Wiebe E. Bijker

The Caribbean Research Programme is administered by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and has received funding from the Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) since 2013. As part of this programme, the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NWO-NIOZ) established the Caribbean Netherlands Science Insti tute (CNSI) on Sint Eustatius, which it continues to administer. As the end of the current funding period (December 2022) approaches, NWO has commissioned this exploration of options for the future of the CNSI. This document is not an evaluation of the current CNSI but a look ahead. Its focus is the contribution that the CNSI can make to the sustainable strengthening of the knowledge system of the Caribbean islands. What is the organization’s added value? The findings, conclusions and recommendations set out below are based on interviews conducted with various stakeholders between March 2020 and March 2021.

Many interviewees express concern about the significant fragmentation of the current knowledge system which, they contend, shows little cohesion or coordination. Several suggest that maintaining a presence at a single location does nothing to promote connections between the six islands. This report therefore calls for a new, decentralized structure in which there is a physical presence on each of the islands. We propose a structure which offers effective support to researchers, knowledge institutes and consortia. This structure will strengthen cohesion, collaboration and exchange throughout the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It will build bridges between all the various scientific disciplines and their specific research approaches, between research and education, between research and practice. It will bring science closer to society. Such a structure is essential if the Caribbean knowledge system is to be strengthened in a sustainable way, fully embedded within the broader Dutch and international knowledge system, and thus made future proof. Research funding is not enough; ongoing investment in the knowledge system itself is needed if these aims are to be achieved.

This report advises the establishment of a Dutch Caribbean Research Platform (DUCARP): a network organization with a coordinating centre on Sint Maarten and an ‘anchor point’ on each of the five other islands. DUCARP will undertake activities which are needed to strengthen both the quality and quantity of scientific research on and about the Caribbean islands. This new organization can only succeed if the people and institutions of those islands can claim ownership. Following a successful start-up phase, further development to become an international centre of expertise for issues facing all Small Island Developing States (SIDS) may be considered.

The Caribbean Research Programme is administered by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and has received funding from the Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) since 2013. As part of this programme, the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NWO-NIOZ) established the Caribbean Netherlands Science Insti tute (CNSI) on Sint Eustatius, which it continues to administer. As the end of the current funding period (December 2022) approaches, NWO has commissioned this exploration of options for the future of the CNSI. This document is not an evaluation of the current CNSI but a look ahead. Its focus is the contribution that the CNSI can make to the sustainable strengthening of the knowledge system of the Caribbean islands. What is the organization’s added value? The findings, conclusions and recommendations set out below are based on interviews conducted with various stakeholders between March 2020 and March 2021. Many interviewees express concern about the significant fragmentation of the current knowledge system which, they contend, shows little cohesion or coordination. Several suggest that maintaining a presence at a single location does nothing to promote connections between the six islands. This report therefore calls for a new, decentralized structure in which there is a physical presence on each of the islands. We propose a structure which offers effective support to researchers, knowledge institutes and consortia. This structure will strengthen cohesion, collaboration and exchange throughout the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It will build bridges between all the various scientific disciplines and their specific research approaches, between research and education, between research and practice. It will bring science closer to society. Such a structure is essential if the Caribbean knowledge system is to be strengthened in a sustainable way, fully embedded within the broader Dutch and international knowledge system, and thus made futureproof. Research funding is not enough; ongoing investment in the knowledge system itself is needed if these aims are to be achieved. This report advises the establishment of a Dutch Caribbean Research Platform (DUCARP): a network organization with a coordinating centre on Sint Maarten and an ‘anchor point’ on each of the five other islands. DUCARP will undertake activities which are needed to strengthen both the quality and quantity of scientific research on and about the Caribbean islands. This new organization can only succeed if the people and institutions of those islands can claim ownership. Following a successful start-up phase, further development to become an international centre of expertise for issues facing all Small Island Developing States (SIDS) may be considered.