Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC)

From TrustAfrica wiki - African Regional Organizations

Phyllis Johnson
Executive Director, Founding Director
15 Downie Avenue, Belgravia
Box 5690, Harare, Zimbabwe
Tel: 263 4 791141/ 791143
Fax: 263 4 791271
Email: pjohnson@sardc.net / sardc@sardc.net
Website: http://www.sardc.net

Centro de Documentação e Pesquisa para a África Austral
Rua Afonso Henriques
141 Maputo, Moçambique
Tel (258-1) 490831
Fax (258-1) 491178
Email sardc@maputo.sardc.net
Website: http://www.sardc.net

Description

SARDC is an independent regional information resource center, established in 1987, to enhance the effectiveness of key development processes in the SADC region through the collection, production and dissemination of information and enabling the capacity to generate and use information. Its objective is to improve the knowledge base on economic, political, cultural and social development and their implications by making information accessible to governments and policy makers, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, regional and international organizations, development agencies, parliaments and media. SARDC has been working in Southern Africa since 1987. SARDC focuses on five programmatic themes:

• Environment and Water Resources
• Gender
• Democracy and Governance
• Regional Economic Development; and,
• Human Development

These focal points are pursued in partnership with other institutions including the Southern African Development Community (SADC) secretariat and sectors, IUCN-The World Conservation Union, United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and networks of national partners in SADC member states.

Being a research and documentation centre, SARDC generates reliable and accessible information that is relevant to the SADC region. This involves a process of participation, networking, wide consultation and ownership. The information is then disbursed through a system of targeted dissemination, reaching into national, regional and global policy processes.

With more than 15 years of institutional experience in documenting, analyzing and communicating trends in regional development, in publishing and distributing the results and monitoring impact, as well as recognized financial accountability, SARDC has considerable institutional capacity to enrich the information starved Africa. SARDC has a range of qualified staff from the SADC region and an extensive network of partner organizations and contacts. It has the language capacity in English and Portuguese. SARDC has been running its programs in collaboration with a number of key partners who have supported it financially and technically, as well as cooperated jointly on some projects. Most of the support has however come from the SADC secretariat. Other partners include UNDP, National Institute of Statistics and Eduardo Mondlane University, USAID, IPS, SABA, Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), UNEP, BTC, and IUCN.

Track Record

SARDC runs an information resource centre containing over 12,000 subject files on regional issues, a library of books and periodicals, and computerized databases in WIN-ISIS; and is adding a ‘virtual library’ of internet access to its resources. These facilities benefit policy planners, researchers, diplomats, journalists, and others interested in regional matters.

SARDC also established the India Musokotwane Environment Resource Centre for Southern Africa (IMERCSA) as an independent institution involved in the collection, analysis and dissemination of information about the Southern African region. The Centre has offices in Harare, Maputo and Dar es Salaam all established in 1994. IMERCSA has bibliographic databases with more than 6,000 records on the environment and disaster management issues. Its database of contacts, which list individual experts and organizations involved in environment and disaster management issues in the SADC region, have a total of 2,600 entries.

Challenges

Mozambique is being marketed as a developing country with economic potential, and with opportunities for trade and investment by SARDC Maputo. This is done by circulating regional and national information on socio-economic conditions in Mozambique through its publications. As already indicated SARDC runs an information resource centre and plans to establish a ‘virtual library’ of internet access to its resources. But its utility is dependent on establishing a reading culture within the populace and the institutions, therefore having access to internet for the information to be accessed widely and utilized for development is very important and necessary.

Opportunities

SADC member countries have a chance to showcase themselves in terms of democratic development, tourism, agriculture, etc. through the various publications of SARDC and its resource centres. There is also an opportunity to transform IMERSCA into an institution that carries out primary research on the environment and responds to the demands of the users.