Page 16 - AERC Strategic Plan 2 July2020

THE AERC 2020–2025 STRATEGIC PLAN

Capacity Building Success Story

The AERC began in 1988 as an initiative to build capacity for the conduct of research to
support economic policymaking and management in Africa. At the time, most African
countries were engaged in policy and institutional reforms following several years of poor
economic performance with disastrous consequences. 1

Most of those reforms were guided by principles and approaches established under The
Washington Consensus. African countries had very little capacity to introduce homegrown
initiatives that were directed at country-specific problems. The impetus for starting AERC
was to build that capacity to generate the evidence that would provide policy options to
African governments. 2

The research programme was developed to improve the quality of economic policy while
it also enhanced the technical skills of regional economic researchers. Collaborative
research was designed to be the instrument for engaging experienced regional economists
on topical issues, with important policy application and adoption. Later, network
members in policy research aimed to tackle challenges in African economic development
on a broader scale, partnering regionally and globally with other researchers and
institutions. Thematic research was designed to build capacity for individuals or small
groups through the submission of research proposals under defined thematic groups
that addressed the key economic challenges facing countries in SSA.

The goal of both collaborative and thematic research was to improve the quality of
economic-policy research published in notable journals. Ultimately, policymakers in
SSA would have access to this research – and guidance from researchers – in order to
implement policy recommendations in SSA economies. In a sense, this was designed to
deliver evidence-based research to policy and knowledge generation.

It was also evident from the beginning that training had a significant role to play in
building and sustaining capacity. Most departments of economics at public universities
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in the region lacked the faculty to mount quality graduate programmes. Poor salaries
resulted in many faculty members migrating to other regions. Their efforts to train new
staff abroad had been largely unsuccessful, as the staff often chose to return to the
countries in which they studied. The resultant brain drain deprived most economics
departments of the capacity to teach at higher levels and conduct quality research.

To address this issue, the Collaborative Master Programme (CMAP) was created in 1992
to produce high-quality graduates, researchers, and policy analysts in the public sector.
This also improved the pipeline for talented staff in economics departments.

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