Theme for the first AKNF

The proliferation of single theme networks inhibits crucial interdisciplinary approaches. Spectacular developments in one field of knowledge can spark off developments in another field. Africa’s inter-linked development challenges require an integrated approach based on the sharing of knowledge across disciplines. The theme of the first forum will be Knowledge- sharing for Enriched Research, Training and Policy Decision- Making. The business of the AKNF 2000 meeting will be based on the draft business plan and draft issues papers in four areas, which the preparatory workshop will put together.

Sub themes to be considered are Regional Integration; Africa in the global economy; Africa and the information economy; as well as Gender and Governance. Break- out sessions will be organised around these four sub- themes. The objective is to review and discuss work in progress at ECA in these key areas; identify the necessary background papers and researchers, or research partnerships to prepare the papers, review them and edit them. The sessions will also identify ways in which the expertise of networks can continue to be involved in these and other tasks designed to fulfill ECA’s mandate, including capacity building for knowledge- making. The research partnerships to be developed will contribute to concrete outputs of the ECA in four areas outlined below during the course of the next two years.

(1) Accelerating regional integration in Africa. Regional integration is accepted and promoted by all African countries as the only solution to the multiplicity of their tiny national economies. Globalization, the need for economies to become far more competitive, as well as huge population shifts across borders, have made regional integration all the more urgent. Yet, despite the obvious benefits, regional integration in Africa has not met expectations. Economic spaces remain disjointed, economies are non- competitive and are over-protected. Visible and invisible barriers hamper the movement of goods, ideas and people. There is a need to create linkages between regional integration and global processes in the framework of open regionalism. There is equally a need to create a mechanism to monitor and report progress towards targets set by the Abuja and the various sub- regional integration treaties as has been successfully done for the Mercusor trade block by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. In this regard, the AKNF 2000 session will discuss an annotated issues paper and agree on research partnership and a process for producing The Annual Report on Integration in Africa (ARIA) 2001-- the main document for the planned ADF 2001 on the theme Accelerating regional integration in Africa.

(2) Enhancing Africa’s integration in the Global Economy: Globalisation is a reality. Africa needs to build capacity to identify and respond to the opportunities and challenges created by the WTO and other global economic, finance and trade governance structures, including the interface between the WTO and post- Lome arrangements. There is clearly a need to synchronize Africa’s integration agenda and time tables with the obligations of African countries under international agreements, and to assist African countries in addressing issues of direct concern to them in international negotiations. Meeting these needs requires strengthening capacity of country focal points for global economic issues and links to global governance structures and processes. The AKNF session on enhancing Africa’s integration in the Global Economy will discuss these and related issues, which will be presented in an annotated issues paper, and identify studies and research partnerships for carrying out the studies. Improving the competitiveness of regional economies is a particular facet of the planned studies, including the development of indicators and monitoring mechanisms for improving competitiveness. The session will agree on the outline and content of the first issue of the annual report "Africa and the World Economy", which will be an instrument for apprising policymakers and other stakeholders of the progress towards integration of the regional economy in the global marketplace. It will also review and highlight issues in the global economy of critical relevance to Africa’s trade, industrialization, finance, and investment goals. The draft of the first issue of Africa and the World Economy will constitute the theme paper for the Joint Conference of African Ministers of Finance and of Trade due to take place in November 2000. Thereafter the report will be finalised.

(3) Networking African Research on the Information Economy:

The largest economic force in the world today is the information economy, also known as the "new economy". Despite the magnitude of this phenomenon, it has gone virtually unnoticed by African research institutions and networks. On- going research conducted by African economists covers only a few areas pertaining to the information economy and this is on a small scale. Far greater effort is needed in this area as credible policy analysis should be grounded in a thorough understanding of the IT sector and its broader effects on national economic development. Equally important is the capacity to apply techniques and methodologies specific to analysis of the information economy, which at present have not been widely acquired by researchers. The AKNF session on Networking African Research on the Information Economy will look at:

• The potential impact of the information economy on Africa;

• The possible opportunities for Africa in it;

• What research needs to be done to explore further the above two areas

• What modalities can be developed so that this research gets done.

A critical component of good governance is gender- aware policies and gender responsive institutions and programmes that lead to gender equality. While increased representation of women in governance structures is a necessary condition for good governance and gender balance, it is not sufficient to bring about gender transformation. The session on engendering policy decision- making will discuss a draft conceptual framework paper, identify research issues, and how to strengthen the process of generating gender desegregated data to support gender policy analysis and gender- aware decision- making. The session will agree on an outline, as well as research partnerships for producing the first issue of the ECA annual Gender and Development Report, in the year 2001.

Business Session: The inaugural meeting of full AKNF membership will consider operational aspects of setting up and providing services in a "network of networks" framework. Among the issues to be considered in developing and adopting a medium- term strategy and annual plan, are:

• Bridging research and practice in policy- making, civil society needs and private sector choices. Some networks already have experience in dealing with one or more of the knowledge demand constituencies. Experiences and best practice will be shared; and the potential for the ECA to use its statutory convening power in facilitating access to knowledge by more users explored.
• Identifying gaps (for example, the Diaspora and non- networked disciplines on the continent, especially those outside the economics and medical research fields that remain isolated.) There is a need to take stock of existing networks and launch new networks for those institutions still in isolation. The ECA Conference on the Brain Drain held in February 2000, confirmed the existence of a big pool of African expertise in the Americas and Europe. These are people willing to engage in knowledge partnerships to contribute to shaping the African development agenda and to providing solutions to problems in a broad spectrum of development challenges. Modern information communication technologies can facilitate this contribution without the experts having to migrate back to the continent.
• Bridging (federating) the Networks to enhance cross- fertilisation and knowledge content enrichment. Experience and best practices within existing networks will be highlighted, shared and extrapolated in the context of a comprehensive web of networks.
• Exploring sustainable funding. To date, most financial support to networks comes from donors. Shifts in program emphasis by donors could jeopardise the sustainability of professional networks. There is already a perception (may be a reality) that some foundations are about to reduce their support for the networks, preferring to channel resources to institutions. Yet exchange of knowledge through professional networks is critical to progress in addressing new issues and challenges. Ways of ensuring sustainable funding of network activities need to be explored.
• Inventory of the state of connectivity of Africa’s networked research, teaching institutions and organisations. Use of modern information communication technologies is critical to generating knowledge and getting it on the marketplace. This activity will lay the foundation for the connectivity needs- assessment in the follow- on actions to the June 5-7 AKNF meeting, with a view to enabling the electronic networking of knowledge production and use through ECA’s Information Technology Center for Africa as the central network node; and
• Drawing up and adopting the Forum’s Work Plan for 2000/2001
• Devising a strategy for resource mobilisation and implementation of the work plan.

Invitations are based on the agenda set for the first forum meeting, which has been agreed after extensive consultations and ECA’s participation in the workshops of several networks and board meetings of some of the networks. Invited for the substantive and business session are the Executive Directors, Executive Secretaries, Research Directors and Presidents of the major networks encompassing a spectrum of disciplines and institutions and sub- regions. They include:

• Networks focusing on economic research, such as the African Economic Research Consortium;

• Social science (mainly political science and sociology) networks, such as Council for the Development of Economic and Social Research in Africa and Southern Africa Regional Institute for Policy Studies (Affiliated to Southern Africa Political Economy Series Trust).

• University- based research and training networks, such as the University Science, Humanities and Engineering Partnerships in Africa; Southern Africa Centre for Cooperation;

• Non- social science networks, including the Agricultural Research and Training; Education Research Network in Eastern and Southern Africa; Environmental Economics Network for Eastern and Southern Africa; Pan- African Association of Anthropologists and Social Science and Medicine Africa Network.

• Multidiscipline networked networks, such as those supported by the Secretariat for Institutional Support for Economic Research in Africa (SISERA).

• Selected Networking facilitation organisations, including the Secretariats of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), the Association of African Universities; Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute; SISERA and from the US, the Social Science Research Council.

• Gender networks, including African Women’s Development and Communications Network; Association of African Women for Research and Development; Gender and Science and Technology Association; Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE); Forum for Women and Democracy; and Gender and Economic Reform in Africa Network.

• Civil Society networks, including Third World Network-- Africa; Mwengo, and African Leadership Foundation.

• African Diaspora- based networks, including the Association of African Studies Centers (USA) and the African Finance and Economics Association (AFEA)- USA.

• Selected non- networked centers of excellence, largely those supported by the ACBF.

• Experts invited on the basis of their known expertise about networking and the substantive aspects of the sub- themes of the first forum.

• Prominent network financial support organisations