
Science and Development Network
News, views and information about science, technology and the developing world
Displaying 1-20 of 24 links
The Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) is an inter-governmental network whose primary purposes are to foster global environmental change research in the Asia-Pacific region, increase developing country participation in that research, and to strengthen links between the science community and policy makers. It promotes, encourages and supports research activities on long-term global changes in climate, ocean and terrestrial systems, and on related physical, chemical, biological and socio-economic processes.
The AAU, based in Accra, promotes consultation, exchange of information and cooperation among higher education institutes in Africa. It provides fellowships and small grants for postgraduate studies and staff exchanges. It also runs programmes to study higher education management and assure the quality of its member institutions. The website gives summaries of all these activities and links to AAU newsletters and publications. It also offers a list of online resources relevant to higher education in Africa.
The Center for Science Diplomacy, housed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), advocates the use of science and scientific cooperation to promote international understanding and prosperity. It publishes and links to articles and reports about science diplomacy and possible best practices. It hosts related events and conferences to put science diplomacy into action.
The Center on Public Diplomacy, at the University of Southern California, is a research and professional training organisation dedicated to advancing the study and practice of global public diplomacy. It runs several projects, including one examining the role of science in resolving foreign policy challenges. The centre publishes books, reports and commentary articles on public and science diplomacy and organises relevant events.
This website publishes information on how advances in science and new technologies challenge citizenship and invites debate about issues such as the nature of expertise and processes of public participation. It provides links to working papers and other documents, including original research.
The research programme is part of the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability (Citizenship DRC), which is based at the Institute of Development Studies in the UK. Citizenship DRC is made up of a network of researchers, policymakers, practitioners and institutional partners from more than 25 countries.
This group, part of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School, United States, conducts research into effective policies for developing and deploying clean, efficient energy technologies. It focuses on energy-technology innovation systems and policies, and how cleaner power can alleviate poverty, based on research in three countries — China, India and the United States — who are the world's biggest energy consumers. The website publishes discussion papers and research into nuclear power, and provides information about ongoing projects, fellowships and events related to energy policy.
The STEPS Centre (Social, Technological and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability Centre), at University of Sussex, is creating a manifesto to recommend ways of linking science to development for a sustainable future. The document is intended as an update to 'The Sussex Manifesto' published in 1970.
The website includes articles outlining the project, explaining why a new manifesto is needed and broadly outlining the proposed contents. It also publishes multimedia material — including blogs, video and images — from roundtable events that are being used to help shape the manifesto's agenda.
An interactive timeline of key events in science for development is available, as well as a list of key documents and links.
This organisation provides the US government with independent scientific analysis and advice on health issues through expert panels, including one on tropical diseases such as malaria. Recent major activities include the launch of a new African Science Academies Development Initiative, with the assistance of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
IASO is an umbrella organisation for 52 national obesity associations across 56 countries. Its mission statement is to "improve global health by promoting the understanding of obesity and weight-related diseases through scientific research and dialogue, whilst encouraging the development of effective policies for their prevention and management."
The organisation is strongly advocacy-based and publishes frequent statements aimed at policymakers on how to tackle obesity. The website also contains detailed data on the global prevalence of obesity. Since obese people are often at high risk for other diseases such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease, the website also outlines these risks, offering links to other relevant associations.
The IAS was established in 1986 on the recommendation of the OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH). IAS's stated mission is to "provide an institutional set up for the utilisation of Science and Technology for the development of Islamic countries and humanity at large".
Headquartered in Amman, Jordan, the IAS attempts to serve as a consultative organisation of OIC member countries on matters relating to science and technology; initiate cooperative scientific and technological programmes and activities in science and technology; encourage and promote research on major problems facing OIC member countries; formulate standards of scientific performance and attainment, and to award prizes and honours for outstanding scientific achievements to centres of excellence in all science and technology disciplines.
KAM, run by the Knowledge for Development group at the World Bank, is an interactive benchmarking tool that allows countries to measure their success in creating a knowledge-based economy. KAM uses 81 structural and qualitative variables to describe 132 countries' performance on four key aspects of a knowledge economy: incentive and institutional regimes, education, innovation, and information and communications technologies. These variables help show how well an economy is using knowledge to fuel its socio-economic development.
Policymakers and science and development analysts will find KAM useful for creating interactive scorecards, generating indices, monitoring national performances over time and making inter-country comparisons.