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UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, HUMAN RESOURCES AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT DIVISION
Aide-Memoire of
The Senior Policy Workshop
on
Enhancing the Interface Between Government Policy and Decision-Making Entities and Research/Training Institutions in Support of Economic Reform and
Development in Africa
Organized by
The Public Administration, Human Resources and Social Development Division, within the framework of the Special Action Programme for Administration and Management In Africa Regional Project (SAPAM),)n collaboration with the Ministry of Administrative Affairs, Prime Minister's Office, Kingdom of Morocco
Venue Rabat, Morocco Date 21-25 September, 1992
UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, HUMAN RESOURCES AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT DIVISION
Aide-Memoire of
The Senior Policy Workshop
on
Enhancing the Interface Between Government Policy and Decision-Making Entitles and Research/Training Institutions In Support of Economic Reform and
Development in Africa
Organized by
The Public Administration, Human Resources and Social Development Division, within the framework of the Special Action Programme for Administration and Management hi Africa Regional Protect (SAPAM)(ln collaboration with the Ministry of Administrative Affairs, Prime Minister's Office, Kingdom of Morocco
Venue Rabat, Morocco Date 21-25 September, 1992
I. BACKGROUND
At a time when African countries find themselves amid a severe economic crisis, it is essential that they marshall their resources fully and effectively to cope with the crisis that is crippling them. The effective utilization of their human resources plays a major role in stimulating their economies and putting Africa back on the path to recovery and sustained growth and development. In circumstances where trained manpower and expertise are in short supply, the full and efficient use of such scarce resources become necessary.
Unfortunately, Africa's track record in this regard is not that encouraging. Tapping existing resources in the universities for policy formulation, analysis, implementation and evaluation is quite a rare act in many countries. In fact, many policy-makers may even consider seeking policy advice as a sign of failure and weakness. So, even when there is an urgent need for possible policy inputs and support to the development efforts by local experts and institutions, the opportunity is hardly taken advantage of. It is significant to mention in this regard that at a time when African governments are readily accepting outside advice in the formulation of structural adjustment and economic reform programmes, very little effort has been done to involve local expertise and institutions in the formulation of these programmes, even when they are so called home-grown economic reform programmes.
Moreover, the relationship between the university and government seems to be clouded by an atmosphere of mistrust and suspicion in many countries. Governments often consider the academics as "unrealistic and ivory towerish" with very little to offer to the solution of practical problems. On the other hand, Academics have tended to look at government officials as bureaucrats with "mastery of routine" and lacking in creative ideas.
With such a psychological barrier separating them, the benefits that could have been gained through their interaction are often lost. It is however encouraging to note that in the few instances where there have been interactions between decision makers and the universities, the results were positive.
To overcome the current economic crisis and foster development in general, it is essential that the practitioners (government decision-and policy makers) as well as the experts (university academics and university-based training and research
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units/institutes/centers) should pool their efforts and minds together in search of appropriate solutions to national development. Hence, the need to dismantle the psychological and other barrier preventing effective interface and create a more conducive atmosphere for fruitful collaboration and cooperation between the universities and policy makers. Central to the drive to forge closer collaboration between policy-makers and the training institutions is mutual confidence building through creating avenues for dialogue and exploring the prospects for enhancing the involvement of training institutions in the analysis formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development policies and
programmes.
Academics and university departments and units could, inter alia, be associated with policy-making and development in several different ways. They could be brought on board as resident and ad hoc advisers to policy-makers to assist in clarifying policy issues, analyzing policy alternatives and recommending policy measures. They could be invited for in-house brain storming exercises and be requested to make inputs to policy issues under consideration. They could be hired as consultants and researchers to deal with issues having bearing on policy formulation, implementation and evaluation. Research centers could be subcontracted to undertake feasibility studies, prepare position papers,prepare blueprints of reform programmes and development strategies and policies and monitor and evaluate the performance of projects, economic reform measures and development plans.
Such interactions can be mutually beneficial. They could enable the university staff to get exposure to policy-making dynamics, thereby enriching their experiences with obvious implications for improved teaching as well as bolster the income-generating capacity of academics and universities alike. Likewise they would also benefit the policy-makers, and indeed the country at large, by enabling them to obtain expert advice from those who know the subjects thoroughly and have the added advantage of in-depth knowledge of the local conditions and circumstances.
While the collaboration and cooperation of university-based entities with government agencies through enhanced involvement in policy-making and development is expected to be beneficial to all, this realization is not necessarily free of problems. The academicians often desire to maintain their autonomy and not compromise their integrity by adhering to
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official lines they do not consider right; the intellectual bias that often antagonizes and alienates the civil servants are only among the few problems to be encountered. However, in spite of such problems, there is a strong case for an enhanced role of university institutions in policy-making and development. Once a dialogue is opened between the relevant actors and mutual mistrust and suspicion thaws, the benefits of such an interaction will be obvious for the two sides to be eager to take full advantage of.
The realization that any attempt to involve the universities and research centres in policy-making, implementation and evaluation could bear fruit only if it has support of the top policy-makers has led ECA to take the initiative to examine the problem more closely and to create a forum for dialogue between university-based training and research institutions and policy-makers to address the issue of the need to enhance the involvement of training and research institutes in policy analysis, implementation and evaluation and in support of the development process as well as how to improve the modalities of interaction between the two actors.
2, Objectives
The Objectives of the Workshop will be to:
1. Examine the patterns of interaction between the policy-and decision-making entities of the government and university-based training and research institutions in support of the development and economic reform processes and assess the outcome and impact of such interactions;
2. Identify the main factors behind the successful and unsuccessful patterns of interaction;
3. Examine how policy-makers perceive the benefits and problems of such an interaction;
4. Examine how the training/research/development institutes perceive the need for interaction with policy makers and the problems they encounter in such interaction;
and
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5. Recommend ways and means for improved dialogue and cooperation between the policy-makers and the training/research/development centres and other effective environment of the national Think-tanks in support of development and economic reform.
3. Documentation
Papers of the workshop will focus on the following:
(i) The interface between policy makers and university based training and research centers in Africa: synthesis of country experiences,
(ii) Dialogue between policy makers and university-based training and research institutes:
current status, limits and prospects,
(iii) The dialogue between policy makers and development/research institutes and university based departments of economics, management and public administration in Eastern and Southern Africa. Prospects and problems,
(iv) The need for improved policy analysis in developing regions,
(v) Institutionalization of Policy Analaysis in Developing Countries: An Explanatory Approach,
(vi) Social science research and policy-making in developing countries: A critical analysis.
4. Participants
The workshop will be attended by senior policy makers, heads of management departments in African universities, directors of research centers and representatives of regional and international centres.
5. Financing
The cost of the workshop for participants other than representatives of the UN and international centres, will be covered by ECA.
6. Date and Venue: 21 to 25 September, Rabat, Morocco
6 7. Information
Further information on the seminar may be obtained from:
The Chief,
Public Administration, Human Resources and Social Development Division
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) P. O. Box 3001
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Telex No. 21029
Fax No. 251-1-514416
