Collaborating with the Commonwealth 2011

Woburn House, Tavistock Square, London

Friday 11 February 2011, 9:30 am-4:00 pm

A one-day briefing on funding for partnership opportunities, sponsored by the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK

As external funding plays an ever-increasing role in developing teaching and research activities, there is a danger that international activity focuses on those areas where such funding is most visible. In fact, the possibilities for funded collaboration with other Commonwealth countries are substantial, but rarely brought together in one place.

Many of these initiatives were covered at the Collaborating with the Commonwealth conference, which aimed to provide a concise yet comprehensive briefing of current opportunities – suitable for those advising researchers at institutional level, planning future funding strategies, or managing significant research teams.

All of the speakers were leaders or senior representatives of funding bodies and had first-hand knowledge of grant-giving organisations. In addition, around one third of the delegates were senior academics from developing Commonwealth countries – currently in the UK under the prestigious Commonwealth Fellowship programme – who were seeking to develop active collaborations. The conference provided an ideal opportunity for those seeking to broaden their international partnerships.

Programme

9:00        Registration period

9:30        Welcome and Introduction – Professor John Wood, Secretary General, The Association of Commonwealth Universities

9:35        Speaker: Dr Mark Robinson, Chief Professional Officer, Governance, Conflic and Social Development, DFID

9:55        Speaker: Sir Richard Brook, Director, The Leverhulme Trust - presentation

10:15      Speaker: Dr Val Snewin, International Activities Manager, Wellcome Trust - presentation

10:35      Speaker: Caroline Baylon, Head of International Strategy, Arts and Humanities Research Council - presentation

10:55      Speaker: Philippe Froissard, Deputy Head of Unit, International Cooperation Projects, Directorate-General for Research, European Commission - presentation

11:15      Speaker: Jane Lyddon, Head of International Relations, The British Academy - presentation

11:35      Refreshments

12:00      Speaker: Sir Alan Rudge, Chair, Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 - presentation

12:20      Speaker: Dr Mark Collins, Director, Commonwealth Foundation - presentation

12:30      Panel Discussion I: Barriers when developing collaborations

13:00      Lunch

14:00      Speaker: Professor Lorna Casselton, Foreign Secretary, Royal Society - presentation

14:20      Speaker: Kerry Sanderson AO, Agent General, Government of Western Australia - presentation

14:40      Speaker: Professor Tim Unwin, Chair, Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK - presentation

15:00      Speaker: Adrian Alsop, Director for Research and International Activities, Economic and Social Research Council - presentation

15:20      Panel Discussion II: The next steps: how to improve collaboration in future

16:00      Close

Outputs of the seminar

• Better awareness of existing opportunities for collaboration
• Increased knowledge of major issues affecting the development of partnerships and how to improve collaboration
• Opportunity to identify partners and establish collaborations with delegates from other Commonwealth countries
• Chance to raise specific questions with funders during panel discussions