SADRN - Southern African Development Research Network

The Southern African Development Research Network (SADRN) is a broad-based policy and research network which aims to increase the supply of policy-relevant research in the region and strengthen evidence-based policy-making. SADRN is currently focusing on two themes: industrial policy and sector development at the regional level; trade policy and its linkages to pro-poor growth.  

The objectives of the Network are to:

• Increase the supply of policy-relevant research in the SADC region by creating a pool of suitably-skilled researchers based in institutions in SADC
• Improve the policy-relevance of research through growing the capacity of policy-makers to be discerning research 'users'
• Develop an appreciation for evidence-based policy making by engaging policy-makers in the design, specification, implementation and review of research projects
• Build institutional capacity in key organizations in SADC via the creation of 'centres of excellence' in focused thematic areas of research.

The services of the Network include;

• Direct funding from the Network for relevant research
• Intermediation between researchers and the policy community thereby ensuring that the policy community's research needs are clearly articulated
• Access to international databases and publications which are often costly to subscribe to
• An opportunity to 'pre-publish' before submission to peer-reviewed Journals
• Mentoring support of a technical nature from international researchers associated with the Network.

The network aims to work with individual researchers, policy research institutes, policy-makers, and the private sector/civil society.

We encourage those in the Southern African region but outside South Africa that are interested to post papers - theirs and others - on the theme of industrial policy and on the theme of trade and poverty to send material to: Sithembiso [at] tips [dot] org [dot] za

Trade and Pro-Poor Growth - First Host Institution Selected under SADRN:

TIPS is pleased to announce that the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA) has been the first organization selected to host the trade and pro-poor growth thematic group.

BIDPA is a non-governmental research organisation established by a deed of trust. The two key areas of BIDPA's mandate are development policy analysis and capacity building. Its aim is to promote policy analysis through research, capacity building, assisting organizations or individuals where appropriate as well as to monitor Botswana's economic performance. BIDPA also disseminates policy research results.

To learn more about BIDPA's role in SADRN, please contact rgrynberg [at] bidpa [dot] bw (Prof. Roman Grynberg). 

Services Sector Development - Second Host Institution Selected under SADRN:

A team of researchers from the University of Mauritius, Faculty of Business, Management and Law  has been selected to host "the Services Sector Development and Impact on Poverty" thematic working group. The Team will co-ordinate SADRN activities to achieve the broad objectives of the project. The Team from the University set to strengthen research collaboration through the SADRN thematic research area. The Team Leader is Mr Sawkut Rojid who is a lecturer in the Faculty.

For more information contact Sawkut at sawkutrojid [at] yahoo [dot] com.

About the University of Mauritius, please visit http://www.uom.ac.mu/.