Visiting Scientists Provide Capacity Development: Lessons Learned by POGO and SCOR

Ed Urban,Sophie Seeyave

doi:10.5670/oceanog.2021.306

Abstract

To enable the sustainable use of their ocean resources, capacity for ocean science and observations is important for every coastal nation. In many developing areas of the world, capability for ocean science and observations is not yet adequate to meet management needs. International organizations have employed a variety of capacity development approaches to assist developing countries in building self-sustaining ocean science and observational communities. This article describes the lessons learned from visiting scientist programs conducted for more than a decade by the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO) and the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) that dispatched ocean scientists to developing countries to train hundreds of individuals in a variety of ocean science and observation topics and techniques. From these programs, SCOR and POGO have learned that training in-country has multiple benefits to trainees, host institutions, and trainers, benefits that are not achievable when students leave their countries. These benefits include more cost-effective training on issues relevant to the host institutions using locally available technology, as well as the ability to reach a large number of trainees. Lessons learned from the POGO and SCOR programs can be used to inform the future capacity-development activities of POGO and SCOR, as well as other organizations, to improve, enhance, and expand the use of in-country training and mentoring. Such approaches could contribute to the capacity development efforts of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Highlights

Capacity for ocean science—funding, ships and equipment, personnel—varies throughout the world, typically with greater capacity in developed regions and less capacity in developing regions (IOCUNESCO, 2020)
It should be noted that Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) and Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO) are small nongovernmental organizations whose capacity development activities are focused on their missions of advancing ocean science and observations worldwide
One of the first Visiting Professors to participate in the Nippon Foundation (NF)POGO program in 2005 was the late Trevor Platt, who, with a team of colleagues, provided training to 24 students from India, Vietnam, Thailand, and Tanzania at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), in Kochi, India

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Capacity for ocean science—funding, ships and equipment, personnel—varies throughout the world, typically with greater capacity in developed regions and less capacity in developing regions (IOCUNESCO, 2020). It should be noted that SCOR and POGO are small nongovernmental organizations whose capacity development activities are focused on their missions of advancing ocean science and observations worldwide Intergovernmental organizations, such as the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, have the mission and resources to tackle broader societal issues related to, for example, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and environment and gender issues, we will mention later some actions that SCOR and POGO could take to contribute to meeting societal needs. Upon request by its member states, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) provides training related to marine systems at its Marine Environmental Studies Laboratory in Monaco, as well as on site in countries around the world These programs fill an important need for training in ocean science observations and monitoring, data management, disaster preparedness, and other purposes. Characteristics of the Nippon Foundation-POGO Visiting Professorship (NF-POGO VP), POGO Visiting Professorship (POGO VP), and SCOR Visiting Scholar (SCOR VS) programs

Funding level

RESULTS

The training broadened my cultural horizons