Under contract with the National Science Foundation, Lux proudly supports the Belmont Forum and its commitment to advancing global environmental change through the funding of multinational and transdisciplinary collaborative research projects.

The Belmont Forum’s work in funding natural and social scientists has influenced public policy and created new tools to address the daunting environmental challenges our society is facing. Long-lasting partnerships have been established among nations and, in particular, between the Global North and Global South to facilitate transdisciplinary research.

Our team continues to be impressed by the on-the-ground success so many of these projects are having around the world. For example, the Belmont Forum funded the Jordan Water Project  and its follow-up FUSE project. The initial project developed a country-wide model of Jordan’s irrigation system, which directly influenced long-term planning in the Ministry of Water and shaped policy outcomes. 

Likewise, other projects have facilitated dialogue among policy makers. Researcher findings from the Nile-Nexus project even contributed to the establishment of a protected zone in Ethiopia.

While these projects create lasting and sustainable change and positively impact the communities they occur in, it is sometimes challenging to convince stakeholders to make the initial investment.  This is because the impact of the research can take years to be seen and even longer to be measured and realized. When the return on investment is not readily apparent or easily seen, it is important that we are patient and remain dedicated to the mission of investing in STEM and environmental research. The investments we make today set the foundation for future change; we must continue to back these projects as they progress. Our planet is worth the investment.

Lux continues to put a priority on supporting our clients’ efforts to pursue innovative solutions to the challenges our world faces. We look forward to the next wave of Belmont Forum funded research projects with the latest call for proposals for the Systems of Sustainable Consumption and Production program and the Integrated Approaches to Human Migration / Mobility in an Era of Rapid Global Change program. Learn more about Belmont Forum funded projects at https://belmontforum.org/projects and explore the recently launched Oceans Hub and Migrations Hub at https://hubs.belmontforum.org.

References

Judith Vermeer et al., “Evaluation of the Belmont Forum: Final Report,” April 9, 2020, https://www.belmontforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Belmont-Forum-Evaluation-Report.pdf, 38.