Announcement of the SADRN Researchers Workshop
Date: 16 – 18 November 2009
Venue: Premier Hotel, Pretoria, South Africa
The Southern African Development Research Network (SADRN) was launched in August 2007 as a broad-based policy and research network. The project is funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and managed by Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS). It was initiated with the purpose of capacity building with specific focus on research in the southern and eastern African region as well as to strengthen evidence-based policy-making.
The objectives of the project are as follows:
- To increase the supply of policy-relevant research in SADC by creating a pool of suitably-skilled researchers based in institutions in SADC;
- To improve the policy-relevance of research through growing the capacity of policy-makers to be discerning research users;
- To develop an appreciation of evidence-based policy making by engaging policy-makers in the design, specification, implementation and review of research projects; and
- To build institutional capacity in key organizations in SADC by creating centres of excellence in focused thematic areas of research.
The project has been implemented through three thematic working areas that span issues which are of immediate importance in SADC (industrial policy), of recent importance but likely reduced importance in the short term (trade policy) and of significant importance in the future but not currently high on policy-makers' agendas (services sector development). The project is implemented by regional institutions, with the Botswana Institute for Development and Policy Analysis (BIDPA) responsible for the trade and poverty thematic working group and the University of Mauritius, which implements the services sector development theme. TIPS is also responsible for the research coordination of the industrial policy theme.
Several activities and events have been held under the SADRN project since its inception.
Some of them include the Industrial Policy Inception Workshop in South Africa, Industrial Policy Training in Botswana, Training on Trade and Poverty in Botswana as well as the launching of the Services Sector Development theme in Mauritius. During these activities, more than a dozen southern and eastern African countries participated and the participants were from various sectors, including governments, research organisations, academic institutions and regional institutions. There were also internationally renowned instructors from institutions such as the World Bank (USA), TUFTS University (USA) Centre for Research on the Economics of Institutions (Italy) and Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento (Argentina).
Some of the participants who have been involved in these events are now involved in research on those three thematic areas, and have reached an advanced stage in their studies. The purpose of the Workshop of November 16 -18th will be to provide a platform for researchers to present their research outcomes and also strategise around the way forward for the project and regional research agenda.
For more information and details on the workshop, contact Mmatlou Kalaba at mmatlou@tips.org.za or Tanya Claassen at Tanya@tips.org.za