The implementation of the global agenda for sustainable development requires local research capacity to ensure that the scientific community is equipped to critically analyze development and policy challenges, and to inform policies and reforms with contextualized knowledge of the local environment.
The Doing Research (DR) program launched by GDN in 2014, systematically assesses how the characteristics of a national research system impact the capacity to produce, diffuse and use high-quality social science research, for social and economic development, in Low- and Middle- Income Countries (LMICs). By providing new data and research on these aspects through a new comparative framework, the DR program aims to help national policy makers, national and international donors, research institutions, and academics to strategize their efforts to strengthen the local production of quality academic research and its contribution to public debate and sustainable development policy.
Informed by a two-year pilot in 11 countries (2014-2016), DR partners with national research institutions in LMICs to assess local social science research systems. The pilot was conducted in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cambodia, Cameroon, India, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Niger, Paraguay, Peru and South Africa.
The program focuses on the implementation of an original comparative methodology (called the Doing Research Assessment or DRA) to assess social science research systems in LMICs. This methodology allows local research teams to generate high-quality evidence on the strengths, weaknesses, challenges and bottlenecks that affect quality and policy-relevant social science research across LMICs. GDN partners with research institutions in LMICs (competitively selected) to implement the DR Assessment in their country.
For more information, please write to Daniel Fussy