Since its introduction in 2014, the DR program has gone through three phases of development: The pilot phase, the proof-of-concept phase and the scale-up phase.
1. Doing Research Pilot
The Doing Research pilot was the first phase (2014 - 2016), which aimed to characterize, describe, and, whenever possible, measure the most relevant features of the research environment across 11 countries:
Africa: Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, South Africa
Latin America: Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru
Asia: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia
Covering a diverse sample of countries in very different contexts, and using varied research methodologies, the pilot provided rich qualitative information on the complex nature of research environments. The DR Pilot was implemented by GDN between April 2014 and April 2016 and generously supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
Find more about the Doing Research Pilot stage | Read their case studies’ reports | Read the Pilot Phase Synthesis | Read independent Evaluation Report.
2. Doing Research Proof of Concept
In 2017, GDN summarized the 11-country-level studies undertaken in the pilot phase and developed a standard methodology called the Doing Research Assessment (DRA) to study social science research systems in developing countries. In 2018, GDN decided to root the implementation of the methodology in the work of national institutions interested in the topic, supporting at the same time the emergence of a network of research centres around the Global South. The DRAs in Bolivia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Nigeria were implemented from January 2018 to December 2020, with funding from GDN and IDRC (for Myanmar). GDN ensured that results were locally relevant, actionable and comparable.
Find more about the Doing Research Proof of Concept stage | Read about the Proof-of-Concept kick-off workshop
The DR Assessments in these countries have shown a strong demand for the knowledge the program generates, from the national and the international level.
3. Doing Research Scale-Up
With the standard DRA methodology, GDN is now scaling up the Doing Research program to entire regions or groups of countries (LDCs, fragile countries). This phase started with a DRA in El Salvador (2021) and a preliminary effort to make sense of the state of science and technology in Venezuela (in partnership with IDRC). Find more about the Doing Research Scale-Up stage. Read the Doing Research in Venezuela report (English | Spanish) a preliminary study of the state of the country's research system that draws on interviews and desk research.
Between 2022-2024, the DRA is being implemented in five Francophone Africa countries - Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, and Mali.
To support this work, please write to Daniel Fussy.