International Development Research Centre (Canada) : The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) was established in 1971 by the authority of the International Development Research Centre Act. (R.S. Ch. I-19) as an extension of Canada's development aid programme, to foster the growth of "practical, applied research" in Third World countries through the funding of research projects managed and conducted by scientists within those countries. The International Development Research Centre is a unique, independent organization, although funded by the Canadian government, it is governed by a President, Chairman and an international Board of Governors consisting of eleven Canadians and ten non-Canadians.
The organizational structure of IDRC currently consists of two main branches. The Vice President-Programme directs seven operational divisions responsible for major subject areas including Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Sciences focussing on projects to support requirements of small farmers and the rural poor in the area of crop and animal production, resource management, forest management and small fisheries practices; Health Sciences covering project development in areas of epidemiology, poverty and the environment; Information Sciences and Systems including documentation on computer systems development, information use, bibliographic development and cartography, statistics and information storage; Social Sciences containing information supporting projects in the fields of family planning, housing development, transportation systems, governmental decision making and environmental concerns; Earth and Engineering Sciences includes documentation on programmes concerning research on soil structures in construction, exploitation of under-ground water resources, small-scale mining and the use of natural rocks as fertilisers and building material for low-cost housing; Communications which is responsible for disseminating information and results relating to other projects, programmes or research; and the Fellowships and Awards which is responsible for identifying recipients of specific funding under established awards programmes. The Vice President-Resources directs the other major branch which includes the human resources, financial and administrative, audit and EDP functions. The IDRC also maintains regional offices in South-East and East Asia (Singapore); East and South Africa (Nairobi); North Africa and the Middle East (Cairo); West and Central Africa (Dakar); South Asia (New Delhi) and Latin America and the Caribbean (Montevideo).
The major projects funded by IDRC which normally exceed 00,000.00 in value, require the approval of the Board of Directors and are administered for the most part by the appropriate headquarters division. With the increasing emphasis on local supervision of aid delivery a much more significant percentage of IDRC's funding is being administered through the divisional and regional projects (those under 00,000.00), which has no direct reporting structure.
