• Research Methodology Institute  
• OSSREA Professorship in Social Anthropology  
• OSSREA Documentation Center (ODC)  
• Distinguished Visiting Scholars Program  

The Research Support Activities include the trainings given by OSSREA's Research Methodology Institute, support for centers of excellence under OSSREA Professorship in Social Anthropology, the library services given by the OSSREA Documentation Center, and the Visiting Scholars Program that aims to facilitate experience-sharing by senior scholars. 

Research Methodology Institute

OSSREA recognises the need for upgrading the research skills of its members so as to build the teaching and research capacity of the institutions in Eastern and Southern African countries where it has its chapters. To this end, OSSREA’s Research Methodology Institute has started offering short-term training in social science research methodology. The training focuses on emerging thinking in social science research, ethical issues in social science research, mainstreaming gender and environmental issues, developing research proposals, choosing study approaches and designs, planning and managing social science research and writing a research report. 

Major Objective

The major objective of the training program is to upgrade the research skills of its members so as to build the teaching and research capacity of the institutions in Eastern and Southern African countries. 

Specific objectives

•       Expose researchers to skills specific to particular methodologies, e.g. quantitative and qualitative approaches;

•       Expose researchers to analytical skills needed to evaluate policies; analyse and assess research orientations, strategies and diffusion; evaluate programmes and projects;

•       Expose researchers to computer skills in research;

•       Expose researchers to training in methods relevant to issues such as environment and development, and gender sensitive research. 

The Role of OSSREA

•       OSSREA disseminates the announcement for applications through its website, newsletter, posters and brochures. The posters and brochures are distributed through the liaison officers of OSSREA located in various universities in eastern and southern Africa. 

•       A jury will examine the applications and select successful candidates. Priority is given to applicants based in educational and research institutions. OSSREA usually covers the cost of training for such successful candidates. Other eligible candidates can be asked to find sponsors and pay for the training cost. The training cost ranges from 1500-2000 USD.  The resource persons for the training are recruited by OSSREA.  

•       To date OSSREA has hosted five training programmes in Addis Ababa and one training program each in Nairobi, Kenya and Cape Town, South Africa.  

•       The training is mainly based on the three social science research methodology modules developed by OSSREA. The modules deal with issues in social science research, qualitative research process and quantitative research process. 

•       OSSREA prepares and gives certificates of attendance to the trainees at the end of the training. The duration of the training is usually about 2 weeks. 

•       The announcements for the sixth training have been distributed and the training is expected to take place in October 2005. 

Current Status:

     The announcements for the training in October 2005 have been dispatched through its OSSREA website, bulletin, posters and brochures. 

Contact Person and Address:   

           Enemanachew Yimamu, Senior Program Officer
           Email: ossrea@ethionet.et
           Fax 251-1-223921
           Tel 251 1 239484
           P. O. Box 31971, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

OSSREA Professorship in Social Anthropology

Development of teaching and research capacity at Addis Ababa University in the field of social anthropology, and the implementation of field research projects in Ethiopia.

Participating Institution/Country

The Chr. Michelsen Institute (Bergen, Norway) provides the fund while Addis Ababa University offers the Master’s degree in social anthropology which benefits from support under the Professorship Programme.

OSSREA’s Role

Provides the necessary scientific and administrative personnel for the implementation of the project. 

OSSREA Documentation Center (ODC)

Objectives

·      To create a data bank that will provide useful information to universities and research centers in the region

·      To collect, preserve, and make accessible to researchers African archives

·      To collect and make available to members, researchers and other users scientific and up-to-date literature and other relevant materials in the social sciences, especially those related to the region

·      To provide users with reference materials

·      To document and facilitate OSSREA’s workshop and training activities

·      To provide a reading room to all eligible users.

The ODC is housed on the first floor of the OSSREA Secretariat building in Addis Ababa. By March 2002, it has collected a total of 1768 publications and documents, including books, journals and other periodicals, directories and reference materials, research reports, working papers, official documents, workshop and conference papers and miscellanea. These materials are acquired through regular subscriptions and orders, donations, and exchange arrangements made with other research and academic institutions.

The subject classification and cataloguing of all new collections are regularly carried out using CDS/ISIS software. Users have easy access to the computer for searching the materials in the ODC’s holdings, for internet access, and for taking notes. In addition, the ODC also has an audio-visual facility for looking at and/or listening to tape/video recordings of documentaries or the proceedings of OSSREA workshops and other events.

Eligible users of the ODC include OSSREA members, researchers with official certification or ID, post-graduate students, university teachers, OSSREA trainees, workshop participants, and other accredited scholars and visitors. Through each issue of the OSSREA Newsletter, the ODC regularly informs the university community and other users about its new acquisitions. 

Distinguished Visiting Scholars Program

Objectives

·       To create a network of actual contacts between distinguished scholars in the universities in the region;

·      To give African scholars the opportunity to debate their new ideas with colleagues, students and decision makers in various countries before committing them to publication, which most cases takes place outside the region and does not alleviate the book famine back home;

·      To allow some young scholars from the North to benefit from such an exchange programme and give maturity to their own thoughts while encouraging their African audience to do likewise through organised debates;

·      To ensure that topical issues such as empowerment of the people, democracy from the grassroots, Africa’s place in the new economic order, issue of ethnicity, gender and regional conflicts, environmental crisis, the place of indigenous knowledge in present production systems and an African agenda beyond year 2000 will be the areas of concentration of the first two years programme;

·      To use the opportunity of such a visit to start building a network of researchers around one or more of the above mentioned topics

·      To publish a number of the public lectures in this programme in OSSREA’s Occasional Paper Series.