| | | Annual Report 1996 | |
UNU/IIST has, in 1996, seen a considerable expansion of its activities.
By the end of first quarter of 1996, all pledged contributions to the Endowment Fund by the initial donors had been paid in full.
The improved financial situation and the increase in the number of Research Staff1, have meant that the Fellowship Programme has grown dramatically. In September 1996, UNU/IIST had 26 resident fellows, on fellowships of 3-10 months duration. This compares with 14 at the same period in 1995.
In 1996, UNU/IIST was also able to extend its research and training activities to Latin America and the countries of East Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. In October of this year, the Director and one Research Fellow attended CARI'96 in Gabon and organized and attended for participants a Tutorial on RAISE. This event was used to identify partners in Africa and potential Fellows to be invited to spend a period of time at UNU/IIST.
Another positive development is that UNU/IIST has been able to attract co-funding for its off-shore training courses. Moreover, several fellows have been sponsored either partly or totally by their seconding institutions or by aid agencies.
UNU/IIST is also endeavouring to strengthen its network of affiliated institutions worldwide, through the signing of Memoranda of Understanding with institutions in a wide range of countries. This affiliated network will be used to propagate the UNU/IIST agenda in research, in training (through a new initiative of "training of trainers") and as dissemination focal points. One such affiliate recently received a generous contribution -- at the instigation of UNU/IIST -- from Sun Microsystems of California, USA: equipment whose commercial value is around US$25,000.
UNU/IIST has strengthened its links with other international organizations - with the World Bank through activities in Argentina, Vietnam and Russian Federation, with UNCTAD, UNDDSMS, EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction & Development) and with the EU (European Union).
The UNU/IIST strategy, tactics and operational plans, developed over the years 1993-1995, are now basically and almost fully operative. UNU/IIST is increasingly being recognized -- worldwide. We are now basically where we aimed to be, but need to improve external funding.
| | | Annual Report 1996 | |