During September 2007, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) supported an All-Partners Forum at the Cambodiana Hotel in Phnom Penh. This successful event was co-hosted by the Community-based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Learning Institute and the Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI). Over 80 participants from a wide range of organisations attended the forum. Guest speakers included government ministers and other senior officials from government departments as well as leading research institutions.
At the closing session of the All-Partners Forum, participants expressed the wish to organise a series of follow-up national research forums that would be based on relevant issues/themes. This development research forum aims to bridge a diverse community of researchers for the purpose of bringing new knowledge to the foreground of development debates and initiatives in Cambodia.
Therefore, the Development Research Forum proposes to hold one major event per year. The proposed theme for this year’s symposium focuses on “Emerging Trends, Challenges and Innovations for Community-based Approaches to Natural Resource Management in Cambodia”. This Forum is jointly organized by CBNRM Learning Institute and CDRI. This symposium is also supported by IDRC, Danida, Dfid, Heinrich Boll Foundation, Regional Community Forestry Training Centre (RECOFTC), Wetlands Alliance (WorldFish Centre, WWF, Corin, AIT), and many other partners.
Objectives
The aims of the Development Research Forum include the following:
1. Promote quality in research on key development themes affecting equity in social, economic, environmental and natural resource management areas;
2. Provide a new space for collaborative thinking and leadership amongst diverse development research actors – NGOs, government departments, research institutes and others – who otherwise might seldom interact across sectoral lines;
3. Provide a platform for collaborative thinking on intersections between development research and policy implementation;
4. Communicate and disseminate research on development issues to government, international and national organisations and the media;
5. Promote contacts among the Development Research Forum affiliated members by disseminating information on research in progress; and
6. Encourage graduate student participation in seminars and presentations of research proposals and fieldwork results.
Main Components of the Project
A. Research forum
1. Annual Research Symposiums
2. Research Special Interest Groups
3. Collaborative Grants
4. Research Fellowships and Integration into National, Regional and Global Research
Networks
5. Translation and Editing of Research Documents
B. Accelerated ICT Platform
C. Research Capacity Support for Universities and a New Generation of Researchers
1. Scoping Study on Challenges and Opportunities for Research Capacity Development
2. Support for Research Seminars
3. Internships and Mentoring