During a very productive and plentiful three days in Doha this past week, the Belmont Forum members, partners, and guests worked through an agenda that included:

• Future visioning
• Strategic partnering in areas of critical global need for inter- and transdisciplinary science
• Efficient, multi-level collaboration to advance shared goals such as open data access
• Pathways for even more inclusive research, particularly with a broader range of stakeholders and with low and low-middle income countries
• Emphasis on training and capacity building to support the growth of transdisciplinary science

In addition to national and state representatives from more than 30 research funding agencies, the meeting included leadership from regional funding, coordination, and boundary organizations such as the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research, the Arab Forum for Environment and Development, the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, The World Academy of Sciences, START, the World Climate Research Programme, and Future Earth.

Partners from ICSU, ISSC, IIASA, GEO, and USGCRP provided their insights on evolving science priorities and how best to engage the global community. The Gulf Region was well represented, with participants from the Research Council of Oman, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research, and Qatar National Research Fund. The members also welcomed invited guests from Cote d’Ivoire (PASRES), the National Science and Technology Council of Zambia, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

During the meeting, the Forum confirmed new members for 2017 from:

• CONACYT (Mexico)
• Formas (Sweden)
• Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research
• MINCyT (Argentina)
• Tübitak (Turkey)

We extend a warm welcome to these organizations and look forward to working with you towards meeting the Belmont Forum Challenge.

The Forum would also like to thank its hosts, the Qatar National Research Fund, and in particular Dr. Hamad Al Ibrahim, Dr. Abdul Sattar Al Taie, Dr. Dirar Khoury, and Dr. Philippe Freyssinet. QNRF provided an exceptional venue and support for our meeting as well as a window into the research advances and opportunities within the Gulf Region.

Note: This post originally appeared on appeared on Belmont Forum Secretariat Executive Director Erica Key’s Linkedin blog.