The Nordic Africa Institute invites applications for position as

Programme co-ordinator

for a research programme under the thematic working title

• Institutional Capacity and Resource Mobilisation in African States

Thematic approach

The core research programmes of the institute are thematic in character and involve inter-disciplinary network building. They shall be based on co-operation between Nordic and African researchers to produce new knowledge and improved understanding of issues central to contemporary Africa. They aim at stimulating both academic and public debate on Africa.

Financial terms

The core funding of the programme covers salaries for the programme co-ordinator and one administrator (half time), a set budget for travel, conference attendance, field work and other expenses necessary for the research including costs for seminars and publications. Additional activities will have to be funded from external resources.

Programme co-ordinator

The Programme co-ordinator shall:
* develop the programme based on the programme document
* be responsible for the implementation of the programme
* develop networks of African and Nordic researchers
* conduct own research within the programme
* arrange seminars and publish research results

Contract period will be three years with the possibility of a three years extension on the basis of an interim assessment. Salary is negotiable but oriented at the current levels at the Institute.

Principal qualifications

Candidates should have a background in the Social Sciences or Humanities, preferably with Economics as a subject.
* advanced university degree and several years of continuous academic work
* extensive experience of research related to the programme in question
* good communication and interpersonal skills
* experience of research co-ordination
* excellent knowledge of English
* good knowledge of and contacts with Nordic and African researchers and research institutions

Additional qualifications

• working knowledge of a Scandinavian language and French.
• knowledge related to socio-economic planning processes.

The application

The application should contain:
A. a proposal developing a programme document based on the programme outline in a maximum of 10 pages regarding:
1. research questions, problems, methodology and theory
2. network strategies towards Africa and the Nordic countries
3. a strategy for dissemination of research results

B. a complete CV with a list of publications
C. three of the applicants own publications (in three copies each) relating to the research programme in question
D. a completed application form and names and addresses (phone, fax, e-mail) of two referees
Closing date for applications: 31 March 2005

• Programme outline (Institutional Capacity and Resource Mobilisation in African States) and application forms can be requested from:

The Nordic Africa Institute
P O Box 1703
SE-751 47 UPPSALA
SWEDEN

You can download the application form and programme outline. You need Acrobat Reader to view the file.

Contact person: Henning Melber, Research director, +46 18 56 22 20 and Eva-Lena Svensson, Human Resources Manager, +46 18 56 22 12.

The Institute is committed to an Equal Opportunities Policy in employment.

Research Programme
‘Institutional Capacity and Resource Mobilisation in African States’
A Synopsis

This Programme reintroduces an area of economics in combination with socio-political research to the agenda of the Nordic Africa Institute. It is based on the assumption that knowledge production in aspects of resource mobilisation that support macro-economic frameworks and policies, as well as the present drive towards decentralised governance, are of great relevance for both scholarly and policy debates.
Theoretical and methodological background

Post-colonial African states have established institutions with the specific aim to provide a development strategy based on coherent planning. But both institutions as well as strategies were often only created and/or implemented in part or not at all. Among the variety of reasons for this were hampering external and internal factors such as structural adjustment reforms, a lack of resources, professional competence or authority, institutional strength, or political will. Some of the current core problems of African states are the need to simultaneously decentralise governance, formalise a range of societal sectors and improve the public sector by increasing resource mobilisation. This requires efforts towards tapping into and at the same time reconstructing and reforming markets and services, and the transport, agriculture, tourism and business sectors, as well as the building of effective state capacity for policy design, monitoring, management and implementation.

The controversial theoretical debate on the “developmental state”, arguing during the 1970s and 1980s for a strong interventionist role of central government vis-à-vis other agencies, focused mainly on legitimising the coercive function of state authorities at the expense of civic liberties. It can be argued that the 1980s emphasis on the free market as remedy for doing away with an over-sized and badly performing state, has since been reviewed. The 1990s produced a new call for ‘bringing the state (once again) back in’. Today the NEPAD initiative stresses the need for sound economic management as a precondition for sustainable development. It claims that strengthening the capacity of the state is a critical aspect. Hence the state is allocated a major role in promoting and regulating economic growth and development and in implementing poverty reduction programmes. NEPAD also admits that many governments lack the capacity to secure this role. However, the role and function of state agencies, the complex constraints and opportunities they face, and their likely impact and range of influence in terms of socio-economic policy formulation and implementation, is far from clear.

The new research programme seeks to explore the variety of factors contributing to the present drive toward reforms and reconstruction of state capacity to mobilise resources for national and local governments, as well as their effects. This revived emphasis on the state emanates from a combination of pressures that manifest in particular ways within specific countries. Such pressures include shifts in international as well as regional political and economic configurations, discourses and dynamics (especially in a post-9/11 era), and changes in both national and more localised contexts. In the latter sense, a number of issues come into play such as changing conditions for democracy, the nature of the law and order regime, emerging private sector interests, the role and capacities of non-governmental organisations, and so on. In addition, questions of state capacity and resource mobilisation need to pay attention to a context in which substantial proportions of the continent’s national populations (and hence national economies and capacities) are being affected by violence, displacement and HIV/AIDS.

A focus on resource mobilisation at multiple sites and scales in selected African states provides opportunities to investigate the various strategies, practices and effects being produced as a result of these new state-oriented trends, in relation to the state itself, to other institutional actors, and to a range of differentiated citizens. Possible areas for consideration might include:
- formal and informal taxes,
- formalisation of informal sectors,
- new terms of access to national/natural resources such as minerals, forests, water and land,
- control of flows of people and goods,
- introduction of user fees, and
- management of development aid.

Various priorities defined within national strategies could form the basis of concrete areas for research, depending on the specific country, for example:

• Market reconstruction and fiscal accountability
• Land (re)distribution and agricultural production
• Natural resources management and tourism
• Investment framework and private sector development
• Regional integration and trade policy framework

Institutionalisation
The programme reformulates issues which were previously investigated in the context of the research programme on “The Political and Social Context of Structural Adjustment in Sub-Saharan Africa”, undertaken between 1990 and 2000 and more recently “State Recuperation, Resource Mobilisation and Conflict”, undertaken from 2003-2005. Parts of the knowledge accumulated and the networks established then might be utilized for the new programme. Several of the previous programme results are of direct relevance for the new perspectives as defined in this short note. Such a continuation at the same time allows for a comparative approach concerning the shifts from structural adjustment programmes to poverty reduction programmes, and the particular role of local (state) agencies and international institutions in the process.

Requirements/Expectations

The research programme undertakes a multi-disciplinary exploration of aspects related to the suggestions presented in the above text. It acknowledges macro-economic issues as much as historical, legal, cultural, political and socio-anthropological aspects, which relate to state capacity and resource mobilisation in African societies and their public institutions. Comparative case studies serve to offer both particular empirical as well as general theoretical insights. The programme will identify several case studies, which will be able to generate additional comparative insights. They would have to comprise different categories of countries, such as a transitional economy, a low-income country, a resource rich country etc. A valid cluster ought to be compiled as a first phase, together with the formulation of more specifically defined research questions. The concretisation of the programme goals and steps to achieve the targets ought to be part of the submissions and elaborations of applicants to give evidence of their qualifications. Due to financial limitations, however, the scope of topical issues and especially the number of case studies will depend ultimately also on the possibility of additional external funding.