AuthorAID At INASP
The International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP), an international development charity based in Oxford, UK, has run a funded AuthorAID program called AuthorAID at INASP since January 2007. Following the independent evaluation of the pilot phase from 2007 to 2009, the program was extended until the end of 2012.
AuthorAID at INASP is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), and the UK's Department for International Development (DFID). AuthorAID at INASP is not connected to the other AuthorAID programs. Instead, it is an integral part of INASP's Programme for the Enhancement of Research Information, which facilitates the availability, accessibility, creation, and uptake of research in developing countries.
Like other AuthorAID initiatives, the AuthorAID program at INASP includes a mentoring scheme, which in June 2012 had nearly 5000 members from 150+ countries. In 2012, the British Academy invited AuthorAID at INASP to talk about mentoring at the Career Development Workshop for Early Career Researchers in West Africa, and a talk on mentoring was also given at the 11th General Assembly of the European Association of Science Editors.
Since 2007, the AuthorAID staff from INASP have organized many workshops on research writing (i.e., writing research papers for publication in peer-reviewed journals) in various countries in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. Workshops have also been organized locally by researchers working in INASP's partner countries. The impact of AuthorAID at INASP workshops on the publication output of participants is periodically evaluated. Researchers who attend the train-the-trainers workshop, which are often part of AuthorAID at INASP's research writing workshops, are encouraged to pass on their knowledge. The hundreds of free e-resources on research communication available on the AuthorAID at INASP site can be used by anyone for non-profit workshops and educational activities.
Since 2010, AuthorAID at INASP have provided grants to support research communication. Grants have been awarded for researchers to present at conferences, organize local AuthorAID workshops, and attend an intensive course on research writing.
A pilot e-learning course on research writing was conducted in 2011, and results were reported at an e-learning conference.
Read more about this topic: Author AID