International Funding Coordination and Co-Designing Research with Funders

Earthquakes, floods, and weather extremes are among a range of hazards increasingly studied by national and international researchers, but the absence of international collaboration and coordination is increasingly leading to inefficiencies and lost opportunities. The world’s major funders of global change research are considering how best to align financial and human capital toward delivering the relevant knowledge that society will need in the 21st century. The Belmont Forum meets twice a year and is composed of funding executives from around the world. It is also the Council of Principals for the larger International Group of Funding Agencies for Global Change Research.

The group aims to provide knowledge that can be used to confront the most significant challenges facing society in managing an increasingly congested and resource-hungry world. These goals are captured by the Belmont Challenge that aims to deliver knowledge needed for societies to take action to mitigate and adapt to harmful environmental change and extreme hazardous events.

The Belmont Forum emphasizes research collaborations among developed and developing nations. There is also a specific effort to harness the collective perspectives of social and natural scientists. The first call for proposals under the Belmont Forum’s International Opportunities Fund (IOF) was launched in March 2012. The focus themes were coastal vulnerability and freshwater security. Proposals required the involvement of at least three Belmont Forum member countries and are 2–3 years in duration, with funds in the range of €1 million to €2 million each.

The design of IOF programs relies heavily on input from the international research community about goals and refining themes. The aim is to catalyze research by providing a mechanism to support co-designed, international, cross-disciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration. Planning of subsequent rounds of calls for IOF calls is underway, focusing on Arctic change, hazards, biofuels, information technologies, food security, and rural-to-urban transition.

The Belmont Forum’s international partnership among research funding organizations aims for active coordination of global change research funding, integration of relevant stakeholders (including industry, policymakers, and end users) and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

*Extracted from: Killeen T, Uhle M & van der Pluijm B, (2012), Eos Vol. 93: 257-258