Document(s) 10 of 16

During the two-day workshop, the discussions centered on how science in general — and social sciences in particular — affects policy-making for the development of the region. Participants recognized the failure of scientists to influence development agendas and development practices. This was related to a restraining political environment, but also to serious gaps and weakness in institutional research frameworks, research relevance, quality, data availability, and dissemination.

The political environment

The tension between social-science research and power was noted as being prevalent in most countries of the region. Independent and critical social-science research has been specifically constrained by a general absence of democratic practices.

Access to funding, promotions, and career opportunities have often been hindered by the publication of research results contradicting official government positions. In many countries, a significant proportion of the intelligentsia has accommodated power. Its contribution to any debate on future social, economic, or political development is negligible.

The difficulty of performing social-science research is amplified by what a participant referred to as the “protective culture” in the region. Authorities and statistical bureaus are over-protective when it comes to sharing data, particularly when it is considered politically sensitive. The difficulty researchers have in obtaining research results is aggravated by the red tape placed by most governments on releasing permits for social or economic surveys. In some cases, these can take up to two years to provide and result in the abandonment of research projects.

On the other hand, such situations are not considered static. While traditional civil society structures, such as trade unions, have been co-opted by governments, new forms of civil-society organizations are emerging in the region. These have the potential to develop a needed space for critical and independent social-science research.

Institutionalization of the research environment

In all countries of the region there is an urgent requirement to create autonomous and solid institutional frameworks for teaching and research. As well, it is important to see research as a vector of socioeconomic, cultural, and political development. A historical perspective was given on the research system in Morocco so as to contrast it with Egypt.

Unlike Egypt, the research system in Morocco has not developed large and weighty research institutions. Consequently (at least in the field of social sciences), for the past 30 years research has become a private, individual career activity, and a growing gap has developed between research and teaching. The best researchers are now connected to international research centres — either French or American. This happens at the expense of average research that can be adapted to local, social needs. The only interesting development model that exists in Morocco is the applied research undertaken by the Institut Agronomique, where there is a worthwhile articulation between research, teaching, and development work.

The crisis of research institutions — as described in Morocco — is similar in other countries of North Africa and is a worldwide phenomenon related to globalization and technological revolutions in many diverse fields. Such a crisis is conveyed dramatically through the amplifying unemployment problem experienced by graduates. According to a recent study, the active world population will be reduced by 20% in the new millennium. This forces a reflection around new orientations and visions related to educational (and professional training) systems, as well as to the identification of new jobs of the millennium in relation to the contemporary mutations of the social and economic systems.

Research in the region is made in episodic manners, or in centres of excellence (which are rare) or by individuals pursuing their career either in their respective country or by immigrating. For example, 30 billion centimes have been absorbed by research centres and private-research offices which undertake applied research. There are now approximately 20 000 PhD graduates in mathematics and physics who teach in French secondary schools and 82% will not return to Morocco. Of Moroccan computer technicians, 10% have immigrated to France or Canada. In Morocco, concrete steps are now launched to address this weakness through surveys on the research potential in that country.

Relevance of research topics to policy making and development

A number of participants observed that research projects in the region often do not reflect — and are not aligned with — the increasing complexity of the development process. In addition, research projects do not address issues of policy relevance and are not geared to work out problems within a policy timescale. The importance of multi-disciplinary approaches was underlined in this regard. Although the task of breaking down barriers among disciplines is difficult, particularly when there are additional constraints based on different institutional cultures, participants agreed that it was essential for social scientists from different disciplines to work together on the same project. Also important is for them to address research topics using a combination of quantitative and qualitative, micro- and macro-, as well as multi-sectoral approaches. The role of IDRC in encouraging such multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral work, when dealing with complex issues such as poverty, employment, or governance, was stressed.

The need to identify mechanisms for integrating demand by policymakers and supply by researchers was discussed. The involvement of policymakers in the research early in the process — at the stage at which problems are identified and research methods defined — was considered as being crucial for making research relevant to policy. In this context, there was strong support for the idea of encouraging the role of development intermediaries. They would act on behalf of social scientists to develop networking and communication channels between researchers, development agencies, and key policymakers in the region.

But relevance of research for policy is also about the role played by social science in promoting values such as social equity, good governance, and democracy. Participants made a number of remarks about the need for researchers to give a voice to the interest groups that are hardly ever heard in the policy-making arena, and to work with NGOs. This is important for a number of reasons: such groups represent a major way in which the poor can participate in civil society; they undertake a multitude of development efforts, including social-science research; and they constitute an important vehicle in developing models which can be presented to governments as being complementary to their own policies.

Palestine provides a relevant example of the importance of supporting advocacy for policy influence. Based on a comparative analysis between different associative laws in various countries, a Palestinian NGO network developed and lobbied for what is probably the most progressive and democratic associative law in the developing world. Through a long and sustained campaign of lobbying and advocacy, and despite strong resistance from the authorities, this law was finally passed in the third reading in the Palestinian Legislative Council. Participants confirmed the importance of researchers engaging in public debates and lobbying activities in order to promote social spaces and participatory decision-making processes.

With regard to the gaps between the academic and development world, it was noted that — in the case of Egypt for example — there is a wealth of experimentation and innovation, data and action-research produced within community-based development projects, in such fields as MSMEs, informal education, water, and sanitation. Such data however is not documented and not analyzed because it is not considered by formal institutions as valuable for researching, and it never finds its way to policymakers.

Research quality

The quality aspect of research was considered a major component of the crisis in the research environment. Encouraging competition, providing incentives, and building capacities were identified as key tools to improve research quality. Encouraging competition is a major challenge in view of the hierarchical structures which characterize research institutions in the region (whether academic, semi-autonomous, or governmental departments). Associated with this is the fact that very often, good researchers are the younger ones, but that they are not the ones given support and funding. In addition to bringing a competitive edge to the approval of proposals, it was considered important to provide rewards for the achievement of good research and to improve an incentive structure. Finally, capacity-building measures must be structured in sustainable ways through regular programs of training plus exposure to front-line research and researchers. The urgency of giving chances to young researchers was underscored. In this respect, the role of donors should be key.

Participants stressed that the crisis in the region’s educational system is intrinsically related to the quality of research produced within various institutions. Much research being produced demonstrates a lack of analytical and methodological skills, weak articulation of research questions and problems, and inadequate utilization of research findings. These weaknesses are related to the build-up of the educational process, from the school system to university-level education.

Data availability and dissemination

The availability of data is an issue that also raised considerable debate during the plenary discussions. The ability to access information, databases, and appropriate knowledge is essential for influencing government as well as donor policies. This problem is not new to the region and has been discussed in other forums for decades. But new approaches need to be studied. One experiment in this direction is a research training program, where a core of informed, young, and dynamic policymakers was made aware of the importance and value of data access, data collection, and data analysis, and was linked with statistical institutes in this regard.

A related issue is the absence of networking among different countries of the region. To illustrate this situation, one participant indicated that on their two websites, 57% of the users are from the USA, around 35% are from Europe, and less than 1% are from the region. Participants also discussed the lack of proper information systems. This represents a very serious obstacle to the possibility of doing up-to-date, sophisticated, and quick research in various fields related to development. Thus, proper research and planning in the region is seriously hindered.

Participants stressed the responsibility of donors and researchers to improving data availability. Substantial funding has gone into numerous research projects, but once projects are completed the results are almost lost. Few report copies are disseminated and it is very difficult to locate them, let alone find out about them or access them. Capacity-building in making research results accessible is required. Donors can play a major role by making sure that sufficient funding is provided for wide dissemination of research results. As well, donors should use their ability to convene a variety of players to look at opportunities for resolving this issue, at least in the specific areas in which they are involved.

Central to the weakness of scientific policy impact in the region, is the inadequacy of knowledge-diffusion mechanisms. There were numerous observations touching on the quality of the region’s extension services and the effectiveness of different kinds of delivery systems, particularly with respect to information and communication technologies (ICTs). A number of participants argued that one of the weakest points of researchers and research institutes in the region is the lack of use of the Internet for disseminating research results. Participants urged IDRC to give attention to this question.

Finally, there was general agreement on the need to develop research results into simple language and practical, policymaking implications. Easy-to-read publications should be posted on the Internet and disseminated through the media. As well, the need to disseminate research results in Arabic was emphasized in order to widen dissemination and to empower communities in their development efforts.

Document(s) 10 of 16