The Global Engagement Initiative

The Global Engagement Initiative stakeholder organisations (FENS, IBRO, SfN, the Dana Foundation), identify appropriate advocacy tools that lead to best practices, to share experiences and review the problems faced in different regions, as well as to pinpoint ways of better advocating in such cases.

The IBRO Global Engagement Initiative came out of an earlier collaboration between the Society for Neuroscience (SfN), whose advocacy efforts are mainly focused within North America, and FENS, which is mobilising its member societies to do advocacy work within European countries. Along with several other national neuroscience societies – including the Japan and the Australian neuroscience societies – SfN and FENS agreed that IBRO should become the worldwide organiser of this initiative in order to ensure local content and relevant programming, due to IBRO’s deep, imbedded knowledge of other regions gained through decades of capacity-building in less developed regions of the world.

“Everyday neuroscientists worldwide make revolutionary discoveries that advance science and improve the health of millions of people. Yet future progress will rely on strong, sustained and predictable public funding for basic, translational and clinical science. Recognising this, the global neuroscience committee is joining forces under the leadership of the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) to encourage more public outreach and advocacy.”​