Canada urged to take lead among G8 nations in funding new research chairs and mathematics institutes in Africa

By Debbie Lawes

Two leaders from Canada's research community are lobbying to make a $500-million Canada Research Chairs (CRC)-type program and $95 million for post-graduate math institutes key planks in a new development agenda for Africa — one based on a bold mix of higher level education, capacity building and sustainability. The proposals were discussed this week in Ottawa at a meeting of the national science academies of the G8 nations, as well as academies from Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa.

The initiatives could make up part of a larger agenda being pushed by the Canadian government to have "innovation for development" and "child and maternal health" accepted as major themes at the Muskoka G8 and Toronto G20 this June.

Dr David Strangway is leading the charge for the Academic Chairs for Africa (ACA), which would see 1,000 chairs receiving $100,000 over five years. Like the CRC program on which it is modeled, the ACA is designed to retain and re-patriot academics. It would be managed by a foundation, independent from any one government.

"We've shown in Canada with the creation of 2,000 chairs that this type of program can work to reduce the brain drain and attract back some of the diaspora. It would create what I call a surge for African institutions," says Strangway, former president of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, former president of the Univ of British Columbia and a member of the executive committee of the International Association of University Presidents. The United Nations estimates there are 30,000 PhDs from sub-Sahara Africa outside of Africa.

"Almost every country now is talking in its program about Africa and partnerships," he adds. "I'm very supportive of partnerships but the problem with Africa is there aren't enough people there to partner with. This program will help change that."

modelled on Canadian chairs program

This is not a new idea for Strangway. He pushed such a proposal under the federal Liberals in 2005 as part of their commitment to devote 5% of Canada's R&D spending towards issues of the developing world (R$, February 7/05). Canada made a small step in that direction two years later with the International Research Chairs Initiative (IRCI), a collaboration between the International Development Research Centre and the CRC (R$, April 16/09). That program provides $1 million over five years to support joint research between eight chairs in developing countries and their equivalents in Canada.

Strangway describes the ACA initiative as a scaled-up version of the IRIC program. "The problem with the IDRC chairs is there are a very small number of them and they're spread around the world. I've talked to people in Africa with IDRC chairs and what that program has done is whet their appetite for a much larger program."

Under the ACA proposal, chairs would have a cross appointment with a university in a developed country where they would spend a month each year accessing specialized research facilities not available in their home country.

Building capacity through mathematics

The national academies also considered a proposal by Dr Neil Turok, director of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo and founder of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences. Turok helped establish the first AIMS institute in his home country of South Africa and two years ago a second centre was opened in Nigeria. Now, with the Next Einstein Initiative (NEI), Turok is working to have 13 more institutes operational within a decade.

The post-graduate schools are a made-in-Africa initiative with some decidedly strong Canadian support. One of the NEI's biggest champions is the Perimeter Institute which, through its new Global Outreach program, supports the creation of centres of excellence in math and physics in the developing world.

Turok insists Canada can do even more. He is encouraging the federal government to step up with the first phase of funding — $25 million over five years — to support the establishment of new AIMS institutes in Senegal, Ghana and Ethiopia. The second phase would see $70 million contributed by G8 countries to establish 10 more centres. After a decade, a continental network of 15 centres would each graduate 50 students annually.

"That would be 750 highly skilled people going into fields relevant to African development. This would be absolutely transformative of Africa's development prospects, and all at a cost of less than $10 million per year," says Turok.

While AIMS focuses on mathematics, Turok says this foundational discipline is relevant to several scientific areas and industries. Graduates work in the finance sector, natural resource management, biosciences, epidemiology, information technology and basic sciences such as theoretical physics, cosmology and astrophysics.

The $95 million from Canada and other G8 countries would cover start-up costs for the 13 new institutes. After five years, the full operating costs would be assumed by each host country and tuition costs would be covered through scholarships.

"We call it the ‘one for many' idea," explains Turok. "We are asking North American universities to support the equivalent cost of one graduate student on their campus, which would be about $30,000 in Canada and maybe $50,000 in the US. That will support between five and 10 students in Africa."

Four Canadian universities have already agreed to the idea: Guelph, Waterloo, Ottawa and Victoria. The goal is to sign up 10 universities for each institute.

Public release expected by June

The national science academies are expected to issue two consensus statements, which won't be publicly released until May or June. Last year's statements were related to energy efficiency and a low carbon future.

"These statements will be reviewed and finalized by end of the meeting (on April 8)," says Dr Howard Alper, chair of the Science, Technology and Innovation Council who chaired this year's academies meeting. "The next step is to have them approved by the councils of G8 member academies, but in the past that has not been a major issue."

If endorsed by the councils, the proposals then go to the G8 leaders for consideration at their summit this summer.

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