The KFPE is the information hub for global research partnerships in Switzerland. It promotes efficient, effective, and equitable research cooperation with low- and middle-income countries. By doing so, the KFPE contributes to sustainable development and to solving local and global problems.more

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About KFPE

The Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries (KFPE) promotes research partnerships with institutions in developing and transition countries. It constitutes an alliance of Swiss institutions that engage in such research partnerships for the benefit of global cooperation and sustainable development.

Mission

The KFPE is committed to ensuring that Swiss research makes a long-term and successful contribution to sustainable development and to solving global and local challenges through efficient, effective, and equitable partnerships with institutions in developing and transition countries.

The KFPE aims to achieve that

  • Swiss researchers and their research partners in developing and transition countries are empowered to work together on an equal footing in research partnerships and thus contribute successfully to sustainable development and to solving global and local challenges.
  • Swiss researchers, research funders, policymakers, and the public are aware of the benefits of fair research partnerships with research institutions, civil society organizations, and government agencies in developing and transition countries.
  • Swiss research funders provide suitable and sufficient support for partnership-based and sustainability-oriented research cooperation with institutions in developing and transition countries.

Together, these three objectives – the ability of researchers to work successfully in such research partnerships; awareness of the benefits of such research partnerships; and suitable and sufficient support – enable this form of research collaboration to be used more widely and effectively to contribute to sustainable development and to solving global and local challenges.

Focal areas

To achieve these objectives, the KFPE is active in three areas: in strengthening, in connecting, and in sensitizing. Its activities in these focal areas ensure the Commission’s greatest possible impact in promoting research cooperation and thereby contributing to sustainable development and to solving global and local challenges.

Strengthening

The KFPE strengthens research partnerships with developing and transition countries. It stimulates reflection and debate on how to improve the quality and impact of such partnerships.

  • It identifies (new) challenges for research partnerships with developing and transition countries and it develops and propagates ethical and methodological foundations for such partnerships and their funding.
  • It strengthens research capacities and networks in developing and transition countries.

Connecting

The KFPE connects research partners as well as researchers and practice-oriented actors in policy, administration, business, and international development cooperation. It is the information hub in Switzerland for this area of research and is internationally recognized.

  • The KFPE fosters exchange and networking between researchers working in partnership with institutions from developing and transition countries.
  • It promotes exchange, networking, and cooperation of researchers with actors from policy, administration, business, and civil society from different countries.

Sensitizing
The KFPE sensitizes the research community, policymakers, and the public to the need for, and concerns of, research in and with developing and transition countries as a contribution to solving global challenges. It cooperates closely with Swiss research policy circles and feeds their concerns into the relevant forums and communications.

  • The KFPE sensitizes researchers and research funders, as well as political decision-makers and the public, to the benefits of research partnerships with developing and transition countries.
  • It raises awareness among research funders in Switzerland of the importance of suitable and sufficient recognition and funding of such research partnerships, and it exchanges information with policymakers in order to help shape policies in favour of research partnerships.

Operationalization

Activities in these three focal areas contribute to the capacity of researchers to engage in research partnerships, to broadening awareness within and outside the scientific community of the benefits and added value of research partnerships, and to the needs-based and adequate promotion of this form of research. Concrete outputs of individual activities and how they contribute to achieving these three objectives are described separately for each activity.

To launch and implement activities, the KFPE works closely with its associated institutions in Switzerland and partner organizations around the world, as well as with the various platforms of the Swiss Academies. The members of the KFPE decide jointly on the projects and activities of the KFPE that are carried out to achieve the objectives.

Membership and affiliation

The Commission’s members are experienced in the field of research partnerships with developing and transition countries. The associated institutions include the main Swiss institutions of sustainability-oriented development research as well as selected NGOs, corporate foundations, and government bodies. The Commission has an office in Bern. It is affiliated to the Platform Science and Policy (SAP) of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT).

Funding

KFPE receives core funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation(SDC), the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), and the SCNAT, as well as contributions from its associated institutions. In addition, KFPE accepts mandates which it either carries out itself or assigns to its associated institutions.


Daniel Maselli, Smita Premachander and Bruno Stoeckli talk about the establishment of the KFPE, the importance of North-South research and the achievements of the KFPE.