( c ) Through its work , UNU strives to achieve two main goals : to strengthen the capacities of institutions of higher education in developing countries to carry out high-quality research and training ; and to make scholarly and policy-relevant contributions to the work of the United Nations . ( d ) To accomplish those objectives , the UNU Centre in Tokyo plans , coordinates and funds academic activities carried out through its institutes and programmes , namely , the UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research ( UNU-WIDER ) , in Helsinki ; the UNU Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology ( UNU-MERIT ) , in Maastricht , Netherlands ; the UNU International Institute for Software Technology ( UNU-IIST ) , in Macao , China ; the UNU Institute for Natural Resources in Africa ( UNU-INRA ) , in Accra ; the UNU Programme for Biotechnology in Latin America and the Caribbean ( UNU-BIOLAC ) , in Caracas ; the UNU Institute of Advanced Studies ( UNU-IAS ) , in Yokohama , Japan ; the UNU International Leadership Institute ( UNU-ILI ) , in Amman ; the UNU Institute for Water , Environment and Health ( UNU-INWEH ) , in Hamilton , Canada ; the UNU Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies ( UNU-CRIS ) , in Bruges , Belgium ; the UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security ( UNU-EHS ) , in Bonn , Germany ; the UNU International Institute for Global Health ( UNU-IIGH ) , in Kuala Lumpur ; the UNU Institute for Sustainability and Peace ( UNU-ISP ) , in Tokyo ; and the UNU International Institute for the Alliance of Civilizations ( UNU-IIAOC ) , in Barcelona , Spain .