Go to AfricaBib home

Go to AfricaBib home Africana Periodical Literature Go to database home

bibliographic database
Line
Previous page New search

The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here

Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Social Science Research and Policy Making in Africa: Status, Issues and Prospects
Author:Ndongko, Wilfred A.ISNI
Year:1994
Periodical:Africa Development: A Quarterly Journal of CODESRIA (ISSN 0850-3907)
Volume:19
Issue:1
Pages:71-90
Language:English
Geographic terms:Africa
Cameroon
Subjects:research centres
social research
government policy
Bibliography/Research
Education and Oral Traditions
Politics and Government
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/24486833
Abstract:The impact of research in the social sciences on policymaking and national development in Africa has been minimal. Since the 1960s the relationship between social science research institutions and policymakers has oscillated between consent, mutual suspicion, confrontation and impasse. However, the 1990s hold the promise of a turning point, which has been made possible by a combination of transition to democratic systems of political governance and market-oriented economic reforms. African countries can be categorized into those with formal institutional structures for policy interface between policymakers and researchers, and those without such structures. The link between policymakers and researchers may be forged through consultancy assignments given by the government to researchers, or through the organization of seminars and workshops by researchers for policymakers. There are also some important groups of research institutions organized by regional organizations. After identifying several impediments to cooperation, the article illustrates the failure of the social sciences to act as a tool for policymaking with the example of the Institute of Human Sciences in Cameroon, which was closed by the government in 1991. Finally, it presents some recommendations for enhancing dialogue between policymakers and research institutions. Bibliogr.
Views
Cover