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Chemistry In Africa's Least Developed Countries An Overview of Capacity Building and Research Support Report prepared by C. F. Garbers (1998) - Back to contents - 4 FOSTERING SCIENCE (INCLUDING CHEMISTRY) : DONOR ACTIVITY IN AFRICA 4.1. General Evident from the previous paragraphs is that many donor agencies are operative in Africa in the field of human resource development and research in the pure and applied sciences (including Chemistry). Although unique requirements are built-in characteristics of the programs financed by the various donor organizations, many commonalties in the objectives exist between the programs. The objectives of the International Program in Chemical Science (IPICS), Uppsala University, Sweden were recently summarized as follows: (ref. 34) · to assist developing countries to strengthen their domestic research capacity; · to give long-term project oriented support for developing active and sustainable research environments in selected countries in Africa by - exchange of scientists; - providing post-graduate education, inter alia, at doctoral or masters level with laboratory work sandwiched with sojourns at the host laboratories ("sandwich" courses); - funding purchases of equipment; · to select research of strong relevance to the countries or regions concerned for long-term support; · to carry out the work in close cooperation with one or more host laboratories and to invite scientists connected to the projects to come to host laboratories (for up to 10 months) to pursue research, to learn new methods, or perform measurements that cannot be done in the home country ("twinning", fostering of North/South collaboration); · to sign agreements on cooperation for three to five year periods, which can be renewed if the project develops favorably and requires continued support (Individual support outside the framework of a project is not available); · to foster the establishment of a regional exchange system, whereby members of research teams from recipient countries visit laboratories in neighboring countries where complementary research facilities and competence are available, thereby encouraging the establishment of active regional scientific networks (Fostering of South/South collaboration). Much emphasis is placed on twinning arrangements, i. e. cooperation between institutions in developing countries and industrialized countries. Based on extensive experience a number of key recommendations for such co-operation were formulated: (ref. 28) a) each co-operating group should include a substantial number of researchers (the co-operation should be "institutionalized"); b) the partners should meet regularly to review ongoing work and plan future activities; c) transparency in all budget matters should be ensured; d) research papers should be written jointly e. g. names from both cooperating research groups should appear on the research publication; e) project managers on both sides should be senior scientists in central positions in their respective institutions; f) capacity building must include all aspects of the work to be done (e. g. in the case of a research project, not only the research itself, but also how to invest in, manage, and disseminate research); g) no single capacity building project is able to secure development on its own, but must be carefully designed in co-ordination with other related activities in the country; h) research training is an important part of capacity building towards sustainability. In order to increase the commitment, it should, whenever possible, be part of formal degree programs; i) the remuneration of local staff involved must be sufficient to ensure a full time commitment; j) efficient and fast communication channels must be available to secure efficient interaction between partners - especially fax and electronic mail facilities have been useful in many projects; and k) project monitoring and evaluation are important, both as learning processes and as a way of providing incentives to project participants. Monitoring should concentrate on project outputs rather than on inputs. An assessment of the twinning experiences suggests the conditions under which these arrangements are most effective: (ref. 5)   when they are part of a longer-term institutional development effort; when they are between similar faculties or departments; when they seek to upgrade existing programs rather than launch new ones; when both institutional associates have a capacity to manage the relationship effectively; and when such programs respond to local priorities and reflect balanced attention to the needs of each institutional partner. To accommodate these conditions, a process was developed by the World Bank (ref. 5) and has been tested in Africa since 1992. The process involves the following: An African University Department: conducts its own needs assessment and identifies the types of inputs necessary to enhance its teaching and research activity; drafts the terms of reference for an institutional linkage program (twinning), with a short-list of potential linkage candidates and with criteria for selection; invites candidates from the short-list, once funding is assured to submit "bids" for collaborative programs (with indications on what it is prepared to contribute to the undertaking); makes its' choice and negotiate a time-bound agreement; and uses flexible funding for contact, travel, staff development fellowships, joint research, library acquisitions, equipment, communication, etc. It should be pointed out that the World Bank makes loans (not development assistance or grants) available to its member governments in Africa, who in turn manage the various agreed projects. However, various African chemists stressed that although they were involved in the initial structuring and motivation for the loan applications to the World Bank, effective planning, and communication throughout the process was defective. The eventual structuring of the loans and the conditions pertaining to the loans (after input by World Bank advisors) frequently resulted in the planned projects not being implemented successfully. (ref. 35) It is important that new initiatives be preceded by intensive discussions about priorities by university leaders, invited professionals from the sub-region, policy makers and representatives from donor agencies. (ref. 7) The greatest lesson to learn is the importance of allowing recipient countries themselves to formulate their critical needs and to provide catalytic support to meet these needs. (ref. 7) Some donors provide support for 1-3 years, but, generally, individual projects have an expected lifetime of 10-15 years. The philosophy is that the support is to be phased out as sustainability of the research capacity built up by the project is reached. One further issue requires attention. Preliminary investigations, preceding the launch of a project, require funding. The Danish Agency, DANIDA, provides for this through so-called "Initiative Pool Grants". (ref. 28) Projects are reviewed every 3 years. Program performance indicators used include: progress in capacity building, research training carried out, output of research projects, dissemination of the research results, progress towards sustainability. One of the most important criteria for success has proved to be the time and effort spent on project activities by well-qualified senior researchers. (ref. 28) 4.2. Examples of Donor Involvement in Chemistry As examples of donor agencies, two involved for decades and a newcomer to the scene, the following are highlighted. 4.2.1 International Programme in the Chemical Sciences (IPICS) This is part of the International Science Programmes at Uppsala University, Sweden. (ref. 34) New projects are identified through direct contacts between the scientists concerned and IPICS and are selected after careful evaluation and planning. The initiative lies with scientists in developing countries in proposing research projects for cooperation. Each project has an identified project leader who is responsible for the project, its management, and the contacts with IPICS. IPICS supports five projects in Africa in the following fields: Biotechnology and Molecular Biology, Ecology and Environment, Food Science and Nutrition, Natural Resources. In 1997, IPICS will be supporting different networks and one summer school in Africa. The networks are administered by scientists in the region concerned with financial support from IPICS. Each network has a board or committee for the management of the activities: African Laboratory for Natural Products (ALNAP) Co-ordinator: Dr E. Dagne (Ethiopia); Cassava Safety Network Co-ordinator: Dr Hans Rosling; The Network for Analytical and Bioassay Services in Africa (NABSA) Co-ordinator: Prof. B. Abegaz (Botswana); Natural Products Research Network for Eastern and Central Africa (NAPRECA) - Executive Secretary: Prof. M. Nkunya (Tanzania); Southern African Regional Co-operation in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biotechnology (SARBIO) Co-ordinator: Prof. J. Hasler (Zimbabwe). The annual grants per project or network are in the range of USD 10 000 - 73 000 (Average: USD 34 000). The 1997 budget for Africa (45% of the total budget) amounts to SEK 3 173 000 (USD 400 000). Worldwide there are 54 "sandwich" Ph. D. students and 23 "sandwich" M. Sc. students enrolled in projects supported by IPICS in 1997. 4.2.2 International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development (IOCD) (ref. 36) After a meeting at UNESCO in 1981, the IOCD was formed which aimed at helping to overcome the barriers to research in developing countries by: fostering collaboration between researchers in developing countries with internationally recognized investigators; creating opportunities for hands-on experience to chemists in developing countries. The IOCD, inter alia created Working Groups on Fertility Regulation, Tropical Diseases, Plant Chemistry, and, with IUPAC, on Environmental Analytical Chemistry; provided research services to chemists in Africa through "Network for Analytical and Biological Services in Africa" (NABSA), (see 4.2.1); arranged workshops on techniques for bio-activity fractionation (Open only to African chemists); created a Biotic Exploration Fund to catalyze a major increase in bio-prospecting in developing countries, inter alia, to counter destruction of bio-diversity. The IOCD initiated the work of establishing this Fund in 1994 under a grant of USD 10 000 from the US National Academy of Sciences. IOCD hopes to attract sufficient funds (perhaps USD 2-3 million) to operate two or three pilot bio-prospecting projects in 1997-98. IOCD funds its activities through grants from individual donors and agencies such as foundations, government organizations, and UN agencies. 4.2.3 Newcomer: Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) (ref. 37) On 29 April 1997, the CWC entered into force, which meant not only the beginning of the elimination of chemical weapons, but also the launching of a series of programs to promote international cooperation within the field of chemistry. The programs are in particular geared towards chemists from developing countries. The programs include: support for participation in international conferences, seminars, symposia, etc; support for internships; support for arranging conferences on chemical topics of particular interest to developing countries; facilitation of bilateral cooperation, especially within the field of natural product chemistry; support for transfer of used, but still functional, laboratory equipment to laboratories in the developing world; and support for increasing the technical competence at laboratories involved in organic chemical analyses, which might be of use for the implementation of the CWC. Many donor organizations indicated that they do not look at Chemistry specifically, whereas others have indicated that they support individuals rather than projects. A very general approach is the twinning of institutions between the donor country institutions and the institutions in developing countries receiving the financial support. 4.3. Donors: Extent of Financial Support The extent of the financial involvement of various donor agencies can be gleaned from some selected examples: · The Swedish International Program in the Chemical Sciences (IPICS) spends 45% of its funding viz. SEK 3.173 million (approximately USD 400 000) on programs in Africa. The annual grants per project or network are in the range of USD 10 000 - 73 000 for an average of USD 34 000. (ref. 34) · The Danish bilateral program for Enhancement of Research Capacity in Developing Countries (ENRECA) invested USD 7 million in 39 projects in 1995 (~USD 179 000 per Project); (ref. 38) · The German Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) (ref. 39) works with the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung. Their guideline amounts for projects are as follows: Standard Projects: USD 21 800 Joint Applications: USD 32 700 Small scale projects: USD 2 700 Specialist literature: USD 5 000 DAAD operates on a budget of USD 179.2 million, (ref. 40) while the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung awarded DEM 73.781 million in the form of fellowships, equipment grants and bursaries. (ref. 41) · Grants by the International Foundation for Science (Sweden) are normally not more than USD 12 000 and renewable up to two times more. (ref. 42) · According to an IDRC estimate the total resources for development related research was USD 2 billion by the late 1980s. (ref. 26) World Bank projects (loans) in Africa expend roughly USD100 million annually on training, of which roughly half is for overseas training. According to estimates approximately 120 000 African students were studying abroad in 1990. To facilitate continued research for returning degree holders, some scholarships are supplemented with re-entry grants.(ref. 5) 4.4. Detail to be Requested: Application for a Grant This list was compiled from application forms outlining the detail required by some donor agencies to allow scrutiny of the applications by institutions in developing countries: * Applicant's academic curriculum vitae: - Family name - Personal name - Nationality - Date of birth - Name of head of institution - Name and postal address of institution - Name of immediate supervisor - Name of department/research station - Area code: - Phone: - Telex: - Telefax: - E-mail: - Languages (Read; Comprehend; Speak; Write) - Education - Other postgraduate studies - Present position [Starting date; Position; Permanent/temporary; Amount of time devoted to teaching(%), research(%), administration(%); Number of staff supervised by you: researchers, graduate students, technicians] - Research areas - Previous positions - List of publications - Research project title and short summary of the project - Provide information about your experience on the subject of the proposed research and previous results achieved - Provide information about related research in progress at your institution - Background to the research proposal; objectives and expected outputs of the research proposal - Research plan - Relevant contacts already established by you (names, addresses and specialization) - Additional contacts you wish to establish (names, addresses and specialization) *Any other sources of funding to the institution for the proposed or related research (Name of funding organization; date of application or approval; amount) * Budget - Equipment (Specify and describe each item) - Expendable supplies - Literature - Local travel - Manpower requirements - Other costs - Expected duration of project * Relevance of the project to the development needs of the country. * Purpose for which the requested materials/equipment are to be used *Peer appraisal of application * Details of the materials/equipment requested, with costs, details on the housing thereof, maintenance and repair services available locally, connection facilities, monopoly, etc. * Information on existing equipment * Confirmation from the institution's principal/director of the feasibility of the planned project and the necessity for the purpose of the institutions teaching, research, or development program. Issues to be addressed are the correct setting up and commissioning of the equipment in suitable premises, the cost of expendable materials, necessary repair and maintenance costs, and customs duties and similar charges. * Information on the number of staff who will benefit from the provision of the equipment and the description of the equipment's potential use for other purposes.   - Back to contents - Home - News & Notices - Organizations & People Standing Committees - Divisions - Projects - Reports - Publications Symposia/ Conferences - Links - AMP Page last modified 5 February 1999. Copyright © 1997, 98 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. Questions or comments about IUPAC please contact the Secretariat. Questions regarding the website please contact Web Help.