Science partnerships 'must be of benefit to all sides'
4 June 1999
[ LONDON] Poor countries often learn little from international research partnerships that are linked to development aid and are dominated by researchers from developed countries, according to a report from a Netherlands development think tank.
In contrast, they gain more from North-South research networks that offer clear benefits to all participants - and not just developing country partners - says the report, from the Maastricht-based European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM).
The report
adds that the more successful research partnerships are self-funded, either through membership fees or income from contract work, and do not rely unduly on support from aid agencies. It recommends that North-South research activities could learn from the experience of successful research partnerships between developing countries.
It also points out that research partnerships have been slow to use the Internet to share information, partly because Internet connectivity in some of the poorest countries is not well developed.
The report is co-authored by Louk Box, director of ECDPM, and Rutger Engelhard, an independent consultant on communication in development. It was prepared for a meeting of the Geneva-based United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development last month.
More effective research partnerships is one of several priority areas on which the commission is working. Others include biotechnology for development and a 'vision statement' on the future of science and technology for development, to be submitted to the World Conference on Science in Budapest later this month.
The report recommends that new research partnerships be organized around a common scientific interest that provides researchers from developed countries with a stimulating intellectual challenge, but is also "strongly embedded in the Southern social, economic and cultural context".
For example, the European Tropical Forest Research Network, established by the European Commission in 1991, contributes to the conservation and sustainable use of forests and woodlands in tropical and subtropical countries. But it also enables scientists to exchange information on tropical forestry research. "The identification of a concrete, widely-shared problem or goal is one of the key pillars supporting networks," the report says "Networks that fail to develop such a focus do not survive their infant years."
In addition, the report says that Southern partners need to be involved in the governance of a research partnership. In return, it says that Southern members must give a "strong personal commitment" to making the partnership a success.
The ECPDM report says that much has improved since the 1960s and 70s when donor agencies from the richer countries engaged in scientific collaboration largely "to implement their own agendas". It says that developed country researchers today do not intentionally dominate North-South research partnerships, and it adds that many are willing to help reduce any imbalances. But it says that changes are difficult to bring about within existing partnerships as "Southern partners are often insufficiently organized to collectively assess their needs and effectively present their agendas."
The nature of funding is critical to the success or failure of a partnership, the report says. It says the decline in overseas development aid provides an opportunity for research networks to explore alternative avenues, such as membership fees and income from consultancies. Increased private sector funding, however, "remains a dream", the report believes, as industry does not like to fund activities that involve sharing knowledge.
EHSAN MASOOD
For further details of the latest meeting of the Economic and Social Council's Commission on Science and Technology for Development, click here. A report prepared by the secretariat on a 'common vision' for the future role of science and technology in development can be found here
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