Strengthening Individual Capacity
We developed various initiatives to empower early career researchers around the world.
A total of 6 PhD students, 33 master’s students, 27 interns and 12 post-doctoral students conducted impactful research within the project. They delved into diverse topics such as food security, value chain analyses, land conflict, agriculture development and the impact of COVID-19 on cocoa and oil palm companies. Their contributions enriched published reports and journal articles and gave them invaluable interdisciplinary research experience, including advanced data analysis and scientific writing and presentation skills.
One way in which we fostered the development of networks among our researchers was through Researcher Meet-Ups (33 in total). In these sessions, researchers presented on their evolving work and received feedback on it from other project teams. The meetings were useful for knowledge sharing, coordination, idea exchange and the establishment of collaborative relationships that extend beyond the project's duration.
The project developed and delivered a number of training sessions to build individual capacity in a wide range of topics relevant to our research topics. These training sessions, accessible to all project members, have addressed matters such as research ethics, household survey data analysis, stakeholder network mapping, graphics development and engagement with public and private sectors.
Scientific writing was identified by many researchers as a key area for capacity development, leading to the establishment of the TRADE Hub Publication Mentoring Scheme. The scheme was open to all of our members to take part as both mentor and mentee, thereby promoting networking across the project and supporting career development. Mentees were paired with more experienced researchers to improve the mentee’s scientific writing skills. This increased the potential for their research to be published in high impact journals. This directly benefitted the researchers involved and increased the profile and impact of the TRADE Hub. In the Congo Basin countries, this training was expanded to include researchers from other public and private institutions.
One of the questions in our annual anonymous Equitable Partnership Survey was “What are some of the collaboration benefits you have achieved through the TRADE Hub?” Here are some of the answers:
“I was selected for the literature mentoring programme, and it was very beneficial for me to improve my scientific writing skills.”
“I think the project has provided a huge number of benefits. The wildmeat space has become much more integrated and collaborative as a result of this project, plus the capacity building opportunities for partners from Africa has been fantastic, particularly through the AfOx programme. Would be great to create more exchange-type initiatives like this in future.”
“The TRADE Hub has provided some fantastic collaboration opportunities and forged strong links between the top UK universities and DAC country institutions. Hopefully these links will be maintained beyond the TRADE Hub as well.”
“I am really grateful to the TRADE Hub project for the opportunities, experiences, and connections. So many opportunities have opened up for me since I started working on the TRADE Hub project. I have learnt new methods in conservation sciences through interacting with experienced researchers in the project. I have had opportunities to travel abroad for meetings and workshops. I have expanded my network of experts in the field of conservation sciences”
“Learning new things outside of my field, widening my network”
“TRADE Hub has been a fantastic way to meet and work with a huge variety of academics, stakeholders and project partners. It has created many opportunities for me to make new collaborations and I really appreciate the effort that has been put into ensure everyone could make strong connections with each other over the project.”
“Making contact with researchers working on similar topics on different commodities. Learning of different approaches taken by similar research organisations.”
“1. Publication (with a wide co-author group) of several high-level papers; 2. The use of new tools for monitoring wildlife and handling large datasets; 3. Participation on the development of legal framework governing subsistence hunting and trade in Gabon; 4. Have the chance of meeting high level researchers in the field of ecology”
“The active involvement of all members of the team in relevant online and in-person meetings, particularly having members of the C. Africa team visit for the All Hands Meeting. This inclusivity has been really important throughout and has been key to building capacity and exposure to new ideas etc.”
Many early career researchers affiliated with TRADE Hub have transitioned into further research-related roles or positions within public, private and international development sectors. This underscores the value of the skills and experience gained through their involvement in the project, contributing to their professional development and career advancement. Through these initiatives, we nurtured the next generation of leaders in sustainable trade and development.