African Research and Resource Forum (ARRF)
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African Research and Resource Forum (ARRF)
P.0 Box 57103-00200, City Square
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: 254-020-3002721/630457/630586
E-mail: admin@arrforum.org
Website: http://www.arrforum.org
Prof. Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, Director
George Ochieng, Programme Coordinator
Description
The African Research and Resource Forum (ARRF) established in 2002 as a research, data resource, reflection and policy debate institution is devoted to resolution of governance and development issues confronting policy-makers and societies in Africa. It links scholars, researchers, opinion leaders and public service functionaries to interact and share ideas. The Forum also facilitates the evolution of a regional community of scholars, activists and institutions, with a shared interest in resolving Inter-African development problems. ARRF intends to play a major role in supporting efforts to integrate African economies, protecting Africa’s resources and promoting governance structures conducive to political stability in culturally diverse societies that often cut across borders.
To achieve its objectives, the organization currently focuses on five Key Result Areas (KRAs). First, it effects policy dialogue and public interface on Eastern African regional development issues that would involve the EAC, IGAD (and other inter-state bodies), the private sector, civil society, the press and national governments. The Forum also carries out networking activities bringing together national policy analysis efforts that have a regional bearing, presently being conducted by nationally focused institutes. This will be accomplished through competitive sabbatical fellowships, study tours, research papers and consultancies targeting the gaps in knowledge left by the one-territory approach to development problem-solving. The organization also publishes and disseminates a publication called “New Path” a political-economy journal dealing with topical African issues and knowledge-sharing activities based on harvesting existing knowledge, new web-based database on regional development in East Africa. This will be supplemented by a limited acquisition of hard-copy materials, books and journals and ICT policy briefs generated by ARRF staff.
The Forum seeks funding from donor and partner organizations. These include the Ford Foundation, Heinrich Boell Foundation, Hanns Seidel Foundation, International Development Research Centre, the African Academy of Sciences, the Bassey Andah Foundation and the QPMP.
Track Record
Though relatively new, the ARRF has been associated with numerous achievements. The organization has conducted vigorous high-level policy dialogue seminars on issues germane to good governance and regional development as well as conflict management.
It has also organized two regional conferences on the ‘Search for Peace in Sudan’ and ‘Peace and Security in the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region’ respectively. The Forum jointly with the Government of South Sudan (GOSS), organized the regional workshop on ‘Building a Prosperous Society in Southern Sudan in the Post-Conflict Period’. It also convened an African scholars’ meeting in honour of Prof. Issa Shivji of the University of Dar es Salaam in Nairobi. These public discourse fora have been very helpful in sharing knowledge and experiences between experts in different fields.
The Forum has published the following books: Building Blocks for Peace in the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region, Winning the Peace and Starting Reconstruction in South Sudan, The Context of Privatization in Kenya, Constitution making in Kenya, The Political Economy of Corruption in Kenya, Electoral Systems in Kenya and Building a Peaceful and Prosperous Society in South Sudan in the Post-Conflict Period.
Challenges
The major challenge facing ARRF is its total dependence on donor funds for the Forum’s activities and its existence. ARRF stresses that donor dependence could result in loss of internal autonomy in agenda ownership as well as consistent focus on its vision and mission.
The organization also struggles with human and institutional capacity challenges such as inadequate secretariat staffing. This is prompted by the meagre donor funds which are channelled to core project activities. Besides, one-off funding is a constraint to program implementation which contributes to an unstable financial base.
The staff gap mentioned above cannot be filled by the reputable Board members who are otherwise heavily engaged elsewhere.
Opportunities
Despite the positive developments in peace making in the greater horn of Africa (Southern Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia), its far from being fully realized. It will need the involvement of leading research institutes, intellectuals, scholars and women actors to have a positive and lasting impact. Kenya’s role as a peace broker presents continued opportunities for ARRF to research and engage experts in dialogue on the way forward.
Continous demand for democratization, and the accelerated rate of regional economic integration and movements of people across borders is creating a regional ethic that demands analysis, and new opportunities for ARRF to venture into. This can be achieved with support from the Foundations working in the area of democratization, peace and conflict, human rights and research as indicated in the donor topology table.
This could be facilitated by the secretariat based in Nairobi which is the region’s metropolis; it has a concentration of regional and international organizations and is the preferred meeting place for diverse groups of scholars and practitioners in the region. Besides, Nairobi is the media centre for the region, and is therefore ideal for dissemination of forum events and news.
