CIAO DATE: 04/02

Networks in International Capacity Building: Cases from Sub-Saharan Africa

Networking is ubiquitous, Networks are not. By networks we have in mind professional and scientific collaborations unrestricted by geography—a group of scholars taking advantage of improved mobility and communication to work across institutional and national boundaries. This report draws from a conference that inquired into the role of networks in research, training and institution-strengthening in sub-Saharan Africa—terms commonly, if loosely, associated with "capacity building." Although the conference focused on networks that were making headway toward their declared goals, the purpose was not to celebrate success stories. It was to be analytic, with the intention of identifying generic questions and preliminary answers, particularly lessons of use to those involved in building, maintaining, strengthening and funding professional networks.

Although analytic in its goal, the inquiry was not systematic. The participants' preliminary conclusions and generic questions emerged inductively in response to a detailed examination of a single network and shorter overviews of seven others. No effort was made to survey all the research networks operating in Africa at present, or even a representative sample. Nor did the analysis compare successes with failures, although participants were acquainted with networks other than those surveyed, including many that had failed. An effort was made to include different types of networks, but in the end the sample was one of convenience.

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