Call for EOI: Assessing Social Science Research Systems in Francophone Africa
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Deadline: 31-May-22
The Global Development Network (GDN) is inviting multidisciplinary research teams based in French-speaking Africa to act as national correspondents of the Doing Research program.
Doing Research is a GDN flagship program that aims to understand, map and assess social science research systems, with the aim of identifying and analyzing barriers structures for research in developing countries.
Also, as part of this program, the GDN has set itself the objective of promoting the role of women and young people in research. Thanks to their association with the Doing Research programme, the teams in the countries concerned (national focal points) are led in particular to publish their results in international journals. Their institutions are intended to become reference institutions for research, political reflection and public debate on the national research system, its regulations and its contribution to development.
Based in French-speaking Africa, the national research teams recruited by the GDN will act as national correspondents for the Doing Research programme. These teams will be responsible for implementing the Doing Research Assessments (DRA) in their country of operation. The GDN expects country teams to adapt the DRA methodology to the local context. The main output of the DRAs will be the production of an official report on the national social science research system. Within the framework of the Doing Research programme, the commitment of national correspondents can be broken down into three phases:
Installation of the device:
Documentary review of Doing Research program documents and critical analysis of the DRA methodology.
Desk review of research and policy literature on the national social science research system, particularly literature that discusses context and actors.
Kick-off meeting with GDN.
Research process:
Adaptation of the DRA methodology to the local context (qualitative examination of the economic, political, historical contextual elements – national and international; identification of the main stakeholders and data sources)
Data collection with stakeholder mapping; primary data collection through surveys and interviews; secondary data collection, including national and international data sources.
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the determinants of the performance of the research system and production of a country-specific Doing Research report.
Diffusion:
Proactive approach through interventions in physical and online events.
Production of dissemination media (videos, infographics, summary notes, etc.).
Organization of a national high-level dissemination event with key stakeholders.
Funding Information
The funding granted by the GDN is 50,000 euros per research team.
Outcomes
The global deployment of Doing Research includes three interrelated work streams, each leading to specific results:
Implementation of 40 Doing Research assessments in partnership with national research institutes in developing countries.
Maintaining a global data set of indicators to assess and compare health systems research across countries over time to document global and regional trends in research production, dissemination and policy adoption.
Production of widely accessible extension resources to raise awareness of the importance of social science research systems for national development, structural impediments to research systems performance, and pathways to reform social science research systems, improving policies and funding efforts.
Grographical Focus
From 2022, the GDN will mainly focus on French-speaking Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinea Conakry, Mali, Niger, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Chad, Togo, Comoros, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, Mauritania, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar).
Eligibility Criteria
The research teams they are looking for Research teams must apply through a research institute or center. They strongly encourage teams with a gender balance and those led by women to apply. The ideal team is multidisciplinary and has advanced and proven skills in qualitative and quantitative research. Research teams should be able to demonstrate the following skills:
Experience in the analysis of organizational and institutional processes in the sector of research, higher education, knowledge or innovation.
Experience in data collection and processing (sampling, interviews, questionnaires) including National level.
Network already established with the political, academic and civil society communities at the national level.
Experience in communicating research to various audiences and in data visualization.
These criteria apply to the team as a whole and not to individual members. These experiences must be able to be demonstrated by examples of projects, jobs or research publications.
For more information, visit https://www.gdn.int/doingresearch/nationalfocalpointscall