Eighth APN
Scientific Planning Group Meeting
10-11
March 2003, Hanoi, Viet Nam
Summary Report from Co-Chairpersons
Dr.
Andrew Matthews and Dr. Subramaniam Moten
The SPG meeting was attended by experts and members from
Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lao P.D.R., Malaysia,
Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic
of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, USA, Viet Nam, APN Liaison Officers,
SARCS, SASCOM, START Oceania, TEACOM, the International START
Secretariat and observers from ENRICH, IAI, IGBP, IHDP, the
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Japan and, Viet Nam. The list
of participants is given at Attachment
1.
1. Opening
The APN Secretariat Director, Mr. Sombo T. Yamamura, opened
the meeting by inviting Honoured Guest, Mr. Duc Hai Tran, Director
General, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Viet
Nam to offer some welcoming remarks. Mr. Tran welcomed participants
and thanked the APN for organising this meeting and highlighted
the great efforts and contributions that APN has made in conducting
global change activities. Mr. Tran also emphasised the necessity
of the integration of research conducted by APN with that conducted
by other global change programmes. Mr. Yamamura expressed sincere
gratitude to Viet Nam for hosting the meeting and for their
organisation and hospitality. Participants were then invited
by SPG Co-Chair, Dr. Subramaniam Moten, to introduce themselves.
2. Adoption of Agenda
The agenda was adopted as proposed.
3. Review of Activities in 2002/2003
The APN Secretariat reviewed the year's achievements. Since
the 7th IGM efforts have been made to mobilise financial resources.
The first APN synthesis (land use and cover change) is nearing
completion. A draft synthesis report has been prepared and is
being reviewed by the assigned workshop editorial committee.
This report will be integrated into the 2002/2003 annual report.
An APN/START awareness-raising symposium was convened in Northeast
Asia and one symposium and two workshops were held in Kobe.
However, the APN/START workshop planned to be held in Uzbekistan,
Central Asia, has been postponed. A new date will be circulated
to APN members in due course. The Secretariat also pointed out
that several missions were made highlighting that APN is a regional
network with a global presence.
It was pointed out that the Steering Committee
had also recommended that the APN Secretariat provide more information on which
global
change related meetings are being held and involve the Steering
Committee in discussions on which meetings the Secretariat should
attend in the future.
Action: Secretariat
A Summary of the 2002/2003 activity, project and regional
reports was presented. The Secretariat highlighted the new APN
publication: Projects, Activities and Regional Reports. In addition,
project reporting procedures and the provision of guidelines
to project leaders who request extensions to their reports and/or
projects were also discussed. It was pointed out by the
SPG that the APN publication was a good step forward in that
it provides a useful overview of APN activities. It was highlighted
as well that all other activities carried out by APN would be
covered in the APN Annual Report being presented later under
Item 12 of the Agenda.
SPG Co-Chair, Dr. Andrew Matthews, emphasised that APN
should be moving in a direction that promotes professionalism in order
to secure and maintain the interest and involvement of prospective
funding bodies and other stakeholders, and to show that APN
is, in fact, a key player in the global change community. The
professional quality and content of the reports submitted by
project leaders was also highlighted as being of key importance,
including peer-reviewed journal articles which were an outcome
of their APN-funded project.
Under the "Basic Guidelines for Project Extensions," the
SPG suggested that the Secretariat:
- State that only "no-cost extensions" will be considered;
- Change the wording of "proposal" to "detailed request;"
and
- State that the "detailed request" must be submitted
at least 3 months prior to the originally scheduled official
end of the project.
In the initial award letters to proponents, the APN Secretariat
is to emphasise that:
- The final 20% of each grant will be remitted only on
receipt of the Final Activity Report and Final Financial
Report as stated in the APN contract.
Action: Secretariat
4. APN Liaison Officers' Annual Reports 2002/2003
The Secretariat introduced the APN Liaison Officers (APN
supporting officers in the START Regional Centers) and their
mandate under the APN Research Framework. The Liaison Officers
then provided a regional overview of their past year's activities.
It was mentioned
that, occasionally, the Secretariat does not provide updated project information
to the Liaison Officers
and communications in this area should be improved. Furthermore,
it was highlighted that communications between the SPG members
and Liaison Officers must also be improved.
The
SPG recommended that:
- The Secretariat provide Liaison Officers with up-to-date
information regarding project-related activities in their
respective regions;
- The SPG members provide the Secretariat with updated
information for the newsletter mailing list;
- The Secretariat updates the mailing list on a regular
basis;
- National libraries and institutes could be added to
the mailing list; and
- SPG Members and Liaison Officers open up a two-way communication
process.
Action: Liaison Officers, SPG members and
the Secretariat
5. Proposals Process
The Secretariat reported on the pre-proposal and full proposal
stages as they were utilised in the assessment of 2002 proposals
and the recommendations for confirmation of multi-year projects.
A total of 52 pre-proposals were received in the June 2002 pre-proposals
round. It was agreed that the pre-proposals stage is a success
this year and that APN should submit a questionnaire to all
pre-proponents for feedback from previous years. The results
of the questionnaire are then to be disseminated to the APN
members.
Action: Secretariat
The Secretariat received 56 full proposals in the September
2002 proposals round (one additional proposal was later submitted
as an output of the APN/START North East Asia awareness raising
symposium). In the Rapid Assessment Stage only one proposal
was considered "unsuitable" and rejected. Therefore, 56 proposals
proceeded to the first stage of the review process by the SPG.
Of these, 27 proposals, i.e., 48% advanced to the final stage
of the proposal review process. It was agreed that the success
rate of the proposals stage is to be disseminated on the APN
website.
In the guidelines for proponents in the 2003 Call for Proposals,
the SPG recommended that the Secretariat provide more refined
criteria in both the Call for Proposals and the Reviewer Guidelines
for SPG members.
Action: Secretariat
The Proposals Review System and options to reduce the burden
on both the Small Group and the SPG reviewers was discussed.
The SPG recommended that:
- The Rapid Assessment Stage continue, but more refined
criteria be established in the Rapid Assessment Stage guidelines
for Small Group members in order to enable the Small Group
to substantially reduce the number of the proposals;
- More refined criteria be established in the Reviewer
Guidelines for SPG members and that the scoring system currently
in place remain;
- The Secretariat work with the global change programmes
in creating a list of external reviewers who can be asked
to review APN proposals (in their respective areas of expertise)
that are short-listed for Stage 2; and
- Selected external reviewers are asked to comment on
the proposals but not provide a score (the aim here being
to aid the Small Group in recommending proposals for funding).
Action: Secretariat and Steering Committee
Per diem rates were discussed and it was suggested that any
institutions hosting meetings should be encouraged to provide
in-kind contributions by, for example, subsidising accommodation
costs. It was further suggested that SPG members remind
proponents in their countries to be more cost effective. The
Secretariat will continue to be pro-active in reviewing proposal
budgets in a realistic and cost-effective manner.
Action: Secretariat and SPG members
6. APN Networking and Capacity Building Programme
The
Secretariat provided an overview of the 2002/2003 networking and capacity building
programme. The SPG meeting agreed that
holding "awareness raising symposia" should not be seen as
the highest priority and that future APN networking and capacity
building activities might best incorporate the following:
- Networking expansion through the Pacific Island Summit
(being held in May 2003) and through the APN Liaison Officers;
- Enrichment of the APN website as a tool for networking
support and expansion;
- Further encouragement of networking of adjacent countries;
and
- Linking with the "Scientific Capacity Building/Enhancement
for Sustainable Development in Developing Countries" (CAPaBLE)
programme for a more systematic development of the APN capacity
building programme and its activities.
Mr. Lee indicated that the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
would be prepared to collaborate with APN in the upcoming APN/START
Central Asian workshop. Opportunities for EU/APN partnerships
in Central Asian activities that APN may undertake should be
considered. Furthermore, the SPG agreed that the APN continue
its efforts on inter-regional networking with the EU. It was
also mentioned that SPG members are encouraged to continue to
promote APN.
For the future, it was agreed that Capacity Building activities
should be conducted in a more systematic manner. Networking
should also be continued as an important activity of APN.
7. 2003/2004 APN Funded Projects
It was announced that the total budget available for APN
funded projects would be approximately US$ 785,000 in the next
fiscal year. This budget also includes a contingency fund.
Dr. Matthews, as SPG
Co-Chair, presented to the SPG for their approval the Small Group's recommendations
for continuing Multi-Year
Projects. He emphasised that the recommendations were based
on the progress reports and other supporting evidence submitted
by the project leaders.
Dr. Matthews then explained the rationale behind the
Small Group's recommendations for funding proposals short-listed
at Stage 2 of the Proposals Process. The SPG's ratings for
scientific excellence and average score were used as the main
basis for the funding recommendations. Other major factors included
budgetary aspects and the number of high scores.
The SPG agreed on the funding
recommendations made by the
Small Group as follows:
The SPG agreed that these funding recommendations will be
presented to the IGM for their endorsement.
8. Ongoing/Proposed APN Activities
The Secretariat presented the following activities:
- APN-IAI Joint Activity
It was agreed to further explore with the IAI a future joint
activity, and that a climate change-related activity be considered
in this respect.
- Asia Pacific Environmental Innovation Strategy Project
(APEIS)
APEIS capacity building activities will be continued. However,
the selection process for APN participants will not only involve
national Focal points, but SPG members and Liaison Officers
will also take an active role in nominating APN participants.
- Global Change Coastal Zone Synthesis
This proposal was recommended for IGM endorsement. However,
SPG members emphasised the need for strong scientific leadership
and a manageable timeline. It was agreed to include not only
the APN community but other regional stakeholders as well. Most
importantly, the SPG agreed that any such assessment should
take into account the results of research undertaken in this
area by other programmes (e.g. IGBP-LOICZ) in order to establish
the widest possible basis for the assessment. The Final product
could include a book as part of the IGBP global change book
series.
- 3rd World Water Forum and Pacific Island Summit
The Secretariat also provided information on its involvement
at the 3rd World Water Forum and the Pacific Island Summit.
Relevant results of these meeting will be disseminated to APN
members.
Action: Secretariat
9. CAPaBLE Programme
The SPG considered the "Scientific Capacity Building/Enhancement
for Sustainable Development in Developing Countries" (CAPaBLE)
Programme an excellent opportunity that is compatible with APN
objectives and could facilitate APN's approach to capacity
enhancement and capacity building in a more systematic manner.
The SPG congratulated the Ministry of the Environment of Japan
on this exciting proposal.
Some concerns were raised regarding the implementation,
in particular, the timeline for implementation and the guidelines
for the programme. The SPG noted that an element of flexibility
and dynamism in the system will be required because of the newness
of the programme and, although the current APN mechanism will
be used to implement this programme, revisions must be made
to these guidelines to accommodate both the objectives of APN
and the objectives of CAPaBLE. It was also suggested that consideration
be given to funding relevant infrastructure that may be required
to undertake funded activities. Furthermore, the SPG recommended
that the Scientific Steering Committee develop a streamlined
"Call for Proposals" for
the Comprehensive Research Projects. When doing so, the Steering Committee should
also streamline
the review process, the selection of reviewers and the guidelines
for those reviewers involved in the review process, as appropriate.
The SPG highlighted
the importance of support from developed country experts in aiding the activities
in the developing country-led
projects, as appropriate. The SPG recommended that the CAPaBLE
Programme become an integral part of APN.
Action: Steering Committee and Secretariat
10. Available funds for APN's 2003/2004 activities
The secretariat presented the budget for APN scientific activities
and highlighted that this budget does not include administration
costs. The proposed budget is as follows:
- For the proposals process and contingency fund, US$
752,000 will be provided (with an additional US$ 33,000
remaining from the current fiscal year funds);
- For networking, US$ 24,000 will be provided;
- For APEIS, US$ 40,000 will be provided; and
- For CAPaBLE, US$ 537,200 will be provided.
The total amount for scientific activities has increased
by approximately US$ 300,000 from the previous year.
11. APN Annual Report
The Secretariat outlined the need for an APN Annual Report
as endorsed at the 7th IGM.
The SPG recommended revisions of the template which
will
include:
- A summary for policy-makers;
- List of publications/products in the Annex section;
- Should be visionary and include accomplishments;
- Adjust the contents so that financial resources are
included at the back of the Report; and
- *1 Report should be attractive to its target audience.
Action: Secretariat and Ad Hoc Annual Report
Committee
12. Preparation for APN's 10th Anniversary
The SPG was supportive of plans outlined by the Secretariat
for review of the APN's scientific progress and summarising
the APN's achievements.
The SPG recommended, however, that:
- The Steering Committee work on the evaluation process
in direct consultation with the Secretariat, Global Change
programmes, SPG members, and their respective counterparts;
and
Action: Secretariat and Steering Committee
- SPG approach APN national Focal Points and their counterparts,
seeking funding opportunities for special fellowships relating
to 10th APN Anniversary achievements.
Action: SPG Members
13. APN Contribution to IPCC 4th Assessment Report
The SPG recommended that:
- Project leaders be encouraged to produce peer review
papers (exposure of APN results could lead to more funds)
and, should a peer review publication result then reference
to APN contribution should be made;
- There is a need to implement a tracking mechanism of
APN publications, and to periodically update these records
as time lags may exist between project completion and publication
of peer review journals; and
Action: Secretariat
- Global Change
book series and other media should be considered as a means
of disseminating APN results.
14. Election of New Co-Chair
Dr. Matthews explained that a new Co-Chair from a developing
country has to be elected since, according to APN procedures;
Dr. Subramaniam Moten's two-year term is now at an end. SPG
members acknowledged Dr. Moten's input to APN, as SPG Co-Chair,
over the past two-years. Dr. Matthews proposed Dr. Amir Muhammed
of Pakistan as the new SPG Co-Chair. The nomination was supported
by SPG members and accepted by Dr. Muhammed.
15. Any Other Business
Action: Secretariat
- The Steering Committee should work with the Secretariat
on establishing timelines and mechanisms for APN activities;
Action: Secretariat and Steering Committee
- The SPG will consider how the Asia-Pacific science agenda
can best respond to the Global Change programmes' new structure;
Action: SPG
- The SPG thanked Dr. Il Soo Park, who will no longer
continue to act as SPG member for the Republic of Korea,
for his involvement in APN activities.
16. Science Presentations
Science presentations were made on:
- "Impact of Climate Change on the Coastal Zone"
Nobuo
Mimura, Ibaraki University, Japan
- "Overview of Global Change Studies in Viet Nam"
Huu
Ninh Nugyen, Center for Environment Research, Education
and Development, Viet Nam
- "Emerging Global Change Partnerships –
The Role of Food Systems"
Barbara Göbel,
International Human Dimensions Programme
17. Closing
The Secretariat Director expressed his sincere appreciation
to SPG members, participants from the global change programmes
and networks, and the SPG Co-Chairs' for their active role
in making the 8th SPG meeting a success. The Director also thanked
the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Viet Nam,
for hosting the meeting, and expressed appreciation to Dr. Subramaniam
Moten for his outstanding service over the past two-years as
SPG Co-Chair.
Ad hoc annual report committee will work electronically to ensure that the language
matches the targeted readers |
