In the scale-up phase, the Doing Research program has extended to several new regions and countries across the globe.
LATIN AMERICA
El Salvador and Venezuela | 2021-2022
The Doing Research Scale-Up phase started with a DRA in El Salvador in 2021 and a preliminary effort to make sense of the state of science and technology in Venezuela (in partnership with IDRC). Read the Doing Research in Venezuela report (English | Spanish), a preliminary study of the state of the country's research system that draws on interviews and desk research.
The DRA in El Salvador was in partnership with the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES), with the objective of supporting the creation of a sustainable development agenda for El Salvador by strengthening the local social science research system. The research questions pursued during the assessment were:
- How effectively has the country produced social science research and what are the main challenges and opportunities?
- To what extent is research being communicated effectively to generate public awareness, discourse, and civic activism?
- How well are research results incorporated into policy, what are the challenges facing the adoption of research in policy development, and how can they be overcome?
The initiative combined quantitative and qualitative research methods to study the workings of the social science research system in terms of the production, dissemination, and use of social research. The methodology was based on context analysis, which involves identifying the economic, political, historical, and international factors that have an impact on the Salvadoran research system. Stakeholders are identified and mapped, categorized, and characterised according to their role and influence in the system.
Learn more about DR in El Salvador | Read the DR in El Salvador report (Spanish / English) | Find more about the Doing Research Scale-Up stage
FRANCOPHONE AFRICA
Benin, Chad, Mali, Cameroon and Burkina Faso | 2022-2024
In 2022, with funding from the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and GDN, Doing Research Assessments (DRAs) were launched in five Francophone African countries:
- BENIN - Action Center for Environment and Sustainable Development (ACED) (PI: Professor Roch MONGBO)
- CHAD - Center for Research and Socio-Economic and Political Studies (CRESPO) (PI: Professor Madjindaye YAMBAIDJE)
- MALI - Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa (ROCARE) (PI: Professor Nouhoun SIDIBE)
- CAMEROON - University of Dschang (PI: Dr. Armand MBOUTCHOUANG)
- BURKINA FASO - Center of Documentation and Economic and Social Research (CEDRES)/University of Thomas Sankara (PI: Dr. Natéwindé SAWADOGO).
The selected teams are mobilising advanced skills in qualitative and quantitative research, and significant experience in institutional analysis of the national education, research or innovation sector in their country of operation. The finding from these DRAs will be detailed in country reports to be released in September 2024.
To support the DR global initiative in Francophone Africa, please contact Dr. Kadijatou Marou Sama.
About Us | Structure & Partners | Methodology | Results & Resources | Country Content | Contact us | Call details (now closed)
TUNISIA | 2024-2025
The DR global initiative was launched in Tunisia in March 2024, at a public meeting held at the oldest public research center in the country, the CERES. Present there were representatives from the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the CERES itself and other research centers and individual researchers with an interest in the development of social sciences and economics in Tunisia. Objectives of the meeting are to launch an inclusive, public forum on the state of health of social sciences in Tunisia and their contribution to national development, anticipating the Doing Research initiative’s milestones and dissemination activities.
The research commenced in May 2024, and the methodology and the research plans were presented in June at the annual meeting of the Association of Tunisian Economists from June 7-8, 2024 in Hammamet, Tunisia. The final conference where the results of the project will be presented, is scheduled for April 2025.
To support the DR global initiative in Tunisia, please contact Dr. Daniele Cantini.
ASIA AND SOUTH PACIFIC
Cambodia, Laos, India, Thailand, Indonesia and Fiji | 2024-2026
In May 2024, GDN launched a call to invite applications from research teams based in Asia to act as Doing Research (DR) national correspondents interested in leading DRAs in their respective countries starting in October 2024. All Asian countries were welcome to apply, particularly teams from countries represented in the Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils (AASSREC). Specific attention was given to applications from teams based in Cambodia, Laos and India. A grant of up to 50,000 USD is available for each research team to implement a DRA in their respective country for a period of 15 months, with technical support and advice from GDN’s global Doing Research team. This call is closed.
The three DRAs in Cambodia, Laos and India will be implemented as part of the program, Boosting Social Sciences and their Contribution to Better Lives across the Indo-Pacific, a joint effort by AASSREC and GDN, in partnership with UNESCO and supported by Canada's IDRC. In India, GDN has joined hands with the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), one of the largest producer of quality social science research in the global South.
In August 2024, GDN launched another call for expressions of interest from research teams based in Thailand, Indonesia, and Fiji to evaluate social science research systems in the respective countries, using GDN's DRA methodology, starting in early 2025. A grant of up to 50,000 USD is set per research team to implement a DRA in their respective country for a period of 15 months. The DRAs results will be presented at the biennial conference of Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils (AASSREC) in December 2025. The application deadline is October 1, 2024.
To support the DR global initiative in Latin America, Asia and South Pacific, please contact Daniel Fussy.
Doing Research Proof of Concept Phase - 2018-2022
In 2017, GDN summarized the 11-country-level studies undertaken in the pilot phase and developed a standard methodology called the Doing Research Assessment (DRA) to study social science research systems in developing countries. In 2018, GDN decided to root the implementation of the methodology in the work of national institutions interested in the topic, supporting at the same time the emergence of a network of research centres around the Global South. The DRAs in Bolivia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Nigeria were implemented from January 2018 to December 2020, with funding from GDN and IDRC (for Myanmar). GDN ensured that results were locally relevant, actionable and comparable.
Find more about the Doing Research Proof of Concept stage | Read about the Proof-of-Concept kick-off workshop
The DR Assessments in these countries have shown a strong demand for the knowledge the program generates, from the national and the international level.