The National Secretariat of Science and Technology of Panama (SENACYT) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), with support from the University of Sussex and the Transformative Innovation Consortium (TIPC), have launched a major public funding call to drive forward Transformative Innovation.
This call seeks to tackle critical sustainability challenges in Panama, focusing on agriculture, health, climate change and logistics. SENACYT and the IDB are committing USD 300,000 to fund up to six innovative, one-year projects, with individual grants of USD 50,000.
This initiative is a key outcome of the collaboration agreement established in 2024 between SENACYT and the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), at the University of Sussex. SPRU researcher, Dr Claudia Obando, and Dr Matias Ramirez, the project’s Principal Investigator, worked alongside SENACYT’s Policy Unit in the design of the call, providing training for potential applicants, and developing a new evaluation framework.
SENACYT’s support for a transformative innovation strategy reflects a desire for STI policy to embrace more clearly the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and especially the concepts of a Just Transition, as well as to adopt a more systemic approach to policy. The call invites researchers, NGOs, policymakers and civil society organisations to submit proposals that experiment with innovative forms of governance, practices and narratives to accelerate sustainability transitions in the four areas prioritised.
The funding call was officially launched on 23rd April, with TIPC representatives present at the launch event in Panama City on 30th April. This event included a Q&A session with approximately 30 in-person and 90 online researchers. In his opening remarks at the event, Gilberto Gómez, leader of the recently created Policy Unit at SENACYT, highlighted the crucial nature of this initiative when he said, 'SENACYT is exploring new ways to address sustainable development and this funding call is an important step forward in that direction.'
This is the first time that members of the TIPC team have co-designed a funding call such as this. However, the team's contribution to this exciting work doesn't end here. As Dr Obando notes, 'We will support the selected projects through formative evaluation, using theories of change and facilitating collaborative learning and experimentation among communities, researchers and policymakers at both local and regional levels. These initial projects will in turn pave the way for continued work on Transformative Innovation Policy.'
For more details on the call and to apply: https://www.senacyt.gob.pa/convocatoria-de-innovacion-transformativa-2025/