Foreningen af Udviklingsforskere (FAU) holder sin årskonference medio maj med temaet “Breaking New Ground? – Development Research 2005-2015 and beyond”
Her en foromtale af konferencen:
This years conference includes workshops on:
1. The Private Sector
2. Human Development
3. Measuring Development
4. Small Farmer Development
5. Social Policies
6. Participatory Governance
Time: Wednesday 10th May and Thursday 11th of May 2006
Venue: Copenhagen Business School (CBS), Dalgas Have 15, 2000 Frederiksberg
Convener:
Foreningen af Udviklingsforskere (FAU) – The Association of Development Researchers in Denmark, c/o DIIS, Strandgade 56, 1401 Kbh. K
Phone: 32 69 86 90 – Fax: 32 69 88 00 – E-mail: [email protected] – Postal Account: 1 65 11 61, website www.udviklingsforskning.dk
Background and subject of the Conference
Since the beginning of the 1980s FAU has brought together people from the different development environments in Denmark for an annual conference. The primary aim of the conference is to make a contribution to contemporary concerns through interdisciplinary debate.
Thus it is our hope that in this year, as in the years before, researchers, practitioners from DANIDA, consultancies and NGOs, and students will participate in the plenary sessions and in the thematic workshops presented below.
With the Hernes Report in 2001, the ability of the Danish Development Research community to deliver input of “sufficient relevance” to the Danish International Development Assistance (Danida) has been questioned. Since, the main trend has been one of decreasing funds and of restructuring among research institutions and research councils.
An emphasis on “making development research more practically applicable” and linked to the countries and main areas of Danish International Development Assistance has emerged.
International political changes have also changed the debate on Development Research and currently led to a focus on the linkages between foreign policies, security and development with a set of new themes emerging on the development agenda.
In the light of Danish and international developments, FAU finds it important to take stock of the role of development research in general, to highlight the key role of development research and particularly to look into the interface between development research and practice in a number of fields.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: (further information via the links or at the FAU website)
Deborah Braütigam is Professor at the American University, Washington, USA. Her writing has addressed issues of Asian business and institutional influences in Africa. She has worked on Taiwanese and Chinese businesses in Nigeria, Mauritius and Kenya.
www.american.edu/sis/faculty/facultybiographies/brautigam.htm
Lucy Gilson (to be confirmed) is an Associate Professor at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. She has nearly 20 years experience of health system research and policy analysis, working in a range of countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, and South-east Asia.
www.wits.ac.za/chp/staff_lucy.htm
Dr. Yuan Zengwei is a researcher at the Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. His current research interest is economic development and environmental evolution, as well as policies for regional sustainable development. He works on Industrial Ecology and Circular Economy in China, related to e.g. Eco-Industrial Parks and Eco-Cities.
Andrew Dorward is a Reader & Director, Imperial College, London University, UK. He has shown a long-term interest in the problems and issues affecting the livelihoods of the rural poor primarily in Africa, in particular problems associated with among others the effects of marketing systems on their ability to increase agricultural productivity.
www.imperial.ac.uk/agriculturalsciences/about/staff/biogs/dorwarda.htm
James Midgley (to be confirmed) is a Dean and Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. His research interests are social development, international and comparative social welfare and social work education. His more recent writings have addressed issues of globalisation, welfare, marketisation and social security.
socialwelfare.berkeley.edu/faculty/midgley.htm
Göran Hyden is Distinguished Professor at the University of Florida, USA. He has studied issues on the interface between politics and development for many years. His recent research focuses on democratisation and governance and issues like elections, political processes, primarily in Africa, but also in Asia and Latin America. www.clas.ufl.edu/users/ghyden/Ghyden.htm
WORKSHOP I: The Private Sector in the South under Pressure – Emerging Trends in the Development Process
Globalisation with its many faces, international and regional changes, domestic processes and firm level initiatives pose an interesting and highly complex combination of factors which impact on the development and changes of the private sector in the South. The last 10-15 years have witnessed an increasing emphasis on the role of the private sector as a vehicle – and to some a panacea – for growth and development.
The workshop aims to take stock of the current processes of change within the private sector in the South with a focus on the implications for Southern governments, industries and firms. Among the emerging trends of particular importance for the private sector in the South, individually and in relation to each other, which will be discussed are:
– The role of the donors on the structuring of the local private sector
– The influence of local foreigners
– The impact of post-liberalised markets, of global and local standards
Keynote: Deborah Bräutigam
Invited speakers: Peter Kragelund (Danish Institute for International Studies – DIIS), Jørgen Dige Pedersen (Aarhus University – AU), Stefano Ponte (DIIS), Henrik Schaumburg-Müller (Copenhagen Business School – CBS) and Stein Kristiansen (Agder University College, Kristiansand, Norway)
Convenors: Søren Jeppesen (CBS) and Peter Kragelund (DIIS)
WORKSHOP II: Human Development: Global Networks of Health and Education
The workshop will address two overarching concerns: 1) how sexuality, gender, poverty, research, policy, and institutional management cut across the education and health sectors and where synergies might be developed between the two; and 2) the importance of linking research to policy formulation and implementation that benefit the poor in the South.
For example: education, health, and the livelihoods of poor families; sexual abuse in schools; gender differences in access to education; the role of civil society organisations (NGOs, et al), the introduction of user-fees, and citizen-oriented approaches. The main themes include:
– Education, health and poverty reduction: I) Approaching sexuality and gender in human development, II) Education, health and the livelihoods of the poor
– Managing delivery: Capacity development in education and health provision.
– Networking for human development: The role of researchers and practitioners in Denmark towards research and development partners in the South
Keynote: Lucy Gilson
Invited speakers: Finn Schleimann (DANIDA – to be confirmed), Lotte Meinert (AU) and Helle Samuelsen (University of Copenhagen (UC) – to be confirmed)
Convenors: Annette Skovsted Hansen (Chairperson of FAU & AU) Britt Pinkowski Tersbøll (The Danish Research Network for International Health), and Neil Webster (DIIS).
WORKSHOP III: Measuring Development – Multi-dimensional Measures of Development Gaining Critical Mass
GNP growth has dominated as the conventional measure of national level progress and as a universal and overarching policy objective for more than a quarter of a century. Complex development indicators such at the UNDPs Human Development Index (HDI) and “Green” national account- and sustainability- indices (including the SDI) represent alternatives to GNP. Multi-dimensional indicators have gained importance as in the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
The current and future use of complex indicators, as well as their strengths, weaknesses and usefulness for development policy is therefore a highly relevant challenge to discuss. The workshop will discuss:
– Under what conditions may such (co-) indicators challenge the role of GNP growth as dominating policy objective?
– What roles can development research play to move development measures up government policy agendas?
Keynote: Dr. Yuan Zengwei
Invited speakers: Jesper Jespersen (RUC) and Henrik Egelyng (DIIS)
Convenors: Henrik Egelyng (DIIS) and Martin Hvidt (University of Southern Denmark)
WORKSHOP IV: Small Farmer Development under Changing Market Conditions – Technological and Institutional Strategies
The objectives of the workshop are to discuss institutional and technological innovations that could improve the competitiveness of small farmers under changing market conditions, bringing together trade/market and production/technology perspectives on this issue. Agriculture is back on the international development agenda, and with that an increasing recognition that agricultural development is the most effective means to reduce poverty in most low-income countries.
The workshop will discuss constraints and opportunities for enhancing small farmers’ engagement with markets for agricultural products in light of current and likely future changes, such as:
– Huge expansion in national and regional food markets due to rapid urbanisation
– Proliferation and tightening of standards in global food trade in the often growing and more liberalised export markets for high-value food and beverages
– Increasing dominance of supermarkets in food retailing within developing countries
Keynote: Andrew Dorward
Invited speakers: Jens Christian Riise (Network for Smallholder Poultry Development), Andreas Flach de Neergaard (Royal Danish Agricultural University – KVL), Peter Gibbon (DIIS), and Judith Kyst (Max Havelaar Denmark)
Convenors: Simon Bolwig (DIIS), and Anne-Marie Sørensen (The Danish Network for Agricultural Research for Development – NETARD)
WORKSHOP V: Social Policies
In much of the developing world, social policy has tended to be narrowly confined to provisioning of safety nets to mitigate the adverse impacts of economic liberalisation along with investments in education and health sectors. This social welfarist stance has perpetuated a misperception of social policy as a set of policy prescriptions to address residual elements of economic policy.
A more relevant approach to social policy in development country contexts, where markets are grossly imperfect and labour markets often incomplete, would seek to promote policies, institutions and programs that balance a concern for equity and social justice with the concern for economic growth.
Consequently, the traditional boundaries of social policy need to be extended beyond provisioning of social sector services and safety nets toward a more holistic, developmental concept of social policy. The workshop intends to shed new light on this emerging area and among other present elements of the upcoming World Development Report 2006.
Keynote: James Midgley
Invited speakers: Esbern Friis-Hansen (DIIS)
Convenors: Aase Mygind-Madsen (Danish Social High School, Aarhus) and Jens Lehrman Rasmussen (Danish International Workers Organisation)
WORKSHOP VI: Participatory Governance – A Question of Decentralisation
Among an increasing array of conditionalities ‘good governance’ has received substantial attention in international development assistance over the last 10-15 years. Particularly decentralisation or what some call local participatory governance has been promoted as the ideal governance form on the way to democratisation, efficient use of resources etc.
Empirical findings suggest that top-down, centralised types of governance can lead to development, while only limited empirical findings clearly support the case for participatory (bottom-up) governance. In some incidences, the one might be a prerequisite for the other. However, substantial issues and important research questions remain unsolved, and the workshop will seek to assess some of these analytically and practically:
– The importance of power relations and conflict
– Top-down or bottom-up approaches to participatory governance
– The importance of formal versus informal institutions
Keynote: Göran Hyden
Invited speakers: Dele Olowu (Institute of Social Science, Den Hague – to be confirmed), Ole Therkildsen (DIIS), Ulla Baagoe (independent consultant) and Holger Bernt Hansen (UC – to be confirmed)
Convenors: Mette Kjær (AU) and Elsebeth Søndergaard (AU)
PRACTICALITIES:
The seminar will take place at the Copenhagen Business School, Dalgas Have 15, Frederiksberg/Copenhagen. You will be registered by turn in accordance to the time of your payment. However, please note that the number of participants per workshop is limited, which means that the final selection of participants will be based on an assessment of relevance by the convenors, and that the number of students seats is limited.
Time: Wednesday 10th May at 9.00 am. – Thursday 11th May at 5.00 pm.
Location: Copenhagen Business School, Dalgas Have 15, 2000 Frederiksberg. The venue is close to the Lindevang Metro station. The venue can also be reached by different buses (for information, ask the FAU secretariat)
Conference fee: Price for non-members of FAU: 2.000 Kr. Price for FAU-members:
– Regular members: 900 Kr. – Student- members/Unemployed members: 450 Kr.
The fee includes conference materials, coffee/tea and cakes and lunch both days. It does, however, not include lodging which is to be handled by the participants, nor the conference dinner Wednesday evening, which has to be paid separately upon registration.
Conference dinner: 200 Kr. (a nice three course meal, including wine – venue to be announced)
For further information, please contact the FAU Secretariat (Sigurd Halling). Phone: 3269 8690. E-mail: [email protected]. The secretariat is open Wednesdays from 10 to 16. You can find further information about the conference, in particular the workshops and about FAU on our website at: www.udviklingsforskning.dk The electronic version of the registration form seen below can also be found at this website.
ABOUT FAU:
The Association of Development Researchers in Denmark (FAU) was formed in 1983, and its overall purpose is:
1) to promote research regarding the Third World in general, and within social sciences in particular-,
2) to strengthen the network between development researchers and practitioners in Denmark-,
3) to support the communication of the results of the research.
The membership prices are as follows: Regular members: 250 Kr., Students/Unemployed: 175 Kr., Spouses: 300 Kr. and Institutions: 750 Kr. FAUs Postal Account number: 0274 – 000 1 65 11 61.
REGISTRATION FORMAT (DEADLINE APRIL 7th 2006 – Note: Deadline for abstracts is 15th February! See details on the workshops at the FAU website)
PLEASE USE CAPITAL LETTERS.
NAME:__________________________________________________________
ADDRESS (Street & Postal code): _____________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
PHONE:_____________ EMAIL: _____________________________________
EMPLOYMENT:___________________________________________________
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:______________________________________
INSTITUTION:___________________________________________________
WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN WORKSHOP NO. (IN PRIORITY): __________________________________________________________________
FAU MEMBER: YES_______ NO_______
CONFERENCE DINNER (200 Kr.): YES_____ NO _____
REGISTRATION TAKES PLACE THROUGH MAILING THIS FORMULAR TO FAU AND BY PAYING THE CONFERENCE FEE USING AN POSTAL CHEQUE PAYING-IN FORM OR VIA A NET BANKING TRANSFER.
REMEMBER: REGISTRATION NO LATER THAN: April 7th 2006
FAU, c/o DIIS, Strandgade 56, 1401 Kbh. K. Postal Account: 0274-0001651161
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PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME:
Wednesday, 10th of May
09.00-09.15: Welcome session (FAU and a representative from the organising committee)
09.15-10.15: 1st plenary session, by keynote Göran Hyden; comments by a discussant
10.15-10.45: Comments and discussion
10.45-11.15: Break (coffee and tea)
11.15-12.30: Workshops (1st session – 6 in parallel)
12.30-13.30: Lunch
13.30-15.15: 2nd plenary session – panel debate with two keynotes (Deborah Bräutigam & Andrew Dorward), Danish researchers and policy makers
15.15-15.45: Break
15.45-17.15: Workshops (2nd session – 6 in parallel)
19.30-??.??: Conference dinner
Thursday, 11th of May:
09.00-09.15: Introduction to day 2
09.15-10.15: 3rd plenary session, by keynote Yuan Zengwei; comments by a discussant
10.15-10.45: Comments and discussion
10.45-11.15: Break (coffee and tea)
11.15-12.30: Workshops (3rd session – 6 in parallel)
12.30-13.30: Lunch
13.30-15.15: 4th plenary session – panel debate with two keynotes (James Midgley & Lucy Gilson), Danish researchers and policy makers
15.15-15.45: Break
15.45-16.45: 5th plenary session – all keynote presenters: How can Development Research break new ground from 2005-2015 and beyond?
16.45-17.00: Closing remarks
Format and Structure
The conference will be organised around five plenary sessions and six workshops which are planned around a set of criteria:
1) to reflect processes of change and future perspectives,
2) to include cross-disciplinary approaches and contributions of a variety of academic fields,
3) to take stock of present strongholds in the Danish Development Research environment and discuss pertinent views with input from key Nordic and international researchers in the fields.
The plenary presentations aim at presenting overall issues of concern for all the participants and discuss linkages between research and practice, whereas the workshops deal with specific subjects and allow a more in-depth assessment of these themes based on paper presentations and discussions.
Workshops
The workshops are being organised by one or more convenors assisted by one or several of the invited speakers. The format of the sessions in the workshops will be (short) presentations, followed by comments by discussants, and by discussions among all participants.
Apart from the invited presenters, the participants are encouraged to submit abstracts for further papers to be presented in the workshops. Abstracts of approx. 500 words are to be submitted to FAU no later than 15th February, and if accepted, a full paper is submitted no later than 15 April (the format and length of the paper will be communicated by the convenors).
Further information on the content and programme of the workshops can be found at the workshop pages at www.udviklingsforskning.dk
Most workshops intend to submit the best papers to Danish and/or international journals for publication afterwards. An anthology of selected papers at an international publishing house is also considered. Written materials, including the papers for presentation and more elaborated descriptions of the workshops, will be made available to the participants prior to the conference.
The Conference is funded by the Council for Development Research, the Danish Institute for International Studies, the International Health, the NETARD and the GEPPA research networks and the Centre for Business & Development Studies, CBS.
