Social Science Research Council

Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA)
AISA is an independent research organisation and think-tank, focusing on Africa in its research, publications and resource library. The Institute has built a solid reputation over 40 years, combining in-depth analysis and research with topicality and policy relevance.

African Association of Political Science (AAPS)
The African Association of Political Science is a pan-African organisation of scholars whose mandate is to promote the study and application of political science in and about Africa.

African Centre for Development & Strategic Studies (ACDESS)
The African Centre for Development and Strategic Studies is a non-governmental, independent, non-profit making centre for studies, research and advisory services relating to Africa's political, economic, social and cultural development. It undertakes proactive policy-oriented research and strategic studies of critical issues on security, stability, cooperation and development in a regional and global context.

The African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
The African Economic Research Consortium, established in 1988, is a public not-for-profit organization devoted to advanced policy research and training in economics. The principal objective is to strengthen local capacity for conducting independent, rigorous inquiry into problems pertinent to the management of economies in sub-Saharan Africa.

African Gender Institute (AGI)
AGI, based at the University of Cape Town, seeks to build intellectual capacity and establish an African resource dedicated to strengthening and advancing the work of intellectuals, researchers, policy-makers and practitioners committed to the attainment of gender equity.

African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP)
The primary mission of IDEP is to assist policymakers and other stakeholders in enhancing their skills in the areas of policymaking, long-term perspective planning and institutional and regulatory reforms as well as facilitate the emergence of policy ideas and consensus positions in Africa. Through its research programme, IDEP seeks to create a new body of knowledge and to act as an interface between research and policymaking communities.

Centre for Advanced Studies of African Societies (CASAS)
The Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society, established in 1997, has been conceived as a Pan-African centre for creating research networks in Africa and its Diaspora. CASAS undertakes the supervision, coordination and management of research work focusing on the economic, social, historical, political and cultural aspects of the development problematique in Africa.

Centre for Basic Research
To generate and disseminate knowledge by conducting basic and applied research of social, economic and political significance to Uganda in particular and Africa in general, so as to influence policy, raise consciousness and improve quality of life.

Centre for Policy Studies (CPS)
CPS is an independent policy research institution, committed to producing original and thought-provoking research on South Africa's, and the rest of Africa's, policies, governance, and democratisation challenges.

Comparative Research Programme on Poverty (CROP)
CROP is an international NGO initiated by the International Social Science Council (ISSC) organised around an extensive international and multi-disciplinary research network, which is open to all poverty researchers and others interested in a scientific approach to poverty.

Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA)
The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa is a Pan-African research organisation with a primary focus on the social sciences, broadly defined. It is recognised not only as the pioneer African social research organisation but also as the apex non-governmental centre of social knowledge production on the continent.

Development Innovation & Networks (IRED)
To create together with organisations dedicated to social economic and political change a vibrant movement to leverage change based on the analysis and proposals generated by the people at local, regional and global levels.

Development Policy Research Unit (DPRU)
The Development Policy Research Unit is part of the School of Economics at the University of Cape Town. We conduct research in the fields of labour markets, poverty and inequality. Their mission is to undertake internationally recognised research that contributes to the quality and scope of public policy for industrial development in South and Southern Africa.

Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF)
The Economic and Social Research Foundation was established in 1994 as an independent, not-for-profit institution for research and policy analysis. The primary objectives of the Foundation are to strengthen capabilities in policy analysis and development management and to enhance the understanding of policy options in the government, the public sector, civil society, and the donor community and the growing private sector.

Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa (HSRC)
The HSRC supports development in South Africa, and in Africa, by conducting applied social-scientific research projects and coordinating research programmes that are large-scale, collaborative, policy-relevant, user-driven and public sector-oriented.

Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR)
The Institute of Policy Analysis and Research was established in 1994 as an independent, indigenous and non-partisan private organisation. It is a non-profit body whose primary goal is to pursue quality research-based public policy analysis and to generate non-partisan discussion focused on Kenya and the region.

Institute for Security Studies (ISS)
ISS' mission is to conceptualise, inform and enhance the security debate in Africa through independent applied research and analysis, facilitating and supporting policy formulation, and other capacity-building activities.

International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
IDRC is a Canadian public corporation that works in close collaboration with researchers from the developing world in their search for the means to build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies.

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
IISD contributes to sustainable development by advancing policy recommendations on international trade and investment, economic policy, climate change, measurement and indicators, and natural resources management. By using Internet communications, we report on international negotiations and broker knowledge gained through collaborative projects with global partners, resulting in more rigorous research, capacity building in developing countries and better dialogue between North and South.

Institute for Development Research (IDR) of Addis Ababa University
The Institute of Development Research is a pioneer development research institute in Ethiopia, and has been carrying out and promoting development research, teaching and research in social sciences since its establishment in 1972. The research priorities of IDR have always been made to reflect the development priorities of the country. The focal research area of the Institute has been Rural Development.

InterAction-Africa Liaison Project (ALPI)
InterAction's Africa Liaison Program Initiative is a continuous dialogue among three key groups of development stakeholders aimed at achieving mutual understanding and more effective collaboration in their development efforts. ALPI brings together representatives of African NGOs, US PVOs, and USAID to discuss the challenges they face in working towards sustainable development and to identify opportunities that might overcome such difficulties.

Journal of Social Development in Africa
The Journal of Social Development in Africa publishes analyses of social development issues as they affect the poor and marginalized. It deals especially with concerns relevant to sub Saharan Africa and is addressed to development and social workers, planners, policymakers and academics in a variety of fields.

Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) Southern Africa
LEAD's mission is to create, strengthen and support networks of people and institutions promoting change towards sustainable development through capacity development and strategic, outcome-oriented activities consisting of policy, research, action-on-the-ground, communication and training.

National Research Foundation (NRF)
The objective of the National Research Foundation is to support and promote research through funding, human resource development, and the provision of the necessary research facilities, in order to facilitate the creation of knowledge, innovation and development in all fields of science and technology.

The National Summit on Africa
The mission of The Africa Society, a direct outgrowth of the National Summit on Africa, is to educate all Americans about Africa and its people, to build bridges of understanding and partnership, and to facilitate the Continent's social development and political transition to more open, democratic societies.

Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA)
The Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa is a regional research and capacity-building organization founded in 1980 whose main objective is to encourage and promote research in the region.

Pan African Anthropological Association (PAAA)
The PAAA is a professional association whose primary goal is to facilitate the development of anthropological capacity and to promote excellence in the context of Africa's development.

Point Sud Center for Research on Local Knowledge
Point Sud (South), Center for Research on Local Knowledge, is an international, autonomous research institution based in Mali that focuses on developing a new mode of interaction among countries of the so-called "South" and between these countries and the "North". Point Sud mobilizes resources in order to carry out research projects and educate graduate students from around the world working towards this objective.

The Secretariat for Institutional Support for Economic Research in Africa (SISERA)
A multi-donor structure created in July 1997, with a mission to reinforce African centre capacity in research and management through core institutional grants, support to collaborative thematic research, enhancement of managerial capacity building and centre integration in international scientific community through institutional links and exchange of researchers and connectivity.

Social Sciences and Medicine in Africa Network (SOMANET)
Activities of SOMANET include advocacy, transdisciplinary research, and capacity building in social science approaches to health.

Southern Africa Political Economy Series (SAPES)
The organisation's mission is to promote the growth of regional scholarship and publications, public debate and policy dialogue on critical political and socio-economic problems which affect the SADC region. The Trust has engaged in a wide range of research activities, an ambitious publications programme, and training in policy formulation and analysis.

Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC)
SARDC seeks to improve the base of knowledge about regional economic, political, cultural and social developments by making information accessible to policy makers, NGOs, the private sector, development agencies and the media, in the region and internationally.

West African Research Association (WARA)
The West African Research Association was founded in 1989 for the purpose of promoting scholarly exchange and collaboration between American and West African researchers and institutions. The principal objectives of WARA are: to provide American and West African scholars access to research resources and expand research opportunities; to create a point of contact for American and West African researchers, allowing the intersection of their respective research traditions; to facilitate collaborative research efforts, projects, and conferences; to reinforce institutions on both sides of the Atlantic; to supplement sources of documentation about the region; to award fellowships to both American and West African scholars; and to disseminate information on West Africa-related research.

West African Research Center (WARC)
The West African Research Center is the overseas research center for The West African Research Association (WARA). It is located in Dakar, Senegal. WARC is a center for academic exchange between American and West African scholars that encourages research on the region of West Africa. The idea for the overseas center came about in May 1992 and was implemented in the fall of 1993. Since its inception WARC has grown both in terms of staff and influence as it continues to connect researchers in the USA with researchers in the region of West Africa interested in common issues.