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Conference news -Perspectives on social development research at the millennium
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)
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rayong.pdf
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"During two and one-half days at the end of May 1999, UNRISD held a conference designed to provide new perspectives on social development research. The meeting formed part of a year-long effort to review the current UNRISD research programme and to generate new ideas for future work. This, in turn, was related to a broader attempt to evaluate the role of the Institute in the development debate at the turn of the millennium, and to consider ways of improving the effectiveness of UNRISD activities. Twenty-two social scientists attended the meeting, which was held in Rayong, Thailand. They came from six regions (Africa, Asia, Central Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Western Europe), and could draw on professional experience in other parts of the world as well. Thus it was possible to obtain insights from work in Central Asia, although no Central Asian was present, and to develop useful comparisons across a wide variety of societies, cultures and political systems. This advantage was reinforced by the presence of representatives from three regional research consortia: the Latin American Social Science Research Council (CLACSO), the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), and the European Association of Development Institutes (EADI). The conference agenda and a list of participants may be found at the end of this report. The structure of the meeting was flexible and open-ended. Participants were provided with a preliminary version of a document titled UNRISD 2000+, containing a brief explanation of the mandate and research strategy of the Institute, as well as a summary of recent research programmes and thoughts on areas in which future work could be especially useful. This set the stage for discussions, but the structure and content of the meeting were not directly determined by it. Conversations flowed informally in order to allow new ideas and comparisons to develop. Discussions at the meeting can be roughly summarized under three main headings. First, participants commented on how UNRISD currently operates, and made suggestions for strengthening the role of the Institute in the development arena. Then there was a more general critique of existing development paradigms, including a plea for critical evaluation of the concepts and methodologies currently in vogue within the social science/ social policy communities. Third, there was lively debate on priority themes for future research in each of the regions represented at the meeting. Participants also broke briefly into small groups, on the afternoon of the second day, to discuss ways of sharpening the Institute s focus on future research in specific programme areas."(pg 1)
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1999-05-26
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With permission of the license/copyright holder