Leaving no one behind in practice: Development Research for or by the south?

6 december,

Welcome to two EBA-panels at the EADI General Conference in Bergen, Norway, 21 August 2017

Academic panel, 11:30-13:00

This academic panel is the first part of two panels at the conference with the same title. The second part is a policy panel discussing how development research could and should be organised, in richer countries as well as in partner countries: What are the roles of research and researchers in the SDGs: not just as knowledge providers on how to achieve and (in proper context) address the goals, but as goals in themselves? How should donor countries work to equalize research opportunities and competence globally?

This academic panel addresses the question in the title by having three researchers from the global south present their own research papers directly related to the conference theme.

Presenters:

  • Abebe Shimeles, PhD Economics, Acting Director, Development Research Department, African Development Bank
  • Augustin Fosu, Professor, Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) University of Ghana
  • Margret Chitiga, Professor, University of Pretoria

Discussant:

  • Kalle O. Moene, Professor Department of Economics, University of Oslo

Chair:

Arne Bigsten, senior professor, Department of Economics, Gothenburg University, member of the Expert Group for Aid Studies.

Policy panel, 14:30-16:30

This policy panel is the second part of two panels at the conference with the same title. The first part is an academic panel where three researchers from the global south present papers directly related to the conference theme.

The panel addresses the question in the title through a discussion on how development research could and should be organised, in richer countries as well as in partner countries.

A starting point of the discussion is the set of conclusions and recommendations of a recently published EBA report, “Research Aid Revisited – a historically grounded analysis of future prospects and policy options”, written by Sverker Sörlin and David Nilsson. The EBA report “Research Capacity in the New Global Agenda: Mobility, Collaboration and Scientific production among PhD graduates supported by Swedish Development Aid” written by Måns Fellesson, provides additional insights.

Questions to discuss include, but are far from limited to:

– What are the innate roles of research and researchers (i.e. SDG targets 9.5 and 9.b), that is, not just as knowledge providers on how to achieve and (in proper context) address other SDG goals, but as goals in themselves?

– What does a future of shared problems and challenges mean to the idea of development research? How should the global science regime act upon Agenda 2030 – opportunities and challenges?

– How should donor countries work to equalize research opportunities and competence globally?

Participants:

  • Sverker Sörlin, Professor, Division for History of Science, Technology and Environment, KTH, Stockholm.
  • Lemma W. Senbet, Professor, Executive Director, African Economic Research Consortium (AERC).
  • Nada Al-Nashif ADG (Assistant Director-General) for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO
  • Hannah Akuffo, Professor, Karolinska Institutet, Lead Specialist, Research Cooperation, Sida

Chair and moderator:

Helena Lindholm, Chair the Expert Group for Aid Studies.