Research Without Borders: The International Development Research Centre and the Canada Research Chairs Program Support International Partnerships
OTTAWA, Wednesday, February 25, 2009 | The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Canada Research Chairs Program are pleased to announce eight research partnerships between outstanding university scholars in Canada and their peers in the developing world. The teams will undertake research projects that address important topics including health, environmental sustainability, resource management and information communications technology.
"Our government understands that investing in science and technology is critical for succeeding in today's global economy", said the Honourable Gary Goodyear, minister of State (Science and Technology). "This is why we announced a $5.1 billion dollar investment in S&T in Budget 2009, Canada's Economic Action Plan. Investments in such international partnerships are helping enhance our universities' research capacity and fostering world-class discoveries that will help position Canada as a leader in addressing issues of global concern. They are also contributing to training and mentoring the next generation of researchers and highly skilled workers around the world."
The International Research Chairs Initiative (IRCI) was launched by IDRC, in collaboration with the Chairs Program in December 2007. It solicited applications for joint research between Canada Research Chairs and their counterparts at universities in the developing world. Eight teams were selected to receive up to $1 million over five years, each to address a key development challenge.
"The partnership between IDRC and the Canada Research Chairs Program is a distinctly Canadian international initiative that brings the power of science and technology to bear on problems in the developing world, while creating unique research opportunities for Canadians,” said IDRC president David Malone.
"The research collaborations supported through the IRCI will help Canada and developing countries connect and contribute to the global supply of talent and ideas", said Chad Gaffield, president of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and head of the Canada Research Chairs Program's steering committee.
Funding for this initiative is provided by IDRC while the administration of the peer-review process is being overseen by the Chairs Program.
In addition to identifying new avenues for knowledge, policy, and technology transfer, these partnerships will provide university students with unique training and fieldwork opportunities under the mentorship of the chairholders.
The eight successful teams, which were selected among 104 applications through a rigorous peer-review process, are as follows:
Battling pollution in coastal areas
Adalto Bianchini
IDRC Research Chair in Environmental Health and Management Federal University of Rio Grande, Brazil
Christopher Wood
Canada Research Chair in Environment and Health
McMaster University
Helping fishing communities manage their resources
Alpina Begossi
IDRC Research Chair in Community-Based Resource Management State University of Campinas, Brazil
Fikret Berkes
Canada Research Chair in Community-Based Resource Management
The University of Manitoba
Tackling mine waste for better health
Rachid Hakkou
IDRC Research Chair in Management and Stabilization of Mining and Industrial Waste
Université Cadi Ayyad, Morocco
Mostafa Benzaazoua
Canada Research Chair in Integrated Management of Mine Waste
Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Getting ahead of the curve in wireless communication
Ranjan K. Mallik
IDRC Research Chair in Wireless Communications
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India
Robert Schober
Canada Research Chair in Wireless Communications
The University of British Columbia
Breaking the barriers to Internet access
Xiaoyan Zhu
IDRC Research Chair in Information Technology
Tsinghua University, China
Ming Li
Canada Research Chair in Bioinformatics
University of Waterloo
Controlling infectious diseases with models and math
Yiming Shao
IDRC Research Chair in Modeling and Management of Communicable Diseases
National Centre for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, China
Jianhong Wu
Canada Research Chair in Industrial and Applied Mathematics
York University
Turning health research into policy
Nelson Sewankambo
IDRC Research Chair in Evidence-Informed Health Policies and Systems
Makerere University, Uganda
John Lavis
Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Transfer and Exchange
McMaster University
Improving child nutrition
Anna Lartey
IDRC Research Chair in Nutrition for Health and Socio-economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa
University of Ghana, Ghana
Grace Marquis
Canada Research Chair in Social and Environmental Aspects of Nutrition
McGill University
About IDRC
Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is one of the world's leading institutions in the generation and application of new knowledge to meet the challenges of international development. For more than 40 years, IDRC has worked in close collaboration with researchers from the developing world to build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies.
Media contacts:
Isabelle Bourgeault-Tassé
Senior Media Advisor
International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
Telephone: 613-696-2343
Email: ibourgeault-tasse@idrc.ca
Nadine May
Communications Advisor
Canada Research Chairs Program
Telephone: 613-996-9320
Email: nadine.may@chairs-chaires.gc.ca
Gary Toft
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Gary Goodyear
Minister of State (Science and Technology)
Telephone: 613-943-7599
Email: gary.toft@ic.gc.ca