ON THE CIRCUIT IN A.A. LAQUIAN

Dr AA Laquian, former Associate Director of IDRC’S Social S~ien~?s Division, days. Myappointmenttoajobwithsuch spent two years based in Nairobi directing a project aimed at contnbuting to the an unlikely name best typifies the IDRC development of young social scientists and research institutions in East Africa style of technical assistance. In Nai- In this article he gives us a persona/ account of those two years and provides a robi, peoplewere hard puttofigureout candid overviewof the state of socialscience research in the region as wellas of what a Filipino, who had been trained the most pressing needs. in the United States, was doing as a Dr Laquian is presently teaching at the Universityof the Philippines in Mani/a “circuit ride?’ in Africa, supported by a Canadian agency. The answer was in thess~~‘sobjective-“tocontributeto ambo!Thecheerful noteofthe wives. and sianalled his willinqness to the development of younger Social universal East African answér quesiions. scientists in East Africa.” broke the morning chill around a Another IDRC project was launched TO achieve the SSDP’S goal, I was thom enclosure housing a Sam in East Africa. given rather broad authority: I could buru‘famiiy deep in ’s northem I was the “person from a fOreign recommend small research grants for frontier. country,” and as director of the Social youngscholars,supportseminarsand An answering jambo from a hut with- Sciences Development Project (SS@ conferences, fund publication and dis- in the enclosure. A man came Out, in East Africa, my task was to encour- semination of research results, donate wrapped in an orange robe, a business- age social science research in the books and equipment, teach courses like knobkerriediscreetlytucked in its region. The research projects caver and give lectures, and lead Young fol&. A Samburu guide quickly in- such varied subjects as the changing social scient& in field research studies. formed the man that a person from a role of women among seminomadic The first two years of the prOjeCt were foreign country wanted to talk to him. tribes in Kenya, the impact of urban- experimental. The IDRCdid not want to His long explanation was met with ization on former pastoralists in the corne to East Africa with preconceived stony silence. The guide explained newTanzanian capital of Dodoma, the notions of what had to be done to help that the foreignerwas doing a research impact of World Bank sites and ser- develop the social sciences. project on living conditions of the Sam- vices projects in squatter areas of buru. More silence, tinged with SUS- Lusaka, and the implementation of the FLYING THE CIRCUIT picion. The guide offered the man a tribal grazing lands policyin Botswana. The2-yearperiod betweenJunel977 pinch of tobacco. He handed candies SO varied and far-flung were the to July 1979 was not a particularly to half a dozen children who had shyly projects supported under SSDP that I auspicious time to be circuit riding in gathered around. The Samburu in the eamed the name”circuit rider”, a term East Africa. The week I arrived in Nai- orange robe smiled, made himself com borrowed from travelling pastors and robi, East African Airways was dis- fortable bythefiretended byoneof his judges common in America’s pioncer banded. Soon after, the East African Community composed of Kenya, Tan- zania, and Ugandawas dissolved, and the border between Kenya and Tan- zania was closed. The Ugandan border was open, but stories of atrocities were enough to discourage anyone from going in. Ethiopia and Somalis were embroiled in awarovertheogaden. In Southern Africa, punitive raids were launched by Rhodesian forces deep inside Zambian territory. Finally, Tan- zanian and exiled Ugandan forces in- vaded Uganda and overthrew Idi Amin. The climate for social science re- search in East Africa was also not conducive to development In relatively progressive countries like Kenya and Tanzania, more than two decades of local univetsityand international training had created a bodyof social scientists with the skills to do research. Even here, however, scholars found them- selvestoo involved in teaching, admin- istration, and consultancies todo much research. Conditions were much worse in the small landlocked countries of Southern Africa. There, expatriates often madeup70 percentofuniversityfacul- The redevance fo reaiify and the cuiturai foundations of social soence concepts had to be ties, and while they were involved in demonstrated. research, the results were often pub- 16 lished abroad and not available locally. dents. Often. graduate students were their country therefore, could be turned Most universities saw teaching as innocent of knowledge of even the into an advantage when the resources their primary role. Research was not most basic statistical approachea were available. encouraged. University financial ad- Courses in mathematics, when given, ministration was notgeared to managing stressed make-workexercisesfollowing PIGGYBACKING research funds. International research standardformulas.Theobjectofteaching Thessw with only$25 000 ayearfor funds were also inequitablyallocated. often seemed aimed at passing Cam operations and activities, could onlv Despite these difficulties I was able bridgeschool examinations ratherthan provide modest grants. However, IOR~ to help develop a number of projects. applying mathematics to everyday life. was supporting projects requiring al- Carried out by younger social scien- Teaching research methods therefore mOSt a million dollars in East Africa, on tists, the grants were relatively mode?& required more than showing how cer- such topics as an evaluation of the averaging about $us4000 each. They tain data gathering or data analysis decentralization program of Tanzania, usually involved a senior researcher, techniqueswereused.Theirrelevance a study of rural development in Kenya, assisted by a number of research as- to realityand the cultural foundation of the impacts and effects of sites and sociates and assistants. Projects rarely social science concepts had to. be services projects on former squatters lasted longer than a year. All of them demonstrated as well. and slum dwellers in Zambia, and the required that the younger students be Taking Young researchers out on resettlement of nomads in Somalis. trained in theactual processes offield field trips was nota problem. Theysaw IDRC’S human resources develop- research. it as an exciting safari, a chance to get ment program also provides scholar- Being both personally and profes- out of the drilled lessons of the class- ships for researchers involved in pro- sionally involved in all the projects, I room. Formulatingquestionnairesand jects. In monitoring and managing IDRC gave lectures to researchers, often in interview guides was also no problem, projects, therefore, I was on the look- safari camps around a bonfire, under although linguistic challenges arising out for Young African researchers who the stars. The research seminars were from the manytongues spoken in East could benefit from furthertraining. Thus, held in unlikely places. One session Africa abounded. tnterviewing forced in the sites and services evaluation dealing with correlational analysis linking Young researchers to lose their shy- project in Zambia, the primaryresearcher a Christian education with female cir- ness. Often, it also showed how far and a research associate obtained cumcision and prostitution was held, removed and alienated they had be grantsfortrainingabroad.Anothergrant appropriately enough, in the back room corne from the basic foundations of went to a researcher in Seneaal, to of a bar in northern Kenya. Another enable him to get a postgraduate de session analyzing health statistics that gree in Canada. showed venereal diseases as second An important advantage of project- only to malaria in incidence among related scholarships was that perfor- nomadic pastoralists was held in a mance in the project became a test for Roman Cathoiic mission. an award. I was given ample time to Personallyattending toall thesesmall Y..research skills assess the academic potential of the projects located in a dozen countries researcher in the course of the project. really meant flying the circuit. Jets, cannot be adequately In the case of during-project scholar- buses, Land Revers and sometimes, taught in the ships, the researcher was given the just walking, took me out of Nairobi classroom, unless opportunity to return to the project almost 60 percent of the time. The after the grant, thus directly applying students and researchers who ioined that classroom is this new knowledge. By taking advan- in thefield work, however, learned how the big real world.” tageoftheavailabilityof roacgrants in to do research in the best possible this way, project funds were stretched. way. In a few cases, sswfunds allocated to LEARNING BY DOING augment IORC funds made it possible to pursue training activities that were I believed that research skills cannot not part of the original design. beadequatelytaught in theclassroom, unless that classroom is the big real their culture. University students in PUBLICATION SUPPORT world. I taught a graduate course in most East African countries usually No one cari accuse East African research at the University of Nairobi, corne from middle and upper income researchers of being engaged in the buteveryopportunitywastakentotake groups and thus they often found it “publish orperish” race. Scholarlypub students on field work Otherresearchers difficult to adjust to the lack of com- lications by indigenous researchers supported by SSDPwere also encour- forts in the field. Some had also devel- are few and far between. Academic aged to do the same. oped attitudes of superiority, which journals tend to be dominated by ex- Research traditions in East Africa pastoralists and villagers quickly patriate authors. Publications also tend have primarily been set by Europeans sensed, thus creating some difficulties. to be quite expensive, out of the reach interested in ethnography, anthropology, Happily, there are a numberoftrained of the average student. history, and linguistics. Many African African researchers who could take Matters becameworse in East Africa researchers, for example, are studying the time to help train younger re- with the collapse of the East African such topics as the historical back- searchers underapprenticeshiparrange Literature Bureau (EALE) in 1977. The ground of Arabie influence on the coasf ments. These researchers were given EALB,withthesupportofthenowdefunct the spread of Swahili into the interior, SSDPgrants that enabled them to pur- East African Community, published the the ceremonial uses of royal poetry sue their research interests. Part of the worksof African scholarsandsubsidized among the Bemba, the deciphering of deal was that they would take Young the publication of some 20 iournals. aboriginal rock paintings in caves indigenous researchers under their Commercial publishers have net been around Kondoa, orthe practice of poly wing and show them research tech- able to carry on the work of the EALB as gamy and bride wealth among the nc- niques. In afewcases, the researchers no publicsubsidiesareavailable. Kenya madic Pokots. The techniques favoured were interested expatriates, in others, and Tanzania have created govern- are participant observation orgathering they were nationals of Afncan coun- ment presses, but their work is pri- of oral histories. The use of social tries other than the place where the marily geared to publishing school surveys, quantitative techniques, and studies were conducted. Thus, a few texts. Scholarly publications in East statistical analysis are often considered Ugandan professors living in exile be Africa, therefore, have been largely inappropriate, if not inelevant. came primary researchers in SSDPpro ignored in the past two years. Teaching quantitative methods in jects in Botswana, Tanzania, and Zam- With its meagre resources, the SSDP research was also hindered by the bia. Even a national tragedy such as tried to support some publications. poor mathematics background of stu- the exodus of trained Ugandans from Assistance ranged from making it pos- 17 Local researchers need to be nurtured and trained, supported in their common efforts by associations or networks. sible for authors to bave their manu- needs a peer group against which influence the pattern of IDRCassistance scripts typed, to subsidizing journals ideas cari be tested. Without this group, in the reaion. and books. A particularly critical need a scientist might be tempted to look to First, it became quite apparent that in East Africa is textbooks in various an international audience for work small research projects that directly social sciences, as well as on research evaluation. Burdened with myriad local respond to the research interests of methodology. Thus, a small grant made duties and isolated from the trends of African researchers are more effective it possiblefora numberof economists international social science, the local than large projects requiring research at the University of Nairobi to Write a researcher might lose interest. management capabilities from local textbook on economics. The grant, for Since 1975, an informa1 group of institutions. Such small grants are par- advance orders for the book, covered Young social scientists has been ac- ticularly effective when they augment part of the printing cost and thus en- tive in East Africa under the name of local resources already committed to abled the publisher to sel1 the book at East African Social Sciences Research research. 40 percent less than the commercial Coordinating Group (EASSRCG).They Second, research training is much price. bave no constitution, no formal set of needed in East Africa. The most effec- Support for publications by SSDP officers, but each year, somehow, they tivewayof learning howtodo research hardly scratches the surface and more are able to hold a seminarwhere papers is by actually doing it. An apprentice funds are needed. There is a critical are presented, criticized and repro ship approach that allows younger need to support social science jour- duced fordissemination. ~o~csuppor?ed researchers to work closely with ex- nais that cari carry the works of indige a number of these seminars. perienced scholars is an excellentway nous researchers. There is a need for Again, the efforts of SSDP are small of combining research with teaching. textbooks,andthosepublished in given the vast need for regional assc- Third, despite the fact that interna- and America may claim to caver “ut%- ciations and networks in East Africa. It tional donor agencies bave been as- versa1 principles”, but the subjects they has been observed that it is often sisting the social sciences in East caver and examples they use are alien much easierforan African social scien- Africa in the past couple of decades, and inapplicable to East Africa. There tist to write and present a paper for an there is still a need for scholarships is also a need for well-written. popu- American or European audience than and training opportunities. Trained Afri- larized versions of research results for to do this in his own country Funds do cari researchers are in great demand policy makers and laymen. Without a seem more abundant for the former. for administrative and teaching jobs. vigorous publication program, itwill be The need, however, is right in the region. Their numbers must be augmented if extremely difficult to maintain the in- research is to be done in a continued terest of scholars in social science EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH way. research. The “circuit rider” project was an Fourth, publication and dissemina- experimental venture, launched by IDRC tion of research results is badly needed. SOCIEN OF PEERS tofind an Innovativewayof enhancing Textbooks by local authors using in- Another activity pursued during the the development of the social sciences digenous cases and examples are re- project was the formation and encour- in East Africa. A number of things quired. Journals bave to be supported, agement of social science associa- learned during the two years the pro- and well-written popular reports for tions and “networks”. A social scientist ject was in operation could possibly policymakers and laymen should be published to create a wider audience for social science research. Fifth, if social science as a career 1s to be pursued by dedicated individuals in East Africa, there is a need for associations and networks to support common efforts.There may be political difficulties and linguistic problems at- tached to regional groupings, and tra- vel and communication might hinder theirformation.Thesedifficulties. how- ever, only serve to highlight the need for collaborative efforts. Finally, the SSDP experience shows that encouraging the development of the social sciences in East Africa is a labour-intensive effort. Unlike Asia or Latin America where there are many trained researchers, donor agencies in East Africa cannot hope to recelve research proposals from indigenous researchers. evaluate them, sign the agreement, and then receive research esults. For some time to corne local researchers Will need to be nurtured and trained. 0

Stuches on fhe impact of seffiement schemes, such as fhis one in Botswana weie the training grounds for younger researchers. 18