Page 76 - AERC Strategic Plan 2 July2020

THE AERC 2020–2025 STRATEGIC PLAN

research outputs. It will also involve provision of opportunities for these organizations
to steer economic policy research; to participate in collaborative research projects; to
avail of thematic scholarships; and other opportunities. The AERC has a wide and diverse
network of academics, and it will redouble its efforts to ensure meaningful collaboration
between its network and economic policy decision-makers.

In order to diversity its funding base, the AERC needs to build its strategic business
development and strategic communications capacity. This is a key issue for sustainability.
As a long term sustainable resource diversification strategy, AERC needs to expand
its partnership with African governments, regional institutions, and private sector
philanthropic foundations, in addition to maintaining existing partnerships with funding
partners. This will include working closer with funders and private-sector actors to co-
develop programmes and priorities that meet Africa’s economic policy needs and the
funding policy requirements of funders. It also involves strengthening awareness of the
shifting context of funding delivery. There is a strong link between this and the ‘strategic
communications’ intermediate outcome identified under the influence domain.

Underpinning this is a need to improve organizational system support, which includes
developing business systems and management processes that support good governance,
organizational learning, and high-quality reporting on performance. The latter issue is
particularly important. There is significant pressure on funding budgets across the world,
with funders continually juggling competing demands from counterparts. A concern with
value for money (VfM) is foremost in the mind of funders at this point in time. The AERC
must be able to demonstrate that its programmes are economical, efficient and effective,
and that they represent good VfM. The development of this ToC and the associated
ME Plan is an important step in this regard. The AERC will strengthen its governance,
management, organizational learning, and strategic communications processes to
ensure they are fit-for-purpose in the current environment. There is an assumption
here that the AERC will be able to strengthen its organizational performance to meet
the changing circumstances. The AERC is an institution of over 30 years in the making,
it has ‘ways of working’ that have been established over a long period. The governance
and management of AERC will also need to be critically reflected upon. This process of
organizational learning may be new and will present a range of challenges that the AERC
needs to monitor.

Before the issue of under-representation in AERC’s activities can be addressed, which is
an end-of-strategy outcome mentioned above, the AERC needs to strengthen its visibility
and expand its opportunities in under-represented areas and for under-represented
groups. This will involve tailoring its research and training programmes in such a way
that it incentivises participation by these groups. AERC needs to address some of the real
constraints regarding participation faced by women as well as fragile and post-conflict
countries. These include: financial constraints; socio-cultural issues (such as religion);
family and parental responsibilities; and lack of requisite skills of individuals from fragile
and post-conflict countries to effectively transit into mainstream research and graduate

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