KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica will make history this November as it hosts the Global Research Council (GRC) Americas Regional Meeting for the first time in the Caribbean.

The meeting, scheduled for November 18–19, 2026, will be hosted by the Scientific Research Council (SRC) in partnership with the United States (US) National Science Foundation (NSF) and will form part of the wider programme of the 32nd National Science and Technology Conference and Exhibition 2026, being held under the theme “Science Solves”.

In a statement on Wednesday, Executive Director of the Scientific Research Council Dr Charah Watson described the occasion as a landmark achievement for Jamaica and the Caribbean.

“Hosting the Global Research Council Americas Regional Meeting in Jamaica is both a historic milestone and a timely strategic opportunity. This comes at an important point in our own national STI journey, as the Government advances the House of Innovation as the framework for aligning research, technology, enterprise and public policy around Jamaica’s long-term development priorities,” she said.

Dr Watson continued, “The meeting gives Jamaica an opportunity to demonstrate leadership, while ensuring that the Caribbean is at the table helping to shape the research priorities, funding approaches and partnerships that will influence our future. It is essential that the perspectives of small island developing states are not peripheral to the international research agenda, but are placed front and centre as we position science, technology and innovation as key drivers of resilience, productivity and sustainable national development.”

Dr Jennifer Pearl, head of the Office of Science and Engineering at the US National Science Foundation, added, “The US National Science Foundation helped to found the Global Research Council in 2012 and is excited to partner with the Scientific Research Council of Jamaica for the upcoming meeting. Finding new approaches to curiosity-driven inquiry to accelerate scientific discovery while ensuring broader benefit to society is critical.”

The meeting will bring together heads of research councils, science funding agencies, policymakers, research and innovation leaders, development partners, and strategic stakeholders from across North America, Latin America and the Caribbean to address critical issues shaping research and innovation systems throughout the region.

A key focus of the discussions will be providing regional perspectives to inform the Global Research Council’s upcoming deliberations on curiosity-driven research, while exploring priorities including research financing, shared scientific infrastructure, resilience and natural disaster mitigation, open science, science diplomacy, improving public trust through reproducibility and transparency, evidence-informed policymaking, and opportunities for greater regional collaboration and capacity building.