STCU Holds Grant-Writing Workshop in Uzbekistan

07 Oct 2004 - 20 Nov 2004

Grant-Writing Workshop: Competing More Effectively Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Hotel Radisson SAS
October 7 – 8, 2004

As an indicator of the increasing importance being given to the non-proliferation of biological and chemical weapons expertise, in the autumn of 2003 the STCU sponsored the “International Workshop on Biotechnology Commercialization and Security” in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. As a follow-up to that conference, the STCU hosted a grant-writing workshop in Tashkent, from October 7 – 8, 2004. The event brought together an audience of over 100 scientists from the Caspian Sea Region and focused on strengthening researchers’ skills in approaching Western funding organizations to obtain financial support for their basic and applied work.

The STCU's primary objective was to engage researchers who were new to the STCU program or desired to gain a better understanding of our grant-making process. Much of the time at the Workshop was spent in separate meeting facilities for scientists from Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan with experienced STCU Project Coordinators and the Information Officers from the STCU's offices in Baku, Tashkent, and Tbilisi. Presentations and discussions were given in Russian as well as in the language of each of the represented nations. Earlier this year, the STCU opened a new office in Baku and in an effort to expand our program there, we supported the travel of a number of Azeri scientists to the Workshop. Moreover, because of the traditional strength of Georgia in the biological and biomedical fields, several scientists from that country also participated in the Tashkent conference.

The presentations at the Workshop took scientists step-by-step through all of the stages of the grant proposal process and touched upon a large number of topics, including: how to apply for a grant; what information to include; financing a project; the role of a foreign collaborator; and, approaching a business plan. Speakers from other grant-making institutions including the CRDF and Embassy of France in Uzbekistan also made brief presentations on the second day of the Workshop to assist the participants in finding other possible sources of support.

To access the Workshop homepage please click here. For additional information please contact Ms. Olena Kotyk (Olena.kotyk@stcu.int) or Ms. Chris Stuebner (chris.stuebner@stcu.int).