Joint Workshops on Institutions
for linking Science &Technology
to Sustainable Development
Mohamed Hassan
Third World Academy of Sciences
The TWAS Workshop
The International Workshop on Science, Technology and
Sustainability: Harnessing Institutional Synergies
February, 2002
Third World Academy of Sciences, Italy (TWAS)
Goal:
Distill lessons from field experience on what institutional mechanisms
are effective in harnessing science and technology to sustainability.
Participants:
Through a nominations process, 50 individuals were invited from
around the world who have been actively engaged in successful efforts to
bring science and technology to bear on practical development initiatives.
TWAS Workshop Participants/Countries
Africa
Kenya
Nigeria
South Africa
Swaziland
Zimbabwe
East Asia/Pacific
Australia
China
Japan
Malaysia
Thailand
Europe
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Germany
Italy
Netherlands
Sweden
UK
Latin America
Argentina
Brazil
Chile
Costa Rica
Cuba
Mexico
North America
Canada
USA
South Asia
Bangladesh
India
Pakistan
Cases
Dam management in Nigeria
Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies
Tarahat.com: A rural portal for India
Honey Bee Network
Improving climate services for society in Costa Rica
Mainstreaming indigenous knowledge for sustainable livelihoods:
Gujarat, India
Interactions between science and policy: Human stem cells in the
UK
World Commission on Dams
The Latin American World Model
The Flood Action Plan in Bangladesh
The National Environment Management Action Plan, Bangladesh
The Science and Technology Diplomacy Initiative, UN Conference
on Trade and Development
Development of Fish Base: Global encyclopedia of all finfish
Enhancing development policy in Nigeria
Oil spill sensitivity mapping in Greenland
University initiatives: professional studies in education
International cooperation in mathematics education: African
mathematics programme
International Foundation for Science
Capacity building in air quality management/air pollution sector in
Thailand
Information and communication technologies in capacity
development: the case of India
Sustainable health and education: the case of Cuba
Caribbean Ocean Reserves Estimation (CORE)
Inter-American Institute: A successful international network
Wageningen University Sandwich Program: Capacity building
for developing country PhD students
Sustainable uses of medicinal plants: Institut Malgache de
Reserches Appliques, Madagascar
Climate OptiOns for the Long Term, the Netherlands
Azraq Oasis Conservation, Jordan
Tree Growing in Northern Nigeria
Water Management in the U.S. Great Plains
Controlling transboundary air pollution in Europe
Alternatives to Slash and Burn Program and CGIAR
Dissemination of solar panels: Shell Solar
El Nino forecasting and southern Africa
The SPIDER program in Argentina
International Research Institute for Climate Prediction, USA
Leadership for Environment and Development
Medicinal plants in southern Africa
Pacific ENSO Applications Center
International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
Autonomous Funds as Intermediaries for Social and
Economic Development in Africa
The CFIA Workshop
Workshop on Mobilizing Science & Technology for
Sustainable Development
April, 2002
Center for International Affairs, Harvard University, USA (CFIA)
Goal:
To outline a strategy for mobilizing resources and building institutional
capabilities needed to strengthen the use of science and technology in
sustainable development. This strategy will include the prioritization of the
most fertile targets for capacity investment as well as the most promising
courses for institutional reform.
Participants:
Approximately 20 senior civil servants, foundation officers, business
executives, natural scientists and development scholars engaged in the
design, financing, operation, and evaluation of research systems involved in
linking knowledge production to sustainable development.
While different themes were specific to each workshop,
several broad questions guided the exploration at both
workshops:
Mobilizing S&T
How do we mobilize the most appropriate knowledge and technology to address a
specific problem in a specific place?
Balancing Flexibility and Stability
How do we build and fund research systems that are flexible and responsive to
evolving problems yet durable and committed to problems that require cumulative
research efforts and long-term learning before producing viable outcomes?
Solving Challenges of Integration
How do we solve challenges of integration (disciplinary, functional,
spatial/temporal, and knowledges) in S&T systems?
Addressing Resource and Capacity Constraints
Given the pressing resource constraints for public sector goods, how do we
stimulate new investment in S&T for sustainable development and create
institutions to better channel existing funds and resources?
Findings/propositions
Focus on nature-society interactions
S&T systems that explicitly address nature and society as coupled and
interactive are more effective than systems that assume that one component
or the other can be treated as a static boundary condition.
Problem-driven, people-centered
S&T systems that are problem-driven are more effective than systems that
are science, technology or funder driven. Problem-driven research and
technological development requires central authority and responsibility of
the stakeholders/potential users/decision makers in setting agendas, guiding
the structure and process of S&T activities, and evaluating success.
Findings/propositions, cont’d
Boundary
organizations
Effective S&T systems employ “boundary organizations” – institutional
mechanisms that facilitate communication and coordination across
organizational, disciplinary, functional, and scalar boundaries.
Self-reflection and learning
Effective S&T systems have mechanisms for critical self-reflection and learning.
Such learning is facilitated by long-term commitments and organizational
structures. There are also advantages to ad-hoc, flexible, and quick-to-respond
S&T efforts as well, but these require legitimacy and support from established
institutional networks (e.g., universities, international research organizations,
intergovernmental organizations, national organizations, private firms, etc.).
Resources and capacity
S&T systems that leverage existing capacities and coordinate complementary
capacities within a system will be more effective than an institution that does not.
There is a critical need to establish new and innovative funding mechanisms to
make available more resources for S&T activities for sustainable development.