News and information on science and global development
Notizie e pubblicazioni
This platform is the product of an international research collaboration between the University of Bern, the University of Applied Sciences Eastern Switzerland, swisspeace, SwissTPH, PH Bern, CETRAD and the Water and Land Resource Center.
Co-creation of research knowledge between academics and non-academic stakeholders, contributes to sustainable development and societal transformation. Based on a survey conducted among 43 international research partnership projects, this policy brief recommend an active engagement with non-academic actors, especially from vulnerable groups and local enterprises, from the start of a research endeavour.
Research that takes a pro-active role in bridging science and practice holds promise to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. While passing on best practices outside of academia, inspiration can be drawn from pressing global challenges. Using Swiss research institutions that maintain partnerships with low- and middle-income countries as a case study, the purpose of this study was to identify synergies between research and services for development (R&S4D).
Wie schweizerische KMU dieses Ziel zu erreichen versuchen und der Bund sie darin (noch) besser unterstützen könnte. Erkenntnisse aus einem Stakeholder-Dialog der KFPE.
Many words common to science have never been written in African languages. Now, researchers from across Africa are changing that.
Immagine: Credit: Eye Ubiquitous/Alamy
La DSC e la SECO organizzano per la seconda volta il concorso Giovani e futuro «Together we’re better»
Events in Afghanistan are prompting fears of dramatic consequences, including for scientists in the country. Scholars at Risk (SAR) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) can help researchers from Afghanistan.
Die KFPE hat eine neue Seite zu Auswirkungen der COVID-19 Pandemie auf die Nord-Süd Forschung und deren Beitrag zur Bewältigung der Krise.
Global scientific partnerships should generate and share knowledge equitably, but too often exploit research partners in low-income countries, while disproportionately benefitting those in higher-income countries. Here, I outline my suggestions for more-equitable partnerships.
This Joint Funding Scheme (JFS) brings together Southeast Asian, European and Swiss researchers to collaborate on topics of interest for both sides. Apply before 15 October.
The Research Partnership Grants support research projects with collaborating institutions in Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam China (incl. Hong Kong and Taiwan), Japan, and South Korea, which have to be based on an existing partnership.
Christopher H. Trisos, Jess Auerbach & Madhusudan Katti
The ICCA report highlights the importance of recognising Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights and governance systems for effective and equitable conservation.
Wealthy countries are buying up available COVID-19 vaccines, leaving tiny amounts for others. “The price of this failure will be paid with lives and livelihoods in the world’s poorest countries” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus - Four strategies to right a ‘scandalous inequity’.
African researchers are suffering from power dynamics that favour global North collaborators. While some initiatives are helping build local capacity, others undervalue African collaborators. COVID-19 is aiding the creation of a foundation for future North-South collaborations. SciDevNet Blog by Laura Owings.
The Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) and Swissnex launched the new platform research.swiss showcasing scientific and technological cooperation opportunities between Switzerland and the rest of the world.
UKCDR and ESSENCE launched a new Equitable Partnerships Resource Hub, which brings together guidance, tools and principles on equitable partnerships from across the world.
The ETH project “Science Action in Schools for Sustainable Development (SAS4SD)” has ended. As an outcome, teaching materials on “Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation” and “Climate Smart Cocoa Production” are now available.
A new open access publication on how to improve research impact for development by the Impact Initiative for International Development Research, University of Cambridge.
Il Messaggio sulla promozione dell’educazione, della ricerca e dell’innovazione negli anni 2021–2024 prevede la continuazione dei programmi di cooperazione bilaterali con Paesi partner al di fuori dell’Europa, lanciati nel 2008. Come confermato da una valutazione internazionale del 2020, questi programmi svolgono un ruolo importante ai fini della diversificazione delle cooperazioni internazionali nella ricerca e contribuiscono a far aumentare in modo significativo il numero delle pubblicazioni scientifiche congiunte di attori svizzeri e partner extraeuropei. Con la firma di convenzioni sulle prestazioni con cinque Leading House, lo strumento di promozione è stato confermato per altri quattro anni.
Two new issues of MRD are complete. Vol 40, No 2 focuses on the role of mountain biodiversity for sustainable development. Papers from various world regions offer further evidence of mountain species’ importance for human livelihoods and wellbeing, and call for effective conservation and management approaches. Vol 40, No 1 also contains several biodiversity-related articles; further studies address tourism development in the South Caucasus and other topics.
This article spans issues of international student mobility, inequalities in higher education, and spaces for transformative learning for sustainable development.
Unter dem Motto «Unser Klima unsere Zukunft. Klimakommunikation in Krisenzeiten» werden am K3 Kongress die neusten Erkenntnisse aus der Forschung aufgezeigt und sogleich in interaktiven Werkstätten in die Umsetzung gebracht. Sie können sich jetzt um einen der 21 Workshopplätze bewerben! Gesucht sind Konzepte von hoher Themenrelevanz und methodischer Vielfalt. Eingabefrist: 29. März 2021.
Based on insight generated from Swiss academic and research entities, this Policy Brief aims to highlight the importance of bringing R&S4D closer, at research entities in Switzerland and elsewhere, and how to go about doing it.
A synthesis of twelve years (2007-2019) of the long-term farming systems comparisons in the tropics (SysCom)
Covid-19 has changed the way we do almost everything. There is significant hope this is temporary, but while we continue to live under various lockdowns and restrictions, how can we carry out research that ensures the safety of the participants and researchers above all else?
The Swiss Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries (KFPE) recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. This milestone affords us the opportunity to look back on – and take stock of – the commission’s experiences, as they may hold important lessons for the future.
Synthesis report on how to measure the coherence of Switzerland's development policy.
The fair research contracting self-assessment tool supports institutions to engage in fair and equitable negotiation processes for formal contracts despite recognised imbalances in institutional contracting capacities.
Switzerland is small, rich, and profits greatly from globalization. Consequently, it is under growing international and public pressure from those who wish to make the world economy “fairer” and “more sustainable” by means of transnational rules.
For millennia, humankind’s food security and resilience were ensured by thousands of cultivated plant species, dozens of domesticated animal species, and the wider biodiversity from which they derive. But with the expansion of industrial agriculture and globalized standardized food systems, this long-running agricultural biodiversity has fallen steeply. Today, just three plant species account for half of all plant-based food calories, and only four animal species account for the vast majority of meat supplies. Looking ahead, restoring agrobiodiversity – the richness of what we cultivate, breed, consume, and conserve in the wild – is crucial to ensure resilient food systems against the backdrop of climate change. In particular, we must safeguard the livelihoods of the “guardians of agrobiodiversity”: approximately 500 million small farms across the world – particularly those in the global South. This factsheet outlines causes and consequences of agrobiodiversity loss, areas of promise, and options for policy and research.
Doing research in conflict contexts is crucial. But how do you best conduct research in conflict-affected contexts? These guidelines are designed for all levels of researchers – from research student to professor – who conduct research in settings that are conflict-affected.
International Conference of SUDAC – swissuniversities Development and Cooperation Network and KFPE. The focus was placed on research partnerships in and with the Global South. With its programmes Consortia for Education and Research (COFERs) and Clusters of Cooperation in the Global South (CLOC), swissuniversities provides important instruments to foster these research partnerships.
In September 2018, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the KFPE held a joint workshop in Tanzania. The purpose of which was to bring together researchers and stakeholders from the Global South to identify: (1) What constitutes best practice in research partnerships (2) How to engage researchers and governments from the Global South in research programme agenda setting (3) How to translate research outputs into development impact.
More than 70 high-level decision makers, scientists, NGO and funding agency representatives gathered to celebrate 20 years of KFPE Guidelines at the conference “Leveraging Research Partnerships for Global Challenges”. A series of talks presented in three separate sessions addressed the following topics: (i) new roles and tasks of science in general and research partnerships in particular; (ii) regional adaptation of scientific systems; and (iii) how science policies and funding systems can support transformative research. Participants were left with one clear conclusion at the end of the 22 November meeting: stronger integration and dialogue between science and society, including policy and business, is essential if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
