The Science Initiative Group (SIG) is an international team of scientific leaders and supporters dedicated to fostering science in developing countries. Formed in 1999 to provide scientific and administrative oversight for the Millennium Science Initiative (MSI), SIG is governed by a six-member board consisting of three scientists from developing countries, two leading US scientists and an entrepreneur. SIG is administered by a small staff based at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.

Since 2008, SIG's attention has been devoted primarily to development and implementation of the Regional Initiative in Science and Education (RISE). RISE prepares PhD- and MSc-level scientists and engineers in sub-Saharan Africa through university-based research and training networks in selected disciplines. Its primary emphases are on training new faculty to teach in African universities and on upgrading the qualifications of current faculty.

Funding is being sought for a third major SIG project, the Global Science Corps. The brainchild of board member Harold Varmus, the GSC will send scientists from developed and advanced developing countries to train and collaborate with their counterparts in developing countries.

SIG's work is supported by grants from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York.