The Professional Skills (PfS) Program uses CRDF Global’s unique in-house curricula to build capacity for scientist-to-scientist mentorship in a broad range of professional skills, and in 2012 the Program worked with more than 1,000 researchers in Algeria, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Morocco, and Oman. PfS Program workshops in 2012 covered strategies for success in proposal writing, authorship of peer-reviewed publications, presentation at international conferences, professional ethics, research management, and the operation of peer-reviewed grant competitions. In addition to providing trainings led by experienced American researchers, the Program has initiated work with Indonesia to build national capacity for ongoing professional development led by its scientific professional associations.

The PfS Program also collaborated with the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to organize the inaugural International Funding Agency Symposium (IFAS), held from 17-21 September 2012 at CRDF Global headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Nineteen countries sent members of their government funding agencies to participate: Austria, Brazil, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, The Netherlands, Turkey, and Vietnam. IFAS fostered international dialog among research funding agencies who learned about NSF programs, policies, and operations and who shared their experiences with each other, with interested NSF staff, and with CRDF Global staff. The symposium addressed the role of research funding agencies at the national level, structure and operations of international activities, merit review processes and best practices, monitoring and evaluation of grants, and a comparative analysis of common challenges (and solutions) faced by funding agencies. CRDF Global and NSF are building on this inaugural event to organize annual IFAS meetings to accommodate the ongoing interests of funding agencies globally.