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International S&T Cooperation for Sustainable Development

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PrinciplesExamplesConsiderations for possible governance for international S&T cooperation for the transition towards sustainabilityInternational S&T Cooperation for Sustainable Development Some thoughts on European experience over almost the last 20 years Cornelia E. Nauen European Commission Directorate General for Research International S&T Co-operation 1049 Brussels, Belgium [email protected] Introduction There is a general recognition that knowledge and investment into human capital are the most critical factors for sustainable development for any human society, industrialised or developing. As Jeffrey Sachs points out, specific investment into development challenges with emphasis on human resources and research is indispensible. The following highlights relate to the almost 20 years of experience with collaborative research between teams from the European Union and from developing and emerging economies. Successive Framework Programmes (FP) for Science and Technology of the European Community since its third edition have harboured specific programmes of scientific and technological cooperation with developing and emerging economies (DCs). Principles Back in 1979, the UN Conference for Research and Technology for Development identified key aspects of these needs. In the event, developing countries insisted that simple technology transfer was neither socially neutral nor adequate to their needs. In response to the demand for more scientific cooperation instead, the European Commission established, in 1983, an international S&T programme with developing countries for sustainable development. This programme has been continuously developed in successive European Science and Technology Framework Programmes in a learning-by-doing mode. It initially focused on the joint development of appropriate technologies. However, since the nineties, in the climate surrounding the Rio Earth Summit and European commitments to support the transition towards sustainability, systems and policy research have been introduced in recognition of the need to tackle existing complexities in a qualitatively different way not ensured sufficiently by the earlier emphasis on technology alone. Today the European Commission finances RTD projects focussing on development problems, as part of Action II ‘International Cooperation’ (INCO) of the FP. The INCO-2 DEV Programme is open specifically to collaboration of European research teams with those of developing and emerging economies. It is based on three basic principles: • A thematic approach open to all DCs; • Partnership based on Europe-DC dialogue; • Regional differentiation among DCs. Unlike aid programmes brought in to solve selective local problems and delivered from donors to recipients, the European Commission has given a new dimension to North-South scientific relations through this programme, which • Favours equitable partnerships, which aim at making a major impact on sustainable improvements of living standards in DCs; • Stimulates researchers from the EU and DCs to work alongside each other and promotes exchange of researchers and advanced training linked to research collaborations; • Chooses projects addressing current problems for their scientific excellence and their relevance to development matters through an external review process; • Finances projects proposed by researchers and managed by them in scientific institutions; • Capitalises on investments made by other national and international agencies and institutions (shared cost research) and as such is exceptionally cost-effective. Examples In the last 20 years, and not counting collaborations under the current 5th Framework Programme, which are still getting underway right now, 3,088 European and 2,695 DC teams have been mobilised in funded projects. But at the proposal stage usually thousands of teams have been mobilised per year. The geographical distribution of teams from developing and emerging economies comprises 1,203 teams from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP), 646 from Latin America, 562 from Asia and 284 from southern and eastern Mediterranean countries. These figures do not even take into account collaboration with Eastern European and NIS countries, which have been given specific access through geographically focussed programmes. About one billion Euros have been allocated to the range of research collaborations with all of these countries so far. Two principal factors determine the effectiveness of scientific knowledge in bridging the gap from ‘ideas to implementation’ in relation to development: • Policies in DCs, which encourage scientific pro-activeness, transparency, cooperation and exchange based on mutual interest and respect; and • A local base, which allows appropriation of existing and generation of new knowledge, its appropriation and sharing in a knowledge and innovation system able3 to address the specifics of each national, regional or thematic context, as a condition for sustainable development. The perceptions about the relevance and priorities of the problems vary according to the stage of socio-economic development. For instance, the preservation of a given tropical forest may be a priority for industrialised countries, but surely using its resources for (socio-)economic development is the main priority for the DC, where the forest happens to be located. Is not the sustainable use of the forest for societal benefits the objective? This might constitute a compromise for both sides, provided there is scientific knowledge to underscore the guarantee of sustainability and the governance structure and technology needed to manage the resource accordingly for societal gains . This is why the current INCO programme takes up the challenge and is open to collaborative research addressing specific adjustment problems faced by emerging and developing economies as a result of rapid changes taking place as a result of global trends. It adopts a problem-solving approach requiring different layers of research: • Policy research; • Systems research; and • Technological research. The thematic priorities of research for development focus on the most important knowledge gaps, namely in relation to natural resource systems and sustainable food and non-food production, food security, the environment, energy and healthy societies. For all thematic areas except energy, all three levels of investigation are sponsored:


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