By: Sarah Carter

The TLUD (Top Lit Up Draft) gasifier was originally designed by Paal Wendelbo which he took to Africa in 1988. Since then, the design has been adapted and distributed around the world. A prototype of the design amended by Anderson has been produced and tested in Cambodia. A model was also adapted by ARTI in India.

27 January 2010
Source: SciDev. Net
Author: Gordon Conway and Jeff Waage

According to the author shared problems, new technology and better communication all mean innovation is ready to drive development. Rich and poor increasingly face shared problems such as agricultural insecurity, infectious and chronic diseases with global spread, and the challenges of developing a low carbon economy and adapting to climate change. There are more new technologies that can be turned quickly and easily towards the problems of rich or poor alike. For example biotechnology which has delivered improved crops and new vaccines for the rich. And because it harnesses fundamental genetic and molecular processes, it is also easily directed towards the crops and diseases of the poor. Rapid growth in information and communication technology is also making it easier for all countries to participate in science innovation — and to engage stakeholders and beneficiaries in this process, across historical boundaries of developed and developing countries. Shared challenges, shareable technologies and improved opportunities for communication and collaboration — all very recent trends — greatly improve science innovation’s chances of driving effective development. From the combined 80 years working in international development, the authors suggest five priority actions for governments in both developed and developing countries: 1) Empowerment; 2) Systems; 3)Accessibility; 4) Results-based; and 5) Profile-raising. To know what actions will best secure new opportunities and accelerate development read the full opinion piece. This opinion piece can be viewed online at the link below:

Published on Dec 9, 2009

The Launching Event and the award ceremony for the second small grants competition was held on  Dec 8 2009, at Rama Gardens Hotel in Bangkok. During the program AIT Vice President for Research Prof Sudip K Rakshit, Senior Program Specialist IDRC Regional Office for Southeast and East Asia Dr Ellie Osir, Associate Professors of AIT Dr Edsel Sajor and Dr Bernadette Resurreccion were present. Five advisory committee members and seven international grant awardees were also present during the award ceremony.

Published on November 17, 2009

Published September 30, 2009

A total of 108 concept notes were received by 22 September 2009, the extended deadline of concept note submission. These were reviewed and evaluated by the AIT Project Core Team for merit in accordance with the published criteria and the program's focus which is on bio-innovations demonstrated to be directly relevant to the social phenomenon of poverty specially on poor people’s livelihoods and basic health. Most concept notes expressed exceptional research ideas and were potentially meritorious contributions, thus short-listing the candidates proved to be a very difficult task.

Published September 16, 2009

AIT Core Team has decided to extend the deadline of submission of concept notes to 22 September 2009. We encourage those who may be interested to submit their concept notes on or before this date. Shortlisting of applications would immediately follow.

Published August 10, 2009

The Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, with support from Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC)  launched in August 2009 the second call for proposals for the small grants competition program to tackle bio-innovation and its social and policy implications for poverty alleviation in the Asian Region.  

Application Procedure and Deadline 

Applications should be submitted in the form of a letter of intent (maximum of 2 pages) introducing the applicant (individual  or organization), explaining the proposed research project, and its  relevance to the themes discussed in the Call for Proposal. 

Short-listed applicants will be requested to submit a 10 to 15 page fully developed  research proposal.  

Deadline for submission of Concept Notes:  September 15, 2009 (extended till September 22, 2009) 

Short-listed concept notes announced: September 30, 2009 

Deadline for submission of Full Proposal: October 31, 2009 

Announcement of Results: November 15, 2009 

Small Grants  Inception and Launching: December 2009  

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Download Call for Proposals, Guidelines and Timeline (PDF)

Kindly check this website regularly for updates regarding the Call for Proposals.