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The following research leaders participated in the Bridging the Research-Policy Divide program in 2009.
The institutions listed are those with which the Fellows were affiliated during their Fellowship. As part of the program, each Fellow produced a Policy Brief and associated action plan, as well as a Case Study based on their own research. These can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate links below.
The Fellows summarised their six-weeks of on-campus activities at a public seminar on Thursday May 28, 2009, with the following final seminar presentation (3.8MB MSPowerpoint as PDF).
Arif Goheer BSc (Hons), MSc (Hons) Pakistan
Major Research Interests: Climate change and crop production Affiliation: Global Change Impact Studies Centre (GCISC), Islamabad, Pakistan Sponsor: Professor Gabriele Bammer Policy brief: Managing agricultural production variability through seasonal climate prediction (462KB PDF) Case study: Transforming Vision into Reality: How Global Change Impact Studies Centre brought the climate change issues to limelight in Pakistan (82KB PDF) 12 Month Follow-up: Arif has used the policy brief and action plan, as well as the case study, as the basis for a range of discussions with colleagues and supervisors, raising awareness of how GCISC and other organizations can contribute to policy formulation. In November 2009, Arif was the resource person at a two-day national workshop on "Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture in Pakistan", where he directly applied the stakeholder analysis techniques learnt on the course. At this workshop and in preparing a document on "Pakistan’s Climate Change Policies and Actions" for the Task Force on Climate Change of the Planning Commission of Pakistan he found numerous opportunities to apply course lessons, which was aided by keeping a Learning Journal, the value of which had been instilled at the course. In March 2010, Arif participated in a panel organised by the Population Association of Pakistan on "Climate Change, Gender and Population" where he advocated the need for linking science and policy, and again shared course learnings with the academics, policy makers and activists who attended.
Mary Elizabeth (Betsy) Miranda DVM Philippines
Major Research Interests: Infectious diseases in animals and humans Affiliation: Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Manila Sponsors: Dr Mahomed Patel Policy brief: One Health: Strengthening response capacities to emerging diseases (274KB PDF) Case study: National program for rabies control and eventual elimination in the Philippines: Achieving high-level commitment (389KB PDF) 12 Month Follow-up: After returning to the Philippines, Betsy used the course learnings in rabies elimination projects in the province of Bohol in the Central Visayas Islands and a province in mainland Luzon. The One Health approach which was the focus of her policy brief was used in both projects, along with local policies for implementation. Specifically these included integrated human and animal disease surveillance, and joint outbreak investigation and response. She also recommended the course to colleagues, both of whom were accepted as 2010 Fellows. Website: [Note; this link is out-of-date – the structure has been left in place but the active link deleted]: who.int_neglected_diseases_miranda_en
Kashif Salik BSc (Hons), MSc (Hons) Pakistan
Major Research Interests: Climate change and food security Affiliation: Global Change Impact Studies Centre, Islamabad, Pakistan Sponsor: Professor Gabriele Bammer Policy brief: Coherent institutional framework for better food planning in Pakistan (838KB PDF) Case study: How Global Environmental Changes and Food System (GECAFS) enhance research capacity in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (365KB PDF) 12 Month Follow-up: Kashif has presented learnings from the Fellowship in a number of forums, including the "Brainstorming Workshop on Climate Change Adaptation in Mountain Ecosystem" in Kathmandu in July 2009. The concepts also assisted him when he was a national representative nominated by the Government of Pakistan at the First Global Intergovernmental and Multi-stakeholder Consultation on the Fifth Global Environmental Outlook Report (GEO-5) in Nairobi, Kenya in March 2010. He presented his policy brief at the workshop on "Assessment of Food and Water Security in South-Asia under a Changing Climate Using Crop Simulation and Water Management Models, and Identification of Appropriate Strategies for Adaptation to Meet Future Demands" held in Islamabad in March 2010, where it was well-received.
Sam-ang Seubsman BSc (Ed), MCN, PhD Thailand
Major Research Interests: Community Nutrition Affiliation: School of Human Ecology, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Nonthaburi, Thailand Sponsor: Professor Adrian Sleigh Policy brief: Triangle shifts mountains: Policy model tackling urban health in Thailand (632KB PDF) Case study: Social Mobilization for a Public Policy Path Way: A Case Study of Less Sugar creates a Sweeter Child, Addressing Childhood Obesity and Diabetes Epidemic in Thailand (54KB PDF) 12 Month Follow-up: Sam-ang presented her policy brief and case study to a number of audiences in Australia and, especially, Thailand, including the Deputy Secretary General, Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board of Thailand. As a consequence, she was invited to participate in the national forum for policy and planning by attending the 2009 national assembly entitled “From the 2027 Vision to the 11th National Five-year Plan”. Sam-Ang also proposed the establishment of an Urban Health Research Centre under the School of Human Ecology, Sukhaothai Thammathirat Open University. This has been successfully operating since February 2010 and has received two competitive grants. At a local level, Sam-ang has used the skills and knowledge acquired during her Fellowship at The ANU to train local community leaders on bridging policy and community development.
Gyaneshwar Singh MSW, LLB India
Major Research Interests: Poverty reduction; food security Affiliation: Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India Sponsor: Professor Gabriele Bammer Policy brief: Improving policy for reducing the vulnerability of food system facing climate change: Vaishili District, Bihar, India (365KB PDF) Case study: Policy responses for improving livelihood of small and marginal and women farmers in Uttar Pradesh, India: A case study of joint struggle of Gorakhpur Environmental Action, civil society organisation and small & marginal farmers union (323KB PDF) 12 Month Follow-up: Gyaneshwar shared his policy brief and case study with several national and international colleagues, both in person and in an e-group. Although he is no longer with the Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group, he continues to work on citizen participation in the policy-making process, both through research and local action. He has moved to Bihar to continue his commitment to the state's devlopment. There he applied the knowledge and skills learnt in the course in consultation issues on the draft Bihar State Water Policy (2009) and draft Bihar State Drinking and Sanitation Policy (2010). He was an invited technical expert in climate change adaptation in the development of Guidance Notes on Recovery by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) India and International Recovery Platform (IRP), Japan. Website: gyaneshwer3.blogspot.com
Guojie Wang B.Preventative Medicine, M.Social Medicine China
Major Research Interests: Epidemiology of tuberculosis Affiliation: Henan Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhengzhou, Henan, China Sponsor: Professor Adrian Sleigh Policy brief: Strengthen the systematic capacity to stop the spread of MDR-TB in Henan, China (476KB PDF) Case study: Stop tuberculosis infection of healthcare workers in anti-TB institutions (60KB PDF) 12 Month Follow-up: Guojie presented his policy brief and case study to a range of colleagues in the Henan Provincial Health Department. China is implementing an intensive anti Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) program through evidence-based policy-making. Guojie has been able to contribute to this process at the provincial level. From July 2009, Guojie and his colleagues began working with the Chinese Centre for Disease Control (CDC) to survey the MDR-TB control work in Henan. From January 2010, a joint project by the Henan CDC and the China CDC of enhanced measures of MDR-TB control began to be implemented in Henan. To date it has covered almost the entire province. In late December 2009 Guojie moved to Canada.
Faculty for the 2009 program were Professor Gabriele Bammer, Dr Mahomed Patel, Mr David McDonald and Dr Lorrae van Kerkhoff. The program administrator was Ms Caryn Anderson.
