On November 22, 2022, GLOBAL AFRICA took part in the workshop to launch the Doing Research (DR) program in French-speaking Africa. This workshop, which took place from November 22 to 24 at the Fleur de Lys Hotel in Dakar, was initiated by the Global Development Network (GDN) initiative to share information on DR and the objectives the initiative intends to roll out to build the capacity of research institutions in French-speaking Africa. Global Africa was invited to take part, to see how GDN and Global Africa (GA) activities could be linked to strengthen research in the humanities and social sciences (SHS) on the African continent.
GDN is a public international organization that supports high-quality, policy-oriented SHS research in developing and transition countries to promote a better life. It supports researchers by providing financial resources, a global network, as well as access to information, training, peer review and mentoring.
In 2014, GDN launched “Doing Research” to investigate in a systematic way the challenges of quality social science research in developing countries, and the links between research production, dissemination and use in local development policies. Through a series of outputs (reports, academic articles, blog posts) and dissemination channels (international webinars, national events, the GDN website), the program generates knowledge on the systemic determinants of research in the global South that can be strategic for international and national reforms. After a two-year pilot phase in 11 countries (2014-2016), the program has set up “Doing Research Assessments” (DRA) implemented between 2018-2022, in partnership with national research institutions. The aim of the DRA is to support a shift towards evidence-based research and research capacity-building policies, at national and international level, by mobilizing local research capacities and local ownership of the evidence generated in the process.
The program is currently being expanded in Sub-Saharan Africa, and five institutions in the region have been selected to be trained to conduct research systems assessments in their countries, using the DRA methodology. These are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali and Chad.
This workshop brought together partner research teams identified as National Focal Points (NFPs), Independent Advisors, external partners and projects, and the global DR team at GDN, to launch the program’s expansion into French-speaking Africa. The idea is to develop a common understanding of how the DRA methodology will be adapted to the contexts of Francophone Africa, and to connect the different participants (GDN, PFN, Mentors) so that they can develop a strong working relationship to support the implementation of the DRA methodology in 2023, and the use of the results in the following years, in dialogue with national and regional actors.
The Global Africa program aroused keen interest among participants, as it shares a number of common objectives with the Global Development Network and Doing Research. Indeed, Global Africa is a project for the expression, dissemination and strengthening of research in the humanities and social sciences on the African continent , with the ambition of fostering more independent and rigorous research, capable of feeding quality publishing in the continent’s major languages. Strongly backed and supported by the journal of the same name, the project supports young researchers through mentoring, method schools, publication support, and their presence on the major intellectual scenes.
The meeting paved the way for the possibility of interesting collaborations between the two organizations.