCE, BELIZE CITY, BELIZE

Pursuing A National research agenda 2011 Memorandum of Understanding Institutions with a Research Mandate Private Sector Development needs Public Sector Development Needs Public-Private Sector Partnerships

Pursuing a research agenda con’t Horizon 2030 National Culture Policy Millennium Development Goals Sustainable Development Goals Research and Development

First National Research Conference Objectives: Foster a Culture of Research Highlight Belizean research & Belizean applied research Raise awareness – students Networking & cooperation Outputs: Publications

First national research conference Areas: Social Sciences: history, anthropology, sociology, economics, geography, tourism, technologies Education: pedagogy, methodology, languages, applied linguistics, online education, adult & continuing education, technical education, intercultural & bilingual education, technologies Physical & Natural Sciences: environmental science, climate change, math, biology, physics, chemistry, agriculture, computer science, health, conventional, traditional & alternative medicines Arts & Humanities: culture, literature, performing arts, fine arts, expressive arts, philosophy, ethics,

A national research council of BELIZE? PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS 1. Rationale The overall purpose of the body is to serve the productive sector, policy makers and the public through relevant research in science and technology that contributes to sustainable development of Belize through strategic partnership among academia, productive sector, government and NGOs. 2. Overall Goals To promote research that contributes to national development To develop a national culture of innovation and research vital in today’s knowledge economy To develop national capacity for research in innovation and sustainable development To promote the use of research in decision making and policy development To rationalize the use of available financial and technical research infrastructure

A national research council of BELIZE? Key strategies To secure funding for basic and applied research from national, regional and international sources To establish accredited research standards and processes To establish partnerships through international, regional and national networking To establish a national data base of researchers, research centres and units and research projects To disseminate research through an annual conference, seminars and through a national research journal

A national research council of BELIZE? 3. Main Challenges Demonstrating tangible benefits to key partners to ensure sustained participation and commitment Learning from previous failed national experiences Addressing and overcoming limited financial resources and weak research culture Maximizing the use of limited human resource capacity Overcoming limited access to research data bases (national, regional, international)

A national research council of BELIZE? Principal Benefits Relevant research outputs accruing to the country in general, productive sector, government and academia in particular. Building national research infrastructure Building national research culture: strengthening research capacity among the key partners Increased accessibility to research outputs Greater coordination for increased procurement and efficient use of research resources

A national research council of BELIZE? Structure Head quarter: In the short term, the body may be housed at an existing participating institution, such as ISCR, UB, Galen, Ministry of Education. Policy making for the Council: A body representative of academia, productive sector, government and NGOs. Funding, Short term: financial, infrastructural and human support may come from the four partners based on available resources. Management: Initial staffing of a full time director, one support staff and one ICT technician. The body may be brought into formal existence through legislation as independent body or a statutory body or a department or unit of a Ministry of Government.

A national research council of BELIZE? Other key component areas to be addressed Determining type and range of research and use of technology most relevant to national needs Developing strategies for the development of research capacity among partners Promoting the use of research outputs in the productive sector and to help inform public policy formulation Funding the operational and programmatic work of the Body for the medium term Creating effective networking among existing research units and researchers at the national and international levels Establishing mechanisms for quality, relevance and effectiveness of the work of the Body through recognized accreditation standards

discussion