Business & Management
ECRLF Helping to Co-create the Future of African Academic Leadership
Makerere University in partnership with University of Pretoria on 14th September 2021 hosted the Future Africa’s Early Career Research Leader Fellowship (ECRLF) Dissemination Workshop in the Central Teaching Facility 2 (CTF 2) Auditorium and virtually. ECRLF’s aim is to offer an opportunity for development of research leaders who will be able to fill a critical gap in the African research capacity ecosystem. This fellowship program is offered by the University of Pretoria with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
The Principal Investigator (PI) of the ECRLF program at Makerere University and Lecturer in the Department of Population Studies, Dr. John A. Mushomi, thanked Future Africa for the first-of-its-kind fellowship accorded to young African academics.
“We are used to taking leave from academia at a much later time in life, where we have professors taking their sabbaticals, but within five years of finishing my doctorate, I was given an opportunity to spend two years at the University of Pretoria and interact with academics from across different disciplines and universities in Africa” explained Dr. Mushomi.
In this respect, he thanked the Carnegie Corporation of New York for sponsoring the ECRLF and the University of Pretoria for hosting the fellowship. He equally thanked Dr. Cori Wielenga from the University of Pretoria for the mentorship accorded to him during the fellowship.
“We had the opportunity to interact with fifteen researchers from different disciplines and spent time learning and training together, and we have not been the same since. We were not just invited to participate but to also co-create what we think is the future of African academic leadership” added Dr. Mushomi.
Speaking on behalf of Future Africa, Rachel Fischer said, “In particular we see with this conference today our very important objective to work with a transdisciplinary mindset and engagement towards forming partnerships, and to collaborate across various disciplines.”
She added that the shift from physical to virtual and online collaboration is an active endeavour towards breaking down silos within disciplines, partnerships as well as across various countries on the African continent. The outcomes from such partnerships, she noted, would allow all stakeholders to have a peaceful and secure Africa that is stable and fully functional, while ensuring that the values and ideals of Africa are prioritised.
The Dean, School of Statistics and Planning (SSP), Dr. James Wokadala, who was represented by the Head, Department of Population Studies, Dr. Stephen Wandera noted in his remarks that SSP encourages staff to go beyond conducting research and publishing to mentoring students into the next generation of African academics by co-publishing with them.
In line with the workshop he thanked the University of Pretoria for the partnership, noting that “collaboration among African academics helps us to build more comparative studies across the continent, allowing colleagues to learn from each other the best practices and opportunities that can move us forward.”
He congratulated Dr. John Mushomi upon completing his post-doctoral research experience at UP, which culminated into the exciting workshop.
Officially opening the workshop, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs)-DVCAA, Dr. Umar Kakumba applauded the University of Pretoria supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York for the great capacity development for future academia and African leaders. The workshop was based on the theme, History Meets Demography: Multi-Disciplinary Inquiry on Poverty, Resource.
“I applaud the University of Pretoria on this move and demonstrating the great potential that Africa has, especially the academic institutions, in mobilising resources, bringing together the African scholars and giving them an opportunity to explore and forge South-to-South collaboration” remarked Dr. Kakumba.
He added that South-to-South collaborations help to build a solid academia across the continent, enabling them to find solutions to emerging problems of African societies. The DVCAA noted that COVID-19 had brought to light the vulnerability of Africa’s dependence on the global North to solve her fundamental problems as well as the greater role that universities ought to play.
“And we cannot play this role as Universities outside the shadows of partnerships between our institutions, and without building the huge capacity of early career researchers” he observed.
The DVCAA therefore noted that workshop’s theme and its concerns about issues of history and demography were source of great hope, especially given its transdisciplinary nature.
“We are able to dialogue on history and demography and see how we can address issues of poverty in light of our past experiences as well as interrogate the nature of our population and the characteristics that affect our society in various ways” he stated.
In his welcome message, Prof. Cheikh Mbow, Future Africa Director at the University of Pretoria noted that his organization had over the years been holding academic workshops on different topics across different African countries.
“The reason why were are trying to empower the early career scientists is actually to be able to close the loop in terms of availing science in order to package and deliver knowledge to everyone who needs it, particularly the stakeholders.
“Today’s topic is very timely. It’s about poverty in Africa, it’s about resources in Africa, and it’s about mobility in Africa. The poverty line which had come to be stable at some point or decreasing quite slowly over the projected years to come has just suddenly gone into a spike – Africa now has more than 50 million new poor people coming into the statistics of the World Bank” remarked Prof. Mbow.
He concluded by noting that research is not only about hardcore science but looking at all other aspects of life as contributors to knowledge production. “The transdiciplinary theme of the workshop is one of the most important discussions that ECRLF could have.”
The workshop featured four parallel sessions that covered;
- Governance, Security, Peace and Conflict I
- Mining, Resource, Extraction and Policy frameworks
- Global Trends in Interdisciplinary Research and Governance, Security, Peace and Conflict II and
- Education and Development and Resource extraction and Policy frameworks II
During the closing ceremony, Dr. Cori Wielenga on behalf of ECRLF thanked participants for the wonderful conference proceedings as fostered by Dr. Mushomi’s involvement with the University of Pretoria.
“The purpose of this fellowship and its collaboration is to promote interdisciplinary research as well as collaboration between institutions on the continent and in this regard Dr. Mushomi has made excellent use of the fellowship to meet its objectives including through this conference” she elaborated.
The program mentor from UP added that her collaborative work with Dr. Mushomi was particularly in the areas of resources, identity and migration, which remain a challenge to Africa and the entire globe.
Dr. Wielanga thanked Makerere University for supporting the event, and Dr. Mushomi as well as the coordination team for organizing a successful hybrid event. “We do hope that we will be able to meet in person in the near future as we deepen the collaboration between our institutions.”
Addressing participants, the Principal, College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS), Dr. Eria Hisali congratulated Dr. Mushomi upon successfully convening the hybrid workshop and extended his appreciation to the funding partners for supporting both the event and work of early career researchers.
In terms of providing sustainability to the collaboration, Dr. Hisali appealed to all the partners to regard the day’s workshop as a starting point and work towards strengthening their collaborations so that a lot more work can be done in other fields of research.
He equally appealed to the collaborating parties to use the findings generated thus far to engage policy makers, civil society and the private sector under a framework of policy labs, at least once every quarter. The Principal further called for the integration of students into research activities, as a way of creating multiplier effects that can continue to inform policy debates.
“As the College of Business and Mangement Sciences, we commit that out of our small grants research programme, we should be able to take up funding to further studies in some of these areas” concluded Dr. Hisali.
Delivering the closing remarks, the Principal College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS), Dr. Josephine Ahikire noted that interdisciplinarity increases the University’s relevance to society by bringing forth perspectives that enrich the understanding what is at stake in terms of development challenges.
“It is very exciting that we are re-centering history as a key perspective in whatever we do as a university. We know that in the past decade, history had been relegated as a study of the past but actually, history is not just a study of the past, it is the understanding of the totality of humanity for you to be able to actually craft a way forward” Dr. Ahikire explained.
The Principal noted that resource conflicts and contestations are at the heart of human existence. As such, she opined that issues such as citizenship, tribe and nation were very important and the workshop had commendably provided a space where early career researchers can try to provide answers to questions of the time on the African continent.
“A research-led university is one where the people engage intellectually. These engagements improve the academic environment for staff as well as students” she concluded.
The abstracts and presentations from the workshop will contribute to an edited book to be published by Palgrave.
Please click the embedded video below to view proceedings from the Workshop
Opening Session
Session 1A: Governance, Security, Peace and Conflict I
Session 2A: Global Trends in Interdisciplinary Research and Governance, Security, Peace and Conflict II
Closing Ceremony
Business & Management
From risk to resilience: Increasing insurance uptake among farmers in rural Uganda
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Prof. Bbaale participates in Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) Academy in Rabat, Morocco
Business & Management
AERC and Mak School of Economics discuss shaping Africa’s future in research and development
On Friday 23rd May 2025, a delegation from the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) visited Makerere University to strengthen partnership with the School of Economics through re-engineering economic research, capacity building, policy formulation and collaboration to impact Africa’s development and transformation.
The Engagement meeting focusing on shaping Africa’s future in research and development brought on board academic and administrative staff from the School of Economics under the College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS) and the AERC delegation comprising: Prof. Victor Murinde-Executive Director, Dr. Charles Owino-Manager of Strategic Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation, Ms Anna Owino-Personal Assistant to the Director and Ms Veronica Nanyanzi from State House-Uganda.
Underscoring the importance of the engagement meeting, Prof. Murinde said, “Following the keen observation of the recent global economic shifts and geopolitical uncertainty, the AERC seeks strategic partnerships with African governments and institutions to chart the roadmap through research and co-production of evidence-based economic solutions.”
Following the theme, Understanding the future of research and training collaboration with AERC, Prof. Murinde explained that the interaction also presents an opportunity to discuss the AERC Strategic Plan (2025-2035) titled, “Re-inventing the AERC for Delivering Africa’s Economic Prosperity, in which AERC is embarking on a comprehensive reform agenda, designed to strengthen research excellence, enhance policy impact and secure long-term institutional sustainability.
Concerned about the visibility and recognition of African researchers, Prof. Murinde reported that AERC will ensure that they are acknowledged with their names included in the publications. On the issue of network membership, EARC is considering the following categories: The distinguished service award, AERC Fellows, AERC Associates, and AERC Affiliates.
- Distinguished service award-Presented to those individuals who started the work in 1988
- AERC Fellows-Researchers who are active in research and capacity building
- AERC Associates-For Mid-Career researchers
- AERC Affiliates-For Masters’ and PhD students
The AERC was established in 1988, when a group of African scholars and Africanists voiced concern over the disconnect between economic research and policy formulation in Africa. According to the Executive Director, the founders of AERC observed that much of the existing economic research was either inapplicable to Africa’s economic challenges or inadequately utilized in local policymaking. Consequently, the group conceptualized a framework for fostering high-quality economic research tailored to Africa’s specific needs.
The collaboration between the AERC and Makerere University through its School of Economics started in 1988, and has led to impactful economic research in Africa, notable publications, increase in the number of faculty with PhDs at the School of Economics as well as mentorship.
Acknowledging Makerere University School of Economics as a key stakeholder in AERC, Prof. Murinde said, “Without your participation over the last 37 years, AERC would not be here.”
The Executive Director described AERC as a network of members and universities focused on providing evidence based research for policy making in Africa. Stating the key achievements, Prof. Murinde said, “A framework has been put in place to conduct research and collaboration, with AERC providing a network to work with economists across Africa. He added that the AERC has linked up the various Deans in the Member Universities in Africa both in research and the common programmes that they conduct.
Reflecting on the AERC’s journey, he noted that in 1988, the School of Economics could mention one or two members of faculty with PhDs. Over the years, with AERC’s support to research and capacity building, the School of Economics has built a critical mass of faculty with PhDs. He highlighted that some Ugandan economists have worked with the EARC Secretariat and the EARC Board. He pointed out that the most active Ugandan economists in the AERC network are based at the following entities: Makerere University (School of Economics, College of Business and Management Sciences), Bank of Uganda, Economic Policy Research Centre (the think tank), Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, National Planning Authority, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, and Uganda Development Bank.
In his remarks, the Dean of the School of Economics, Associate Prof. Ibrahim Mike Okumu credited AERC for its continued collaboration, which has significantly contributed to the growth of the School. He appreciated EARC for supporting research, scholarships provided to Masters’ and PhD fellows, support for ICT infrastructure development, and contribution towards the construction of the School of Economics building.
Stressing AERC’s contribution to research at the School of Economics, Prof. Okumu said, “AERC provided opportunities to ‘fresh’ fellows to write proposals. AERC would focus on building the idea. AERC has nurtured most of us into professional researchers/scholars.”
The Dean disclosed that in addition to research, some of the personalities nurtured by AERC took on academic leadership positions and have significantly contributed to the growth of the College/School. Some of the personalities include: Prof. John Ddumba-Ssentamu-former Principal and Vice Chancellor of Makerere University, Prof. Eria Hisali-former Principal of the College, Prof. Bruno Yawe-former Deputy Principal, Prof. Edward Bbaale-Principal of the College, Dr. Sarah Ssewanyana-Executive Director, Economic Research Policy Centre, and among others.
Presentation of the AERC strategic plan (2025-2035)
The remarks set the pace for the gist of the engagement meeting, which focused on presentation of the areas of transformation and the new research programmes respectively.
In the presentation, Prof. Murinde explained that AERC was reconfiguring its strategic direction in 2025-2035, to concentrate on the key strategic reform options organized around eight (8) core areas. They include: Research Offerings, Graduate Training, Policy Engagement for research impact, The Consortium structure and governance, Entrenching network membership, Enhanced resource mobilization for financial sustainability, Geographical inclusion, and Possible risks to the planned reforms and how to mitigate them.
Regarding the policy engagement for research impact, Prof. Murinde noted that the ground had shifted with policy makers advocating for the need to embed research into their operations. He reported that the governance structure was going to change to a more inclusive and participatory approach bringing on board stakeholders in research and capacity building.
Prof. Murinde highlighted that the new strategic plan would focus on the following new research programmes:
- Security, Governance and Economic Fragility in Africa
- Industrial Policy and Growth Strategies in Africa
- Unlocking Africa’s Digital Potential for Economic Prosperity
- Africa in a Changing World: Jobs through Trade and AfCTA
- Informal Cross Border Trade (ICBT) in Africa: measurement and welfare of women, youth and their families
- Human Capital, Labour Markets and Migration
- Climate Change: Food Systems, Climate Finance, Climate Risk and Resilience
- Africa’s Trade and Investment Strategy on China
- Macroeconomic Modelling, Management and Policy Reform
Input into the AERC Strategic Plan
The participants observed that the proposed linkage between policy makers and the private sector as well as the approach of co-designing research with policy makers, would contribute significantly to research uptake.
Discussing the new research programmes, the participants suggested that AERC incorporates the following aspects: Integration of Natural resources management into economic modelling; Environmental Management; Interlinkages of Youth unemployment and the Green economy; Value Chains and Emerging threats such as fake products; Urbanisation; Youth and Substance Abuse; Health economics; the Informal Sector; and Agricultural Production.
Voices of the Graduate Students
Contributing to the discussion, the graduate students namely Proscovia Taaka, Diphus Tugume and Denis Ogwal urged AERC to continue supporting the collaborative Masters programme (CMAP) in Economics.
Way forward
Prof. Murinde thanked the participants for the valuable contributions that will definitely enrich the AERC strategic plan. He indicated that some of the proposed themes/ideas, would be considered as work streams within the different research programmes. The future is centered on PhD students at Makerere University and other member Universities formulating research questions in line with the new research programmes. AERC is working on a database of researchers in Africa to facilitate speed-dating in research. AERC plans a twinning programme for African universities, which will enhance joint supervision for PhD students. He pointed out that on completion of the PhD, there will be an opportunity for a post-doc Fellowship. He emphasized that researchers who win “big” projects will be encouraged to have work streams. He revealed a plan for each School of Economics in Africa to access publications across the entire membership.
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