Historically, the
typical CODESRIA MWG is established to work on one of the
research priorities identified from the general debate which
members of the Council undertake at their triennial General
Assembly. The coordinators of a multinational group are senior
scholars with a track record of research and publishing on the
theme of the MWG; they are designated by the Executive
Secretariat of CODESRIA, but exercise a full autonomy in matters
related to the quality and/or relevance of proposals received
according to the established institutional rules and procedure.
Ultimately, in the light of their scientific leadership role in
the MWG, their views are determinant in the composition of the
research group. An MWG usually has between 10 to 20 researchers
as members. Members of MWGs are selected on the merit of the
proposals they submit and are required to provide evidence of
their affiliation with universities, research centres, research
institutes, or other knowledge producing institutions in Africa
or in the Diasporas. CODESRIA offers each member of the MWG a
field research grant, support with access to documentation, and
the expertise of relevant resource persons who also act as
discussants during workshops. Each MWG is encouraged to hold a
methodological workshop involving all of its members, a mid-term
review workshop to assess the progress made by each of the
participants in the work of the group, and a closing workshop to
review the final draft papers. Members of MWGs are encouraged to
carry out fieldwork over extended periods of time, and are
expected to produce publishable, research-based papers. More
experienced scholars in the MWG are encouraged to mentor the
younger ones during the course of the life of the MWG. MWG
coordinators edit the papers emanating from the work of the
members of the group and submit a book manuscript for
publication in the CODESRIA Book Series. The average lifespan of
an MWG is two years during which time all aspects of the
research process are expected to be completed and the final
results prepared for publication in the CODESRIA Book Series, it
being understood that the publication process does take time to
bring to completion.
During the last
seven years or so, ten MWGs were launched by CODESRIA.
Announcements were issued inviting proposals from researchers
interested in participating in them. The themes on which the
announcements were issued are: Urban Processes & Change; The
State and its Dissidents: Towards a Geography of Africa from
Below; Higher Education in Africa: Crises, Reform &
Transformation; Land in the Struggles for Democracy and Rights;
Citizenship and Identity in Contemporary Africa; The Political
Economy of the Welfare and Rights of HIV/AIDS Patients; Gender
and National Politics; African Real Economies; Youth and
Identity in Africa; and Africa and its Diasporas.
The contribution
emanating from the MWGs resides not only in the new knowledge
they produce from a continental perspective, but also in terms
of the role they play in strengthening the multidisciplinary,
cross-national, and inter-generational linkages that also
incorporate gender concerns, in addition to taking the
linguistic diversities in Africa into account. In addition to
the encouragement given to the researchers to reflect gender
concerns in their work, an important effort is made, in line
with the objectives of the CODESRIA Strategic Plan, to mobilise
the participation of more female researchers in the leadership
of the MWGs. One of the innovations recently introduced is the
encouragement of several MWGs to hold joint methodology and
review workshops. This way, the members, advisors and
coordinators of all MWGs of the same cohort (age) are
systematically brought together to discuss the quality and
pertinence of proposals or draft research reports, as the case
may be. This has turned out to be an extremely useful exercise,
one of the collateral benefits of which has been the heightened
sense of belonging to a community that it creates amongst the
participants, and the formidable networking opportunities it
creates.
MWG 2004
These three MWGs held a joint launch
and methodology workshop in June 2005. A review workshop was
held in Dakar on 4-5 December 2006. The papers presented at the
review workshop are being revised and the book manuscripts from
these MWGs are being edited by the coordinators.
Completed
MWGs
