Developing Science Science for Development Presenter: BRIAN PORTER Manager, Network and Information, IFS Rountable Conference: Developing Countries Access to Scientific Knowledge ICTP, Trieste, Italy, October 2003

International Foundation for Science  International NGO - founded 1972  Research grants to young scientists in developing countries  Basic biological sciences  Over 5,000 grants, more than 100 countries  Max $12,000 – renewable twice  Over 1,000 active advisers  Supporting activities

International Foundation for Science Mission IFS shall contribute towards strengthening the capacity of developing countries to conduct relevant and high quality research on the sustainable management of biological resources

International Foundation for Science Scientific areas supported  Aquatic Resources  Animal Production  Crop Science  Forestry / Agroforestry  Natural Products  Food Science  Water  Social Sciences (in relation to biological resources)

IFS Impact Studies ( MESIA) MESIA:Monitoring and Evaluation System for Impact Assessment developed by JACQUES GAILLARD former Deputy-Director, IFS and IFS Secretariat

MESIA Impact Studies Components  Overview of S&T activities in country  Statistical analysis of IFS grant applications and IFS grantees  Questionnaire survey  Bibliometric study  Interviews

MESIA Impact Studies Reports No. 1MESIA Framework and Guidelines No. 2Questionnaire Survey of African Scientists No. 3IFS Impact in Mexico No. 4Strengthening Scientific Capacity in Tanzania No. 5Scientific Research Capacity in Cameroon Reports 1-5 are available on IFS web:

MESIA Impact Studies Main findings  IFS grantees remain active researchers in own country (reduced brain drain)  IFS grant had significant impact on career  IFS grantees publish more frequently and more often in mainstream journals  Internationalisation of many grantees’ careers  Increased collaboration with other scientists  More success accessing further funding

MESIA Impact Studies Additional findings  Scientists in sub-Saharan Africa identified lack of access to scientific knowledge as a key hinderance to research  Grant applications (to IFS) from sub-Saharan Africa of lower quality than other developing regions  Less access to Internet in sub-Saharan Africa IFS has decided to focus efforts on countries with vulnerable science infrastructure, especially SSA

Project: ICT and Internet Support for African Scientists Partners: INASPInternational Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications, Oxford, UK ICTPAbdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy IFDC-AfricaInternational Institute for Soil Fertility Management, Lomé, Togo

ICT and Internet Support for African Scientists Overview  For smaller research institutions in sub- Saharan Africa  Build ICT infrastructure and Internet connections  Train scientists and other staff  Digitalize libraries and ’grey literature’  Collaboration via Internet

ICT and Internet Support for African Scientists Rationale  Access to scientific publications in sub- Saharan Africa very low  Scientific publications exist on Internet – many free for developing countries (see PERI Project at also SciDev.net)  Many university Internet connections overloaded

ICT and Internet Support for African Scientists Infrastructure  LANs (Local Area Networks) at institutions  Internet connection with most appropriate technology (radio, satellite, etc)  Appropriate bandwidth for scientific research

ICT and Internet Support for African Scientists Training  Computer literacy for all staff  For scientists: computer modelling, statistics, biometrics, proposal writing  For library staff: digitalizing library catelogues and institution’s own research material  Appropriate training for network administrators and administrative staff

ICT and Internet Support for African Scientists Expected outcomes  More creative use of existing data and less repetitive collecting of data  Creation of African scientific content available via Internet  Higher proficiency in research proposal writing  Higher quality research  Collaboration on national, regional and global projects (eg GFIS – Global Forestry Information System)

Thank you for your attention International Foundation for Science Karlavägen 108, 5th floor SE Stockholm Sweden tel: web: Brian Porter