The African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), established in 1988 is a public not-for-profit organization devoted to the advancement of economic policy research and training. AERC's mission is to strengthen local capacity for conducting independent, rigorous inquiry into the problems facing the management of economies in sub-Saharan Africa. William Lyakurwa, AERC's Executive Director, talks to Romesh Vailtilingam about the Consortium's initiatives to build capacity for policy-relevant research in Sub Saharan Africa.
The AERC's mission rests on two premises. First, that development is more likely to occur where there is sustained sound management of the economy. Second, that such management is more likely to happen where there is an active, well-informed group of locally based professional economists to conduct policy-relevant research. Specifically, then, AERC intends to:
- Enhance the capacity of locally based researchers to conduct policy-relevant economic inquiry,
- Promote the retention of such capacity, and
- Encourage its application in the policy context.
The AERC programme has two primary components: research and training. The AERC Research Programme uses a flexible approach towards improving the technical skills of local researchers, allowing for regional determination of research priorities and strengthening national institutions concerned with economic policy research. The programme also fosters closer ties between researchers and policy makers. The Training Programme supports both master's and doctoral level studies in economics and helps improve the capacities of departments of economics in public universities across the continent. A comprehensive communications and outreach strategy encourages the application of AERC products to economic policy making.
AERC has built a critical mass of highly credible research that has enhanced the professional stature of the network both locally and internationally - and that has, moreover, focused attention on issues critical to African development. This recognition is shown by the large number of requests through AERC and directly for involvement of its researchers in regional ministerial consultations, joint projects with international financial institutions and other high level activities. For example, AERC network members contributed to the conference of African Trade Ministers in Abuja (September 2001), which deliberated on a set of common African positions for the 4th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) held in Doha in November 2001. Similar workshops in Mauritius (October 2001, November 2001), in Oslo (June 2002) and in Geneva (September 2002) provided the opportunity to present and discuss some of the project results with African trade negotiators and policy makers. Most recently, a set of five background papers was prepared to assist African countries to prepare for the 5th WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Mexico, in September 2003.