SciDev.Net

Science academies in the developing world must engage with the real world if they want to influence policy.

Getting science into policymaking is challenging — but a recent workshop for African parliamentary researchers suggested new ways forward.

Commodity price rises are no substitute for long-term investment in infrastructure and capacity as a means of securing sustained development.

Governments and donors must find ways to tackle the rise in non-communicable disease, which can mean reassessing health priorities in developing nations.

More efforts are needed to hold the leaders of the G8 nations to commitments made at their annual summit meetings.

African ministers have committed themselves to a set of actions to boost health research in their countries. Now they must implement them.

Successful efforts to implement effective South–South research collaboration require a better understanding of what works best and why.

A recent report is a welcome analysis of modern agriculture's future, but it fails to adequately recognise the role of science and technology.

Washington should use the new wave of optimism for science to drive policy-making rather than to boost political agendas.

Bill and Melinda Gates' forays into aid are to be welcomed, but they can only succeed alongside government involvement.

Developing countries need economic stability and social inclusion to develop — both of which are in jeopardy in Kenya and Pakistan as 2008 dawns.

Delay in the implementation of Africa's plan of action for science and technology suggests commitment to act does not yet go deep enough.

Europe's recent bid to attract more skilled workers underlines developing countries' need for greater – not less – investment in their intellectual capital.

Universities in developing countries should ditch the 'ivory tower' legacy of colonialism and enhance their links with the world outside.

The fight against biopiracy must embrace both legitimate science and social justice if biodiversity itself is not to suffer.

Effective adaptation strategies will require reliable scientific data both on the nature of climate change and on its potential impact.

Improving scientific literacy in developing countries' parliaments would boost sustainable development.

Building public support for genetically modified crops in sub-Saharan Africa means developing a homegrown solution to the region's own needs.

At its global summit next week the G8 needs to build on the work of its predecessors, putting science and technology back at the heart of the international aid agenda.

The row over the World Bank president's behaviour reinforces the need to safeguard its lending policies from ideological pressure.