The past few years have seen the emergence of an image of the Tropical Andean and Central American regions characterized by an emphasis on the complexity of the social formations and ecological diversity of these two regions.
This new picture, it is important to note, is being shaped in a theoretical context that favors the synergistic interaction between cognate fields in the social and natural sciences. However, achieving sustainable development in Latin America, and specifically in the Tropical Andes and Central America region (Andes+), continues to be a major challenge. Although some progress has been made towards an adequate understanding of the barriers that impede progress towards this goal, the advances have been more thematically driven than with an integrated approach; with collaborative efforts of existing networks, particularly from research and practice in mountains, focused on socio-ecological variables of sustainable development.
Overall, this context reveals the necessity of opportunities to promote collaborative arrangements, dynamize theoretical discussions, and articulate the accumulated experience of these communities of practice, to consolidate the ongoing efforts in the Andes+ region for overcoming the barriers that impede the successful implementation of sustainable development policies.
At the heart of Conéctate A+ is collaborative work to generate sound scientific information to support applied work and policy development. This is based on the recognition that significant knowledge gaps remain, particularly with respect to the interplay of social and environmental dynamics that influence sustainability outcomes. The network promotes the development of knowledge synthesis through research grants, and facilitates the formation of new research consortia or alliances.
Conéctate A+ promotes research and innovation on global challenges by strengthening collaboration between Swiss higher education institutions and partners in the Global South. In this context, it aims to increase collaboration between research centers in the Andes+ with Swiss universities, seeking complementarity in terms of thematic focus, geographic areas of expertise, and new collaborative research mechanisms. Among the main strategies implemented are the fostering of exchange between partners, promoting regional science-policy spaces, designing/implementing mechanisms to involve Swiss students in research projects in the Tropical Andes and Central America region and vice versa.
An important operational function of the platform is to serve as a communication hub for research, action and policy initiatives working at the intersection of sustainability, climate change, ecosystems and health. To achieve this, efforts will focus on identifying and communicating relevant information to a broader audience that might otherwise remain fragmented or underutilized. To this end, we use a variety of strategies such as monthly newsletters, webinars, research publications, web news and the promotion of exchange spaces with decision makers.
The Conéctate A+ team works to foster articulation and communication between partners, and to provide operational support to the planned activities. The main cross-cutting tasks correspond to the continuous search for external funding, publications and relevant research opportunities to fulfill the objective of the network, with emphasis on opportunities for collaboration between partners.
