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The African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) is hosting a major technical workshop on research methods for African economists. The event runs from September 30 to October 11, 2024, in Nairobi, Kenya. The course content for this workshop includes research methods, academic writing and presentation skills, and it is focusing on underserved African countries. The programme will provide participants with a practical application using econometric software.

Prof. Victor Murinde, AERC Executive Director while officially opening the workshop welcomed all the researchers from various African countries to Nairobi, Kenya, emphasizing that AERC is a pan African institution. He introduced the AERC as a leader in policy-oriented economic research in the continent devoted to building capacity for economic policy research in sub-Saharan Africa. 

He described to the participants the AERC’s approach to capacity building and knowledge generation in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) that fundamentally focusses on three pillars namely, training in economics, research and policy. “The AERC integrates high quality economic policy research, postgraduate training, and policy outreach within a vast network of researchers, universities, and policy makers across Africa and beyond,” said Prof. Murinde. 

Prof. Murinde said that AERC has since its inception in 1988 has built capacity of over 4,500 economics researchers from 35 countries, 3,800 master’s graduates and over 400 PhD graduates, many of whom working in key policy making positions and university faculties across the continent, adding that such capacity building workshops are important because methodologies change quite rapidly.

Dr. Abbi Kedir, AERC Director of Research observed that the intention of the workshop was to upgrade the researchers’ skills so that they can produce high quality research outputs that would be published in esteemed international journals. “Your research should also feed into the policy formulation across Africa. And do note, that topical research is top priority for policy makers,” he said. 

A total of 45 participants from 18 countries are represented at this event. The purpose of the research methodology workshop is basically to equip participants with necessary tools to undertake research, and anchor evidence-based policy research on rigor. 

The participants were encouraged to take the course seriously and benefit from the transferable skills in learning new techniques, data analysis, academic writing for publication and presentation skills. The training will also equip the researchers with key skills to respond to calls for research proposals/papers on relevant and priority policy areas. 

In the current five years strategy, the AERC has emphasized the themes of raising its quality for research and graduate training outputs that will develop a momentum of its own sustainability that will become important for policy influence across SSA economies.

The AERC is one of the most active Research and Capacity Building Institutions (RCBIs) in the world, with a focus on Africa. The organization has increasingly received global acclaim for its quality products and services and is ranked highly among global development think tanks.