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If he had his way, University of Ibadan professor Ayobami “Ayo” Ojebode would take all his PhD students and supervisors through PASGR’s Professional Development and Training (PDT) course before starting their doctoral work. “PDT is first and foremost training in research design, and design is everything. If the doctoral thesis is faulty in design, it’s […]

Dr Connie Nshemereirwe considers her participation in the Advanced Research Design (ARD) course as one of the most transformative experiences of her life. “It changed my whole approach to research and policy engagement,” the Director of Quality Assurance at Cavendish University in Uganda says. The don, who had just completed her PhD a year earlier, […]

Professional Development and Training The year 2016 saw PASGR consolidate its claim to being Africa’s premier social policy and governance research institution as it focused on strengthening its training institute and its emerging community of practice. After four years, the Professional Development and Training (PDT) Programme has grown a robust and innovative institute capable of […]

“The course opened up my professional horizon and gave me a new perspective about research. The facilitators are patient, understanding and caring. They readily help trainees to quickly comprehend the topics offered.” This was a testimonial by one of the participants at the end of the Professional Development Training Programme held in April, 2017  in […]

In 2016, several instructors in the PASGR Advanced Research Design and Policy Oriented Research Professional Development and Training programme undertook a joint research project. The idea was to ground what they teach participants on the practical application of various methods in research. The instructors identified a common problem in Africa and applied their expertise to […]

In the fifth and final blog in a series on Interrogating Decentralisation in Africa, Kassa Teshager Alemu – assistant professor at the Ethiopian Civil Service University – uses his research on the role of informal actors in Addis Ababa’s solid waste management system to reflect on the recent Koshe landslide and how a similar disaster […]

In this blog, the fourth in a series on Interrogating Decentralisation in Africa, Daniel Doh investigates the impact of staff motivation and competence levels within local government on the quality of service delivery in Ghana’s district assemblies Kejetia Market, Ghana. Image credit: Nyani Quarmyne/Panos Decentralisation in Ghana One of the most discussed and acted upon […]

In this blog, the third in a series on Interrogating Decentralisation in Africa, researchers from Kenya dramatize – through Kenyan storytelling – their recent study on citizens’ perceptions of the impact of decentralisation on healthcare in Kenya. The characters in the story are fictitious. Photo: Availability of ambulances at sub-County level has not only translated […]

In this blog, the second in a series on Interrogating Decentralisation in Africa, Emilly Comfort Maractho reflects on the differing success of public primary education in Uganda. Last year, as I addressed the Nebbi Makerere Students Association at a function organised to help students making the best of their time at university, I spoke to […]

In this blog, the first in a series on Interrogating Decentralisation in Africa, researchers from Nigeria share insights from their recent study on citizens’ perceptions of elected versus ‘selected’ local government officials. In 1999 Nigeria returned to democratic rule after a long spell of military rule. Democracy opened up spaces for political debates and contestations, […]