African Economic Research Consortium SPS: Research Meets Policy in Africa Lemma W. Senbet SPS, AERC-UNECA Partnership, Addis, April 9-10, 2014

Birth of AERC  Founded in 1988 as a not-for-profit organization  Governed by US and Kenya laws  Evolved into a premier capacity building policy research and training organization based in Africa with a global reach.  Supported by a Consortium of global partners  IDRC and USAID since inception

Our Vision and Mission 3 Vision Sustained development in sub-Saharan Africa grounded in sound economic management and an informed society Vision Sustained development in sub-Saharan Africa grounded in sound economic management and an informed society Mission To strengthen local capacity for conducting independent, rigorous inquiry into problems pertinent to the management of economies, through a synergetic programme combining research with post graduate training in economics Mission To strengthen local capacity for conducting independent, rigorous inquiry into problems pertinent to the management of economies, through a synergetic programme combining research with post graduate training in economics

4 Capacity Building Framework * Thematic research Research * Collaborative research * Special workshops * Collaborative Masters Programme (CMAP) * Collaborative Masters in Agri &Applied Economics (CMAAE) Graduate Training * Collaborative PhD Programme (CPP) Hallmark: Rigor, evidence, collaboration, policy relevance

AERC Research and Training Network Coverage Uganda Kenya Ethiopia Tanzania Zambia Namibia South Africa Botswana Zimbabwe Mozambique Swaziland Lesotho Malawi Nigeria Cameroon Ghana Côte d’Ivoire Guinea Sierra Leone Mauritius Liberia Sudan Chad DR Congo Rwanda Burundi Gabon Congo Madagascar Mali Senegal Burkina Faso

Communication and Outreach AERC Economists Website Research/other papers Workshops and seminars On-line library access On-line research/other papers Policy Makers Senior Policy Seminars National Policy Workshops Targeted dissemination packages Website Francophones French website window Simultaneous interpretation Strategic bilingual capacity in Secretariat Selected translations AERC Secretariat Corporate papers/reports Major print publications Research/other papers Website On-line library access Civil Society Targeted dissemination packages Media outreach Website

Research Policy Dissemination of Research findings Senior Policy Seminars & National Policy Workshops Feedback on Policy relevance Research Meets Policy

 Senior Policy Seminars  Senior African Policy makers at the level of Ministers, Governors of Central Banks, Advisers to Presidents, Permanent Secretaries, Directors of government departments  Share and deliberate on research findings  Evidence-based policy making 2013 SPS XV, Kigali, Rwanda  Youth and unemployment in Africa 2014 SPS XVI, Addis Ababa on Capital Flight to be co-hosted by UNECA  Support for National Policy Workshops

Research meets Policy (cont)  Biannual Research workshops plenary sessions  Regular dissemination workshops at the conclusion of AERC collaborative research projects  A recent example on a collaborative research project, the World Bank/AERC partnership on Service Delivery Indicators (SDI) Initiated by AERC in 2007 Currently being piloted on a project in 3 African countries, to be extended to others  CMAAE Theses dissemination workshops 9

Accomplishments  Policy Relevant Research  Supported close to 1000 thematic research projects involving researchers from 43 countries in Africa.  The AERC website now has about 500 publications and working papers: AERC Research Papers Policy briefs Framework papers Country case studies 10

Accomplishments (cont)  Individual Capacity Building  Supported over 3,300 researchers  Supported over 2,600 masters graduates Working in government ministries, central banks, national policy research institutes, universities, international organizations, etc  Supported over 400 through the PhD programme Nearly all retained in Africa Majority (71%) have become faculty members in universities  Over 1,200 Senior African policy makers are in AERC’s high-level policy network 11

Payoff to Capacity Building AERC Alumni as Senior Policy Makers  AERC Alumni - currently senior policy makers at:  Ministries of Finance/Treasury, Economy and Planning Commissions of Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda  Central Banks of Ghana, Lesotho, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda  United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)  Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC)  East African Community (EAC) 12

 Some examples of AERC Alumni Policy makers:  Pedro Couto, Deputy Minister of Finance, Mozambique  Benno Ndulu, Governor, Central Bank of Tanzania  Njuguna Ndung’u, Governor, Central Bank of Kenya  Louis Kasekende, Deputy Governor, Bank of Uganda  Kupukile Mlambo, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe  Cyril Chami, Member of Parliament and former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Tanzania  Arsene Balihuta, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Uganda to the UN in Switzerland  Maxwell M. Mkwezalamba, former Commissioner for Economic Affairs at the African Union  Ernest Aryeetey, Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana  John Ddumba Ssentamu, Vice Chancellor, Makerere University 13 Payoff to Capacity Building AERC Alumni as Senior Policy Makers

AERC towards the next 25 year phase  A new strategic plan for  Priorities emerging  Inclusiveness Improved strategies for underrepresented groups  Partnerships and linkages National, regional and global  Private sector engagement Mutually beneficial research and training  Technology integration Delivery of programmes and operational efficiency  Enhancing diversity of resources for sustainability

15 Moving Forward: Key Pillars Privatization Africanization Globalization Technology Integration *Public-private research agenda *Value propositi on *Public-private research agenda *Value propositi on *Cuts across all pillars *Technology integration *Data repository *Cuts across all pillars *Technology integration *Data repository *African govts *AERC alumni *African perspectives * Inclusiveness *African govts *AERC alumni *African perspectives * Inclusiveness *Research & Training Programmes *Institutional linkages *Best global practices *Institutional linkages *Best global practices

THANK YOU African Economic Research Consortium Consortium pour la Recherche Economique en Afrique PO Box – City Square, Nairobi, Kenya Middle East Bank Towers, 3rd Floor, Milimani Road Tel: (254-20) / Fax: (254-20) / / /