Capacity Building, Reach and Impact of Research on Sustainable Development for Two Chilean and Canad

1
Capacity Building, Reach and Impact of Research
on Sustainable Development for Two Chilean and
Canadian Universities and the Regional
Communities They Serve

• Sonia Salas (Universidad de La Serena), David
  Gauthier and Polo Diaz (University of Regina)

2
Institutions

• Universidad de La Serena (ULS) - 1981 - period of
  transformation - closure of the regional campuses
  of the public national universities and their
  replacement by regional universities
• - democratization of the early 1990s demanded
  new relationships between Chilean universities
  and their societies, i.e. strengthening ULS
  service to the regional community
• University of Regina (UR) - 1974 -
• well-established record in social
  science
• research and a strong presence in the
• regional community

Regina
3
Cooperation

• ULS and UR links established in early 1990s -
  contacts among professors
• Expanded into institutional linkages through
  projects

4
Projects

• 1991 - 1992 CIDA supported project for training
  faculty from the ULS in quantitative methods in
  social research involved 7 UR researchers.
• 1998 - 2003 CIDA Tier 2 Training for Regional
  Sustainable Development. Two stages
• - Stage 1 - 12 faculty members
• from each of the ULS and UNA
  
• were trained in 4 areas
  regional
• sustainable development
  issues,
• geographic information
  systems,
• evaluative and
  field-research
• techniques, and
  institutional
• assessment systems

5
Projects (continued)

• - Stage 2 -
• trainees delivered training programs to the staff
  of regional and municipal governments, NGO
  personnel, and community leaders
• developed a set of university courses in the area
  of sustainable development
• established an information system centre
• implemented several action-oriented research
  projects and
• evaluated several university community oriented
  programs

6
Project Results - Courses

• Universidad de La Serena - 3 new courses
• Introduction to Sustainable Development
  Sustainable Development A Challenge to the
  Relationships Between Humans and Nature
  Geography of Regional Tourism
• Universidad Nacional - revisions to 6 courses
• Social Research Techniques, Participatory
  Methodology, Design and Project Management,
  Social Analysis, Research Methods in Education,
  Project Management in Planning and Social
  Development

7
Project Results - Courses (continued)

• University of Regina
• New graduate courses - Sustainability and Social
  Science Human and Natural Environments
• Modified courses - Canadian Plains Studies
  Seminar Introduction to Training and Development
• University of New Brunswick - Issues and Trends
  in Adult Training and Development

8
Project Results - Publications

• Training Manuals 13
• (ULS 5 UNA 4 UR 4)
• Documents 36 produced by ULS and UNA
• Formal Publications 11
• Theses 3 (2 M.A., 1 Ph.D.)

9
New Projects

• 2004 - 2010 CIDA Tier 2 project Rural Water
  Conservation - 4 institutions - the ULS, the UR,
  the Instituto de Ecología Política (a Chilean NGO
  with significant experience in sustainable
  development programs) and the Prairie Farm
• Rehabilitation
  Administration,
• a Canadian
  federal agency

10
2004 - 2010 CIDA Tier 2 project Rural Water
Conservation

• build capacity in local poor rural communities
  engage civil society to increase participation of
  poor rural women in water planning and
  management develop good governance through
  facilitating cooperative water management
  stakeholder networks guide policy development at
  the regional and national level.
• increase ULS capacity to deliver education and
  training programs to improve ability of rural
  women,
• non-government organizations and
• government agencies to address sustainable
• water management issues for rural
• communities.

11
New Project

• 2004 - 2009 Multi Collaborative Research
  Initiative (MCRI) Program of the Social Sciences
  and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
  Institutional Adaptation to Climate Change
  (IACC) - focus on vulnerability and adaptation to
  climate change.

12
MCRI - IACC Project

• Addresses the capacity of institutions in dryland
  regions to formulate and implement strategies of
  adaptation to climate change risks and the
  forecasted impacts of climate change on the
  supply and management of water resources in
  dryland environments.
• A comparative study of the South Saskatchewan
  River Basin (SSRB) in western Canada and the
  Elqui River Basin (ERB) of north- central Chile.

13
MCRI - IACC Objectives

• To identify the current physical and social
  vulnerabilities related to water resource
  scarcity in the two dryland regions
• To examine the effects of climate change risks on
  the identified vulnerabilities and
• To assess the technical and social adaptive
  capacities of the regional institutions to
  address the vulnerabilities to current water
  scarcity and climate change risks.
• Objectives are founded upon a strong
  participatory program of community engagement and
  information exchange among stakeholders, academic
  audiences, and the general public.

14
Results of Cooperation

• Since 1991 approximately 4.5 million from a
  diversity of agencies has supported project
  activities, plus considerable contributions of
  the ULS, the UR and other partner institutions.
• The research capacities of the ULS. The
  successful implementation and completion of the
  projects have strengthened the capabilities of
  the ULS in social sciences research.

15
Results of Cooperation (continued)

• Strengthening of international linkages. Both
  universities have benefited by developing solid
  international experience in academic cooperation.
• Participation in networks. The cooperation has
  expanded the institutional network beyond the ULS
  and the UR.
• Stronger links to the regional civil society. The
  institutional collaboration has led to an
  increased focus on regional needs and problems.

16
Results of Cooperation (continued)

• Participation. Large number of academics from
  partner institutions have participated in the
  projects, e.g. since 1991 gt100 faculty members
  and graduate students from the ULS and UR
• Outputs. The delivery of these projects has
  contributed to a considerable output in both
  universities, e.g. books (3), research papers and
  extension and out-reach material (28), manuals
  (13), and journal articles (7) an increasing
  participation in different national and
  international meetings related to sustainable
  development by team members at both universities.