FAQs

What is CODESRIA about?

What does CODESRIA stand for?

CODESRIA stands for the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa.

In what year was CODESRIA created?

CODESRIA was established in 1973 in Dakar (Senegal), by academics, researchers and African intellectuals. Among the founders of CODESRIA there was namely Professor Harris Memel-Fotê and Prof. Samir Amin who was the first CODESRIA Executive Secretary from 1973 to 1975.

What is the aim of CODESRIA?

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) is an independent organisation whose principal objectives are to facilitate research, promote research-based publishing and create multiple forums geared towards the exchange of views and iformatio amog African researchers. All these are aimed at reducing the fragmentation of research in the continent through the creation of thematic research networks that cut across linguistic and regioal boudaries. For more information see .

How does CODESRIA operate?

Is CODESRIA part of the UN system?

CODESRIA is an independent pan-African nongovernmental organisation (NGO). The Council works with certain agencies of the UN system such as UNFPA, UNIFEM, ILO, or UNDP for the implementation of some of its research activities.

Is CODESRIA an organ of the African Union (AU)?

CODESRIA is not an organ of the African Union (AU), but maintans observer status and contact with the Commission of the African Union.

What is the relationship between CODESRIA and ECA?

CODESRIA is not directly related to the Economic Commission of the United Nations for Africa (ECA), but it regularly collaborates with the ECA.

Who funds the activities of CODESRIA?

A significant portion of CODESRIA’s budget is funded by donations from SIDA/SAREC (Sweden), DANIDA (Denmark), NORAD (Norway) and FINIDA (Finland). CODESRIA also receives support from IDRC and CIDA (Canada), Ford Foundation, MacArthur, Carnegie, Rockefeller (EU), UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, ILO, ADEA, OECD, Oxfam, etc. Significant support also comes from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Apart from these donors, CODESRIA also receives funding through partnership projects with institutions such as ACBF, OSIWA, etc. CODESRIA receives key support from the Government of Senegal through the headquarters agreement that confers diplomatic status and which offers facilities for obtaining visas for participants involved in CODESRIA activities in Senegal.

Does CODESRIA have multiple locations in Africa?

Besides its headquarters based in Dakar (Senegal), CODESRIA has no other regional offices in Africa. However, its Executive Committee and its Scientific Committee are composed of individuals equally representing the five major regions of Africa (North Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, Southern Africa and East Africa). Furthermore, CODESRIA has opted for the decentralisation of its programmatic activities and works closely with universities and research centers in Africa with which it has signed MOUs. For example, the Institute on the Arts and Humanities is hosted by the University of Ghana, Legon (Ghana).

How many researchers are working for CODESRIA?

CODESRIA is not an organisation that conducts research, but serves as a structure whose purpose is to facilitate research in the Humanities and Social Sciences. The Executive Secretariat, based in Dakar (Senegal), coordinates the activities of CODESRIA, which is produced by its members that are present throughout Africa and the world.

Who defines CODESRIA’s research programs?

It is CODESRIA’s General Assembly that defines CODESRIA’s research priorities which are then entered into a strategic plan covering a period of four years. The current strategic plan, covering the period 2007-2011, can be accessed in the section dedicated to . The strategy is implemented by the Executive Secretariat, located in Dakar (Senegal), through activities under various programs.

Who runs CODESRIA?

The supreme organ of CODESRIA is the General Assembly which includes all institutional and individual members. It meets every three (3) years to elect an Executive Committee of ten (10) members which elects its members, a Chairman and Vice-President. It also appoints a Scientific Committee with the same composition that operates the same way. For further information on the composition of CODESRIA organs please see the item describing and the one presenting .

What are the types of activities undertaken by CODESRIA?

Does CODESRIA financially support participants in conferences?

CODESRIA may, in exceptional cases, support the participation of academics and researchers in African conferences provided that they have a direct relationship with its research agenda.

Does CODESRIA support scientific research ?

The purpose of CODESRIA is to support the development of social sciences and humanities research. However, it encourages the dialogue with others sciences namely by addressing the social dimension of issues dealing with health, biotechnology, agriculture, etc. CODESRIA annually organises a .

What are the opportunities for research funding offered by CODESRIA?

CODESRIA regularly launches calls for proposals for the establishment of National Working Groups (NWG), Multinational Working Groups (MWG), Transnational Working Groups (TWG) or for Comparative Research Networks (CRN). At another level, it also provides small grants for graduate students, master and doctoral scholarships and postdoctoral research. For more information, see the «» section which identifies calls for participation.

What are the opportunities for capacity building offered by CODESRIA?

In the programmes implemented to facilitate Social Science Research in Africa, CODESRIA organises various activities for capacity building such as institutes on governance, gender, health and childhood and youth, methodological workshops, writing workshops scientific training workshops for trainers, etc. For more information, see the «» section, which presents capacity building programmes.

Does CODESRIA finance the participation of African social science researchers in its activities?

Any person selected to participate in an activity for CODESRIA is fully supported covering travel, accommodation or registration associated with the activity in question.

How can I be regularly informed of future CODESRIA activities?

CODESRIA operates several mailing lists including one reserved for its members and another for the general public. When you are enrolled on either of these mailing lists, you automatically receive all the ads published by CODESRIA about its various activities. To subscribe to our mailing list please send a message to the following address:

Does CODESRIA provide courses?

CODESRIA’s purpose is not to act as a sunbsitute to African universities. However, it implements activities to strengthen students and researchers’ skills and competences through activities such as , , etc.

Getting involved with CODESRIA

How to participate in CODESRIA activities?

It is not compulsory to be a member of CODESRIA in order to participate in its activities. All activities of CODESRIA operate on the basis of submission of applications in response to calls for applications issued by the Council. The applications are then assessed by selection committees composed of members of the African academic and research community. Committees do not have any CODESRIA staff as members. The main selection criterion is the quality of the proposal.

Are all CODESRIA activities only carried out in English?

CODESRIA’s ambition is to remove of all kinds of barriers, especially language barriers, which hinder interactions within the African community of scholars and social scientists. The majority of CODESRIA activities are held in both English and French with simultaneous interpretation systems. Furthermore, CODESRIA has launched an initiative to encourage the participation of researchers from the countries of Lusophone Africa in its activities. It also plans to launch an Arab initiative aimed at achieving similar objectives for academic researchers whose working language is Arabic.

Must I be a member of CODESRIA in order to participate in its activities?

It is not compulsory to be a member of CODESRIA to participate in its activities but membership is automatically given for participation in a CODESRIA activity.

Is it possible to be simultaneously involved in several CODESRIA activities?

Yes, but it is not possible to attend more than two activities during the same year.

Does CODESRIA finance participation in activities organised by other institutions?

No, members of CODESRIA are only supported to be involved in CODESRIA activities.

Can African students enrolled in universities outside of Africa benefit from CODESRIA research grants?

Small Grants and Advanced Research Fellowships are restricted to students registered in African universities.

Can academics and researchers working in African universities and research centers outside of Africa participate in the activities of CODESRIA?

Academics and researchers in the Diaspora can fully participate in CODESRIA activities. They may also become associate members of CODESRIA, with the same benefits as regular members, except for the right to vote for the CODESRIA General Assembly.

Why become a member of CODESRIA?

How to join the CODESRIA?

There are no special conditions to become a member of CODESRIA. Individuals and institutions may join even if they are not based in Africa. However, non-African members have an associate member status which does not qualify them to vote during the CODESRIA General Assembly. For futher information, see the section entitled

How to pay CODESRIA membership fees?

CODESRIA members can pay their dues in cash to the Membership Services Officer based at the secretariat in Dakar. They can also pay through money transfers to the same department. However given the high costs of money transfers, we advise those who wish to use such a medium to pay their contributions for at least three years. Furthermore, it should be noted that any person who participates in an CODESRIA activity automatically becomes a member of CODESRIA as the membership fee is directly deducted from the per diem disbursed for the activity.

What are the benefits of membership of CODESRIA?

As a CODESRIA member, you can participate in the CODESRIA Assembly, which is held every three years with a right to vote making you part of the governance of the institution. Provided you have already participated in a previous General Assembly, you can also submit your application for membership for the Executive Committee or the Scientific Committee. All members also enjoy a number of advantages such as free copy of the «», a CODESRIA journal of their choice and a 30% discount on the purchase of all CODESRIA publications.

How can one receive a scholarship?

CODESRIA does not award scholarship but gives grants for writing theses and dissertations. To take advantage of this opportunity, you must refer to the call for applications launched each year and submit an application. The application is then evaluated by a selection committee composed of academics and researchers in Africa. The main selection criterion is the quality of the application.

CODESRIA Publications

Does CODESRIA publish scientific literature?

CODESRIA is one of the largest scientific publishers in Africa. It publishes an average of forty books and monographs each year and manages directly or indirectly a dozen peer reviewed scientific journals.

Does CODESRIA publish a journal?

CODESRIA publishes a liaison and discussion bulletin entitled «» which is published separately in English, French, Portuguese and Arabic. It also publishes ten journals whose articles are routinely peer reviewed. The editorial committees consist of academics and researchers from around the world. The journals published by CODESRIA are:

 Africa Development
 Afrika Zamani
 The African Anthropologist
 Identity, Culture and Politics: an Afro-Asian Dialogue
 Journal of Higher Education in Africa
 Africa Review of Books
 Africa Media Review
 African Journal of International Affairs
 African Sociological Review
 Afro-Arab Selections for Social Sciences

For more information on publications CODESRIA see «» section.

How can my work be published by CODESRIA?

To submit an article for publication in a CODESRIA journal or to propose a book manuscript, you should send the document electronically to the Publications Program. Following an initial internal assessment, the manuscript will be evaluated by two or three external evaluators belonging to the social science research community and if the assessment is positive, the piece will be published in the appropriate journal or the manuscript will be published as a book or monograph. See the .

Where can I buy CODESRIA publications?

CODESRIA is one of the largest scientific publishers in Africa. These publications are available at the CODESRIA library located in the CODESRIA headquarters in Dakar (Senegal). They are also available in most major bookstores in Africa and in the rest of the world. Some of CODESRIA’s publications are available in print on demand from African Books Collective (http://www.africanbookscollective.com/) around the world. For further information on CODESRIA publications see the «» section.

How can I buy a publication of CODESRIA?

CODESRIA publications may be purchased:

1) In Senegal

 the CODESRIA bookshop library against payment in cash or by check
 In bookstores group ClairAfrique, Dakar

2) In the rest of Africa

 In Cameroon: CLE Bookstore
 In Uganda: Library of the University of Makerere
 In Nigeria: Mosuro Booksellers

3) In the rest of the world

On the site http://www.africanbookscollective.com/

Are CODESRIA publications available online?

Articles published in recent issues of CODESRIA journals are generally available in full text on the site of CODESRIA in the section. The archives of older issues are now partially available. A series of monographs in full text are also available under the section.

How to become a distributor of CODESRIA publications?

All distributors of CODESRIA publications must sign a contract stipulating their rights and duties. If you want to become a distributor of CODESRIA publications, please send a request to the following address: .

Can one reproduce all or part of a CODESRIA publication?

If you want to reproduce all or part of a CODESRIA publication, please ask for authorisation by sending a request to the following address: .

How can one access CODESRIA’s library?

What are the opening hours and days of the CODESRIA library?

The reading room of the CODESRIA Center for Documentation and Information (CODICE) is open to external users on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9.00 to 16.30. However, it is open daily for academics and researchers involved in CODESRIA activities.

Can I borrow documents belonging to the CODESRIA library?

The library does not loan service but it is possible to photocopy the documents within the limits permitted by copyright rules.

Can one photocopy the documents belonging to the CODESRIA library?

The library does not provide photocopy service but it is possible to reproduce materials within the limits permitted by copyright rules.

What are the conditions of access to CODESRIA library?

The CODESRIA library is open to all persons depending on the number of places available. However, external users are urged to make prior reservations in order to assured of access to the library due to limitations of space.

How does one consult the catalog of the CODESRIA library?

The Catalog of the CODESRIA Center for Documentation and Information (CODICE) is available online at the following address: http://www.codesria.sn/. However, it is also possible to ask for search information by coming to the library or submitting your request by writing to the following address: .

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