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The African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) was recently on an official Mission in Uganda to strengthen partnership. The team was led by Prof. Victor Murinde, AERC Executive Director. The AERC has created value to African Governments and institutions through its capacity building programmes and Ugandan institutions and economists have been active in the AERC Pan-African network since its inception, participating in research projects, graduate training and policy engagement. 

The timing of this mission was part of the clarion call that, in the face of recent global economic shifts and geopolitical uncertainty, the AERC is seeking strategic partnerships with African governments and institutions to chart the roadmap forward through research and co-production of evidence-based economic policy solutions. 

The mission to Uganda was also timely, to launch the AERC Strategic Plan 2025-2035, themed “Reinventing the AERC for Delivering Africa’s Economic Prosperity”, in which the AERC is embarking on a comprehensive reform agenda, designed to strengthen research excellence, enhance policy impact and secure long-term institutional sustainability. Ugandan institutions have an entrenched stake in the AERC.

The team visited the following institutions: Bank of Uganda; Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation; Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives; Office of the President; Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development; National Planning Authority; Uganda Development Bank; East African Development Bank; Economic Policy Research Centre and Makerere University. 

Prof. Murinde made presentations about the AERC and its future, observing that the AERC is a Pan-African network for high quality economic research and graduate training, fostering a vibrant community of scholars and practitioners dedicated to advancing African economic knowledge and designing tailored policy instruments.

The AERC has unveiled its 2025–2035 Strategic Plan under the theme “Reinventing the AERC for Delivering Africa’s Economic Prosperity”; a comprehensive agenda, designed to strengthen research excellence, enhance policy impact and secure Africa’s institutional sustainability. The strategic framework is guided by four main pillars: 

• Improving quality in research and training to top-level global standards 
• Policy engagement for impact on livelihoods, institutions and government functions
• Ensuring greater partnerships and sustainability
• Expanding gender and geographical diversity, inclusion and relevance.

The main focus of discussion in these visits included: Conducting joint research on Africa’s economic transformation; development of joint training programmes and courses; strengthening graduate-level training and mentorship; expanding capacity-building programmes for policymakers; organizing policy dialogues, conferences, and roundtables to connect researchers, policymakers, and the private sector in Africa and strengthening knowledge translation to ensure that research findings inform policy at the national, regional, and continental levels.