1. Identifying capacity development priorities for oceans UNESCO/IOC Capacity Development GEO Capacity-building Committee – 6 th Meeting Hannover, Germany, 13-14 February 2008 Joannès Berque IOC Capacity development section j.berque@unesco.org

2. IOC Capacity Development key guiding principle: self-driven Letting the beneficiary institute drive the cooperation Institute main driver from conception to implementation – ownership of activities Work with ministries or institute directors that answer regularly to ministries – relevance to national priorities Performance to be measured on: ownership, relevance, sustainability – and then impact, effectiveness, etc. Based on success/failures of decades of international cooperation (at IOC and in other fields than marine sciences)

3. IOC Self-driven capacity development: implementation Work at level of organisations –IOC has long experience training individual scientists –Complemented with cooperation at the level of organisations environment is essential for trained scientist to apply skills no sustainability of acquired skills without institute support to the scientists coming back Implementation started 2 years ago (Sida funds) –100 institutes - directors or senior scientists –75 countries (Africa, LAC, SE Asia) The sunset clause: obsolete ourselves from capacity development to catalysing collaboration between peers wherever they reside

4. One challenge: Global systems needs vs. local priorities in ocean sciences Global system science priorities: Are driven by ~ 10 countries Address large scale (1000km) deep ocean, mid-basin Need large computers, large bandwidths, large budgets Target outputs are publications in blue-water oceanography periodicals Societal benefits often indirect or long-term Developing countries marine science priorities typically: Concern many more countries Address local scale (100m-100km) Use small computers, small bandwidths, and small budgets Target outputs for immediate, visible applications to urgent issues: fisheries, erosion, pollution, economic development in coastal zone

5. Global system needs vs. local priorities in capacity development Global system requires capacity- building for: Launching & maintaining Argo floats In-situ validations New sensors validation & applications Continuous collection of data in standard format and provision of these data to global systems Developing countries expressed priorities in building technical skills for: Local, issue-based measurements “old sensors” applications – SSTs coastal modelling Affordable internet bandwidth Address the global needs through the local needs First develop capacity to solve local urgent problems Then the contribution to global science comes

6. Determining priorities for capacity-development Ministries Directors View for the longer term Growth of the institute Scientists Required services and products for national priorities Training and infrastructure needed to develop products or services Regional workshop for directors Urgent technical training and infrastructure Priorities for a new regional project Longer term Higher education Networking Proposal-writing workshop Or use previous similar process output – e.g. NEPAD priorities

7. Earth observations for what? Issue-based vs. tool-based approach Caveat of international but isolated club of old friends promoting a tool that has lost its relevance 1 Identify an issue in the coastal zone Government drive for addressing with national experts of high national priority 2 Determine the science needed for national Expert to propose solutions 3 Corresponding CD in earth observations, modelling, data management … Output, Results Evaluation

8. Self-driven CD: schematic Leadership development workshops for directors Innovative, good feedback, catalysed change process Bid-writing and team-building workshops Project leaders attend Know-how to compete for international funds National priorities Institute growth plans Technical workshops Often request is on modelling, GIS, remote sens Project scientists attend Competitive Proposal to funding agencies Institutes earn funds for their projects Conceived by them, within institute growth plan Directors workshops Coastal modelling workshop field trip, Maputo Institute priorities

10. Summarising Self-driven - foreign-driven Local needs – global needs Issue-based - tool-based

12. Proposal-writing workshops: increasing flow of funds to nationally-conceived projects Motivation –Much of the HR of many institutes in developing countries work on foreign-conceived projects – implications for ownership, relevance and sustainability –Large proportion of funds for marine/environmental science in the South are channelled back to the donor-country institutes –Many reasons for this, one is few competitive proposals from developing countries – it takes practice to write and submit proposals Enhance the know-how to compete for international funds –Hire a “proposal-writing” consultant with excellent fund-raising record –Conduct workshops to transfer this know-how to project leaders Another output: a bankable project proposal based on priorities determined by institute directors Accra bid development Mombassa bid-writing

15. Proposal-writing workshops implementation Process was begun in Eastern Africa, replicated in Western Africa and Latin America & the Caribbean (First bid submission in the next few months!! Critical factors: –Directors must be involved from conception –Team-building between project leaders is essential –Timeframe: 1-2 years after directors express their priorities An approach applicable to COAST-MAP-IO ??? –Obtain much needed additional funds –COAST-MAP-IO may be a great platform to conceive and develop projects with strong regional ownership –Could ensure sustainability of benefits of the project in for the safety from marine hazards in the region