WOTRO Newsfl@sh 21 - December 2009

This is the electronic newsletter of WOTRO Science for Global Development. It is published every six weeks and provides information about deadlines, awarded subsidies, research results and policy.

Best wishes for 2010

On behalf of the WOTRO bureau, I would like to wish you a very happy and successful New Year. We are looking forward to a year with creative research that will catalyse development. Best wishes, Henk Molenaar

WOTRO and NWO Deadlines

Call for proposals MVI The NWO programme Responsible Innovation opened her call for proposals on research into societal and ethical aspects of technological development. The call includes the following themes: Human enhancement; Food; Animals, nature & natural habitat; and Intellectual Property Regimes (IPR). Research with relevance for and in cooperation with developing countries is explicitly invited. Deadline for preliminary proposals is 2 February 2010, 12:00 hrs CET. Read more...

Call for Vidi proposals
The forms and instructions for Vidi-applications in 2010 are now available on the web. You may submit your application to one of the eight NWO divisions or, in case of an interdivisional application, to WOTRO. We encourage researchers who address development oriented research issues to apply to the appropriate NWO division. Deadline for submission is 11 February 2010, 23:59 hrs CET. Read more...

Call for proposals Integrated Programmes
The Integrated Programmes call for 2010 is open! Applicants are invited to submit proposals that touch upon topics beyond the MDG related thematic framework, or proposals fitting into one or more of the WOTRO-themes - poverty and hunger, sustainable environment and global relationships. Deadline for preliminary proposals is 6 April 2010, 12:00 hrs CET. Read more...

Other deadlines

ESPA call for proposals: Living with Environmental Change
The Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation programme (ESPA) opened her first calls for proposals. Proposals are invited for Programme Framework grants and for Partnership & Project Development grants. Deadline is March 3 2010, 16:00 hrs CET. Read more...

Awarded subsidies

Four Integrated Programmes awarded
The WOTRO board awarded four new Integrated Programmes. Each programme consists of three or more (inter)related Ph.D. and/or post-doc projects. The Integrated Programme scheme is aimed at supporting excellent problem-oriented interdisciplinary research to the benefit of development and societal issues in the South. Read more...

One WOTRO award within Cultural Dynamics
Following the second call of the theme Cultural Dynamics, the programme committee awarded six new grants. The WOTRO related research of Prof. dr. R.J. Ross focuses on photography as popular culture and will be investigating how black South Africans have appropriated the technology of photography, and made decisions as to the images they wished to create and to preserve. Read more...

Vidi for research on pluralism in Muslim public spheres
November 18th NWO awarded a Vidi grant to 89 talented researchers, one of whom related to the research field of WOTRO. Prof. dr. P.P. Eisenlohr received a grant for his research into ‘Islam and Multicultural Citizenship: Practical Morality and Pluralism in Muslim Public Spheres’. Read more...

A new study into the alternative use of agricultural crops Three complementary research proposals have been selected for the new research programme 'Agriculture beyond Food' by NWO and KNAW together with their Indonesian partners. An integrated approach is essential for this five year scientific programme that investigates the opportunities and limitations of bio-based products. Read more...

India exchange visits awarded
For the second call of exchange visits by the Social Science Cooperation India-Netherlands (SSCIN), 8 proposals have been awarded for visits in 2010. SSCIN promotes social science research collaborations between scholars and their institutions in India and the Netherlands. This is a joint programme between the Indian Council for Social Science Research and NWO. Read more...

Highlights of research results

Health reforms in Tanzania resulted in exclusion of the urban poor Reforms in health systems can act as a powerful mechanism of social exclusion of the urban poor from decent health care services. This concludes WOTRO researcher Tausi Mbaga Kida who shows that given the high incidence of poverty, the restructured health care systems in Tanzania – both private and public – de facto have affected the access to and utilization of decent health care services for the urban poor. Read more...

Food supplements to fight malaria infections
14 December WOTRO researcher Erasto Mbugi received his PhD for his research on the effects of supplementation with zinc and other multi-micronutrients on the health, development and well being of Tanzanian children, in particular focusing on malaria. The results of this study will provide useful information for policy makers to help the community to fight against infection through improved nutrition, particularly in children. Read more...

News

Cees Veerman joins NWO Governing Board
Prof. C.P. Veerman has been appointed as a member of the Governing Board of NWO. The professor and former government minister has been appointed with effect from 1 November 2009. Read more...

NACCAP mid-term review
Early 2009 an external mid-term review for NACCAP was conducted to gain insight into the progress towards achieving NACCAPs objectives, and specifically into the added value of NACCAP within EDCTP. Recommendations for the future include not only the maintenance of the NACCAP expertise and continuation of the smoothly running partnership programmes funded by NACCAP, but also the development of a transition strategy to allocate the Dutch contribution more directly to EDCTP. Read more...

CoCooN experiments with a new way of working
How can we prevent the outbreak of violent conflicts around the world - particularly when resources are becoming even more limited due to climate change? This is one of the key questions of the new Cocoon programme. Professor of Human Geography Ton Dietz (UvA) is chairman of the steering committee and enthusiastic about this programme which turns the ordinary NWO working method upside down. Dietz: 'Cocoon confronts NWO with new partners and new ways of working.' Read more...

Publications

New DPRN process reports available
New reports are available now on the results of processes organised within the framework of the Development Policy Review Network (DPRN). DPRN promotes informed debate and synergy between scientists, policymakers, development practitioners and entrepreneurs. The reports can be downloaded here.

Download free: Knowledge on the move This publication reflects the outcome of a vibrant conference organised by WOTRO, the ISS and Nuffic. Three crosscutting issues formed the basis for discussion: building equal research partnerships, shaping capacity development in the field of research, and embedding research in society to ensure application and valorization of the research outcomes. Download

Now available: Partners in peace  Partners in Peace - discourses and practices of civil-society peacebuilding, by Mathijs van Leeuwen of the Radboud University Nijmegen, can now be ordered. The book challenges the global perceptions and assumptions of the roles played by civil-society in peacebuilding. Read more and order.