The two-year FinCEAL pilot project aimed to enhance cooperation between research and science policy communities in Finland, Europe, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean by networking the Finnish research community and by supporting their participation in bi-regional research projects and science policy processes. FinCEAL was an initiative funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture and implemented by UniPID, the Finnish University Partnership for International Development. FinCEAL activities were focused on the following thematic areas, derived from the European Union's bi-regional science, technology and innovation policy processes: Africa – Food Security, Information Society, Health, Climate Change and Renewable Energy; LAC – ICT for Societal Challenges, Bioeconomy, Biodiversity and Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Health.

Central to this study is the general accepted opinion that the lack of personal participation in decision-making processes affecting the wellbeing of a particular individual in any given community is a deep-seated threat to that individual’s human rights. Participation largely can refer to several aspects of contributing (opinion) or playing (action) a part in something. In most cases though, it involves taking part in an activity, and/or specifically to taking part in decision-making process concerning a particular activity. Generally, key to the philosophy of what exactly constitutes the right to participation of every human being, is arguably the fact that this right “lies in the core of democratic government based on the conduct of people and in conformity with the Principles” of international human rights law. Surely, this is a point all African governments agree on. In fact, the principles guiding this particular right are expressly worded in the oldest and most accepted human rights instruments. For instance, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) have both unambiguously, protected and promoted the right of “every citizen” to participate in all affairs within their communities.