In this edition

To all INGSA Members and supporters,

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

It is a pleasure to share with you the mid-year update on what we have achieved so far this year, and look forward to in the second part of 2023. 

On 27-31 March, I participated as a panelist in the biannual World Conference of Science Journalists, in Medellin, Colombia, where I highlighted the importance and value of inclusivity and equity in science advice. I had the opportunity to meet many Colombian partners and I must thank INGSA Latin America and Caribbean and the Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales for hosting, on 30 March, a discussion on science advice with relevant colleagues. 

We continue to work towards strengthening and completing the regional reach of INGSA to include North America and Europe. In the margins of the first Cities Summit of the Americas in Denver, United States, we held a workshop on the foundation of INGSA North America, a chapter focused on science advice for cities. We collected thoughts of city-level partners on the way forward for the development of a chapter dedicated to local science advice. More information is forthcoming on next steps. 

On 22-23 May in London, England, I participated in an INGSA workshop on the INCLUSIVE project, coordinated under the leadership of Dr. Claire Craig, INGSA Vice-President (Evidence) and Provost, Queens College, Oxford University. With the support of the International Public Policy Observatory at University College London, European partners received information on the advancement of project together with preliminary results, and provided inputs for the unfolding of next steps.

We are now working hard towards preparing INGSA2024 in May 2024 in Kigali, Rwanda, where I hope many of you can join us to learn from each other and to advance the practice and principles of science advice in our changing world. We also have a lot of activities coming up next quarter which should be interesting, stay tuned!

Wishing you all the best,

Rémi Quirion

President of INGSA



OPPORTUNITIES:

INGSA-Africa - Call for Mentors and Mentees!

Science Advice Skills Development Program - CLOSING SOON

GLOBAL: Are you an experienced science advice professional, anywhere in the world? INGSA-Africa is looking for people like you to apply to be a mentor to up-and-coming science advice practitioners in Africa!

Are you a researcher/academic/policymaker in Africa and want to upgrade your skills at the science to policy interface? Then apply to participate in the 2nd cohort of the INGSA-Africa Science Advice Skills Development Program (SASDP)

This will be second cohort of SASDP participants after the 2022 program enabled 10 mid-career professionals to receive mentorship from experts across Africa and the world.

Apply now to join the 2023 cohort! But Expressions of Interest for Mentors and Mentees close 30th June 2023! Find out more now...

GLOBAL: The International Science Council is advertising for a Consultant Role to be the ISC Liaison to the UN System, based in New York.

Applications for this role must close 30th June!​​​

LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN: INGSA-LAC is pleased to announce the launch of the Annual Essay Competition on Government Scientific Advice 2023.

Scientists, academics, professionals, and policymakers residing in the region are invited to submit essays exploring the role of scientific advice in shaping public policies related to biodiversity.

Participants are encouraged to consider the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) agreed upon by 196 countries.

Submissions should be between 1,500 and 2,000 words and can be written in English, Portuguese, or Spanish. The top essays will be invited to participate in the INGSA-LAC annual workshop.

Deadline for submissions is August 15, 2023.

See here for more information and submission guidelines, or email rpo.ingsa.lac@gmail.com

Colombo, SRI LANKA: The National Academy of Sciences, Sri Lanka (NASSL) is hosting a workshop on ‘Institutionalising Science Advice to Governments’ from 6 to 8 July, 2023 at the Hilton Residences Hotel, Colombo.

INGSA President, Prof Remi Quirion will be providing opening remarks along with INGSA-Asia Patron, Tan Sri Zakri Abdul Hamid.

To find out more about this workshop contact the NASSL

News From Across The Network:

EUROPE: On the 22-23rd May in London, INGSA and UCL hosted the first expert workshop of the INCLUSIVE Project, which explores how language, culture, and context affect the provision and use of scientific evidence in Europe.

The meeting brought together a fantastic cross-section of INGSA associates and topic experts, both in-person and online. It proved to be a topic of great depth and interest, providing a strong foundation for the next steps in the project.

Thank you to Dr Claire Craig, INGSA VP (Evidence), for leading the project and discussions, and to everyone who attended - we look forward to working with all of you to continue the momentum generated at the event.

If you are based in Europe and are interested in the project we encourage you to contact the project officer, Rokia Ballo (rokia.ballo.19@ucl.ac.uk) to register your interest in project specific communications.

SOUTHEAST ASIA: INGSA-Asia is thrilled to announce a major milestone in their collaborative project with the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). Recently, INGSA-Asia and NASEM hosted the fifth workshop at Sunway University, Malaysia, where invited experts had the opportunity to preview the draft guidebook on Countering Zoonotic Spillover of High Consequence Pathogens.

This three-day workshop brought together esteemed experts from Southeast Asia and around the world to review and refine the guidebook, which aims to tackle the urgent threats of zoonotic spillover incidents originating in the live animal supply chain. The guidebook encapsulates invaluable insights, best practices, and actionable recommendations for preventing and containing outbreaks within the animal supply chain.

To supplement the workshop, they organised a forum “Southeast Asia’s Zoonotic Threats: Bridging the Gap Between Research and Action”. Prof Abhi Veerakumarasivam, the Chair of INGSA-Asia and the Provost of Sunway University, and Prof Meghan Davis from Johns Hopkins University co-chaired the forum.

The forthcoming guidebook, represents a significant milestone in the joint efforts to safeguard public health and enhance the management of the live animal supply chain. It will serve as a beacon of knowledge, guiding governments, organisations, and individuals in preventing and effectively responding to zoonotic threats.

Currently, the guidebook is set for publication later this year. It will be accompanied by a wealth of supporting materials, ensuring that stakeholders have access to practical tools for implementation. Stay tuned for further updates on this groundbreaking project as we continue working together to protect public health, bolster biosecurity measures, and fortify our defences against zoonotic spillover incidents.

Read the previous workshop reports and learn more about the project: https://ingsa.org/nasem-zoonosis/

UGANDA: INGSA-Africa and the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) has held the first of two subregional workshops to enhance the capacity of academies of science in Africa to provide rapid science advice in emergencies. The workshop was held in Uganda on 19th June 2023, as part of the COVID-19 Africa Rapid Grant Fund project.

The workshop was part of a 2-day Meeting of the Committee on Climate Change Community Ownership organised by the Uganda National Academy of Sciences (UNAS) and attracted participation from members of the committee and experts in Climate Change Community Action from Uganda.

The INGSA-NASAC workshop included:

• a keynote address on Impact of Climate Change Emergencies on Agriculture, by Kalule Okello David, FUNAS, Principal Research Officer/Plant Breeder-Geneticist National Groundnuts Project Leader/Programme Leader Oil Crops Research NARO-NaSARRI, Soroti, Uganda
• an interactive INGSA Case Study session - Republic of Estrela: Internal Displacement, Climate Change and Planning, coordinated by Richard L.K. Glover (RPO INGSA-Africa) and Shaheen Motala-Timol (INGSA-Africa SC).
• and a brainstorming session on NASAC’s Strategic Plan and Science Advice, facilitated by Jacqueline Kado the Executive Director of NASAC.

Geneva, SWITZERLAND: The Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) has once again hosted their extremely successful Science Diplomacy Week, with INGSA as a key partner.

The annual event brought together 30 young leaders from around the world for an intensive course on science diplomacy. INGSA was delighted to bring another training workshop on Anticipatory Science Diplomacy to the week’s program. With the GESDA secretariat we designed a new interactive World Build Case Study on Neurotechnologies.

For more on the GESDA Science Diplomacy Week, including when applications open for the next year see: https://gesda.global/science-diplomacy-week/. And be sure to keep an eye on the GESDA annual summit, especially if you are in Europe this October.

GLOBAL: From the 6-9th June, the Global Young Academy, in collaboration with the Rwanda Young Academy of Science, organised the 2023 International Conference of Young Scientists and GYA Annual General Meeting, in Kigali, Rwanda.

On the theme of “Technological Innovations for Discovering Solutions to the World’s Greatest Current Challenges”, the meeting brought together early and mid-career scientists from around the world.

INGSA is grateful to the GYA that members of the new INGSA-Africa Hub, Rwanda were invited to attend.

INGSA-Africa Steering Committee Member, Prof Christian Acemah, was invited to provide the keynote address to the GYA Science Advice Workshop on June 9, 2023. He provided participants many key lessons from his 14 years of experience developing evidence-informed policymaking capacity in sub-Saharan Africa. Find out more about Christian's Keynote here.

You can see pictures of the GYA AGM here, and all upcoming reports will be available on the GYA conference page.



PANAMA: INGSA-LAC is conducting a study on the state of governmental scientific advice in Panama, in collaboration with the National Secretariat for Science and Technology of Panama and the organisation Ciencia en Panamá.

This study is part of a broader effort to assess the state of scientific advisory systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. Following a similar study conducted in Colombia last year, the focus has now shifted to Peru, with potential plans to expand to Mexico and Chile.

The study involves surveys aimed at scientists and decision-makers, and the findings will be compiled into a comprehensive report. 

GLOBAL: Marking one-year since the publication of their landmark report, the Global Commission on Evidence to Address Societal Challenges has released Update 2023, which is focused on three key implementation priorities:

1. formalising and strengthening domestic evidence support systems

2. enhancing and leveraging the global evidence architecture (including living evidence syntheses)

3. putting evidence at the centre of everyday life.

Read their update to learn more about the progress towards improving the use of evidence to address societal challenges and how our collective efforts can help to move from recommendations into action.

Update 2023 and accompanying infographics are now also available in Chinese, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and Arabic.

EUROPE: On the 28^th of June the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism is launching two new reports – an Evidence Review Report and a Scientific Opinion on Sustainable Food Consumption.

The publications are answering the following question: What tools could be used at an EU level, in addition to those mentioned in the 2020 Farm to Fork Strategy, to overcome the barriers preventing consumers from adopting sustainable and healthy diets, fostering change towards sustainability in the food environment?

Stay tuned and find out more here: sapea.info/food-consumption

New Reports and Resources:

New Reports / Papers

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