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One of SUM's major functions is the promotion of research on development and the environment through co- ordinated activities and networking between different departments at the University of Oslo, as well as with other research institutions in the South. For this reason, a number of larger research programmes have been located at SUM. The Centre not only serves as the programme secretariat, but is also directly involved in the research.
Several programmes which have been initiated through the Centre
have continued elsewhere, in new forms. Activities have, in certain
cases, become more sector-specific or more oriented towards
implementation. A good example of the latter is NORINDRA, a major
research programme at SUM led by Øyvind Sandbukt, which has
directly resulted in the establishment, through WWF, of a forest
reserve in Sumatra, Indonesia. New initiatives have subsequently
replaced programmes such as these. This illustrates well the dynamics
of the research carried out at SUM, and the potential of the Centre's
co-ordinated programmes.
The Mali-Programme at the University of Oslo
Alida Jay Boye, Co-ordinator
Financing: Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norwegian Research
Council, NUFU, NORAD, Nordic Africa Institute
The Mali-Programme is an inter-institutional collaboration between the University of Oslo and research institutions in Mali, combining field and laboratory research activities with formal academic training. The National Centre for Scientific and Technological Research (C.N.R.S.T.) in Mali has the responsibility for co-ordinating research and training activities within the Programme of Collaboration between the University of Oslo and research institutions in Mali. Until 1996, SUM had the responsibility for overall co-ordination of the Programme. In all, over 20 researchers and graduate students from 7 institutes and 4 faculties at the University of Oslo and over 30 researchers and graduate students from 7 research institutions in Mali have participated in this programme.
The Mali-Programme has facilitated the often tedious endeavour of carrying out field work in an unknown land. Over 20 Norwegian graduate and PhD students received assistance from the Mali Programme co-ordinator in obtaining research authorisation in Mali, consulting Mali archives at SUM, consulting SUM researchers working in Mali and identifying potential co-operation partners in Mali. Efforts to create a milieu for research on francophone Africa resulted in a series of 12 West Africa seminars organised through SUM and the establishment of an informal West Africa network.
As offsprings of the Mali-Programme, four new projects were initiated within the Programme during 1996 and 1997 through the NUFU Programme. These individual projects are now co-ordinated through individual institutes, the Department of Romance Studies, the Department of Pharmacy and the Biology Department at the University of Oslo and the Chr. Michelsen's Institute in Bergen. The Mali-Programme as it was established in 1989 terminated in 1996 when the overall responsibility for NUFU-funded projects was transferred to the Department of International Relations.
The SSE-Research Project: Environment and Development in Mali
The SSE-Research Project entitled Environment & Development in Mali
is comprised of three sub-projects initiated by researchers from
three institutes at the University of Oslo: SUM, the Institute of
Geography and the Nordic School of Nutrition. The main focus of
the project is on the inter-relationship between food security and
the management of natural resources in the Gourma region in the
Sahel-belt of northern Mali. This region is one of the most isolated
areas in Mali, and was hard hit by the severe droughts in the 1970s
and 1980s and by an armed rebellion from 1991- 1995. By concentrating
research efforts in this region, it has been the intention to gain
as detailed an understanding as possible of the complex ecological,
social and economic system of the area. The Norwegian Church Aid
has a long term development project in the Gourma supported by the
SSE-Programme. The aim has been that insights gained from the
research will be used for practical development work in the area.
Comparative studies have been carried out in other ecological zones,
Koutiala in southern Mali in particular. Research within the Gourma
project has greatly enhanced the understanding of a particular area
in northern Mali which has previously received little attention.
One of the major objectives of the SSE-Programme has been to upgrade the competence of researchers working in the Sahel or Drylands. In all five Norwegians and eight Malians have taken their Masters degrees with support from the project in fields including applied ecology, nutrition, resource geography, pharmacy, and eight have continued towards PhDs. As an offspring of the SSE-Research Programme, a graduate programme in Applied Ecology at the Graduate School (ISFRA) at the University of Mali was launched in 1995. This programme received funding from NUFU in collaboration with Just Gjessing at the Institute of Geography, University of Oslo and Shivcharn Dhillion at SUM. Fieldwork was carried out in the Gourma in Northern Mali in collaboration with the Norwegian Church Aid, complementing previous work carried out within the SSE Research Programme in Mali. On the Norwegian side, administration of the Programme was co-ordinated by the Mali co-ordinator at SUM in close collaboration with the Institute of Geography. The students spent a month in Norway where they, among other things, presented their work for Norwegian researchers working on related issues in Mali. The five Malian students successfully completed their theses in 1996 and received their Masters degrees (D.E.A.) in Applied Ecology from the Graduate School at the newly established University of Mali. Two of these students have received funding to continue at the PhD level.
The SSE-Programme was designed to encourage long-term collaboration between the research community and NGOs working in the SSE countries. Concerted efforts were made in earlier years to establish synergy between partners in the SSE programme in Mali. Significant progress was made in 1996/1997 and several initiatives taken during two SSE workshops in Mali (Ségou in 1994 and Sélingué in 1995) were brought to life in 1996 and 1997 thanks to special grants from NORAD. Of particular interest has been a long-term collaboration launched by the Nordic School of Nutrition with the Stromme Memorial Foundation working in Mali, a Livelihood Assessment undertaken for CARE, Mali and co-operative efforts between researchers at the Institute of Geography and the Norwegian Church Aid related to the verification of thematic maps.
A unique programme of dissemination of results in Mali and internationally has been developed. Special features of this programme include communication of research results through a Museum exhibition in Bamako. Several thematic maps over Gourma's ecological resources were produced in 1997 from fieldwork from the project. Forty working papers have been issued in the series published by the programme. So far, ten articles have been published in international scientific journals and several are forthcoming. Two papers have received national and international prizes. Several seminars and workshops have been organised both in Norway and Mali to disseminate results to development workers, the research community, government officials and students. In 1996 alone, the researchers made 14 presentations in international conferences. Eight new Masters theses were published during 1996 and 1997 and several PhD theses are forthcoming.
Thomas
Hansteen, Programme Secretary
Nils Christian Stenseth,
Chairman of the Norwegian Research
Programme Board
Financing: Norwegian Research Council / Ministry of the Environment
Man and the Biosphere is a research programme/network under the auspices of UNESCO. The programme seeks to develop a base for the rational use and conservation of biosphere resources. The programme functions on the basis of national committees, which have the responsibility for initiating and conducting research programmes, usually with funding from national research institutions. Since 1994, the Norwegian MAB secretariat has been located at SUM.
In Norway, MAB activities are directed by the Norwegian National MAB Committee, which is in charge of international contacts and initiates national activities - biosphere reserves being the most important new activity since 1995. Another body of the national MAB programme is the Norwegian Research Programme Board, which oversees the research programme, Sustainable Management of Common Property Bio-resources (1992-97), the overall Norwegian MAB research programme. This programme aims to develop scientific competence in, and models for, the management of common property bio-resources focusing on two main areas:
The programme provides state of the art scientific knowledge concerning natural resources and their ecology. It also provides knowledge about the interaction between nature and man, consumptive and non-consumptive use of natural resources, formal and informal management regimes (including their legitimacy and control mechanisms), political instruments of regional and industrial character and their effects on resources and society. The programme is multidisciplinary, involving the social sciences, the natural sciences and law.
Arild Engelsen Ruud, Research Co-ordinator
Financing: Norwegian Research Council
State, Society and Democracy (SSD) and Public Administration in Developing Countries (OFU) are two national research programmes financed by the Norwegian Research Council. In both cases, SUM assisted in the preparation and submission of a collaborative application involving several departments from the University of Oslo. Under the SSD programme, the Institute for Media and Communication and the Institute for Human Rights have each initiated projects, focusing especially on religious, ethnic and group conflicts in Southern Africa and Egypt. The OFU is a research programme involving researchers in Bergen, NIBR (Norwegian Institute of Urban and Regional Planning) and SUM. In addition to the individual research projects, the Research Council has granted funding for a number of programme activities, with the purpose of promoting concerted action, co-operation and networking, and communication of research.
Since Spring 1995 SUM has been responsible for the co-ordination of these programmes at the University of Oslo. Within the programme's framework, SUM had responsibility for initiating and organising collaborative activities for programme participants from the University of Oslo, such as seminar series and colloquia. Researchers have had the opportunity of presenting and discussing work in progress as well as completed research. Special emphasis has been given to the development of theory and analytical concepts.
A research training course ("New perspectives on state-society relations in the non-western world") was organised in March 1996 for 15 PhD students. Also under this programme, a two-day conference on "Civil society, public sphere and organisational behaviour" was organised in April 1996. Its starting point was the current debate over the relationship between the "strength" of a society and the "strength" and/or autonomy of the state within which the society exists. Hence the conference focused on issues such as the nature of institutional organisations in society, the public sphere and civil society categories, and on trajectories of state forms and societal institutions. At the conference some twenty papers were presented, some of which were selected for a theme issue of the Forum for Development Studies (No. 2, 1996).
The StatSamf-network with its electronic discussion group, the NEWSSnet, co-ordinated by Morten Bøås and financed by Norwegian Research Council, is a direct outcome of the interest generated by the OFU/SSD activities. The thematic focus of this network is on the relationship between state and society in social, economic, cultural and political processes in least developed countries and in countries in transition from planned economies to market economies. The network seeks to build on knowledge already generated under various research programmes and projects in the Nordic countries, and to further develop co-operative relationships between Nordic scholars.
Harald Bøckman, Research Co-ordinator Financing: Norwegian Research Council
The Network for Pacific Asia Studies is a national initiative to encourage research and teaching on Pacific Asia in the fields of social sciences and modern history. The network was established in February 1996 by a group of Norwegian Asia scholars affiliated with research institutes and universities. Starting October 1, 1996, Harald Bøckman was hired as network co-ordinator. Desmond McNeill has been heading a steering group which currently consists of scholars from the universities of Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim, the Nobel Institute, the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, and a representative from the International Division of the University of Oslo.
The Network was established to meet a rapidly increasing interest in Pacific Asia among graduate students and researchers in Norwegian universities and research institutes. It will also serve as a pivot for Nordic and international co-operation in this field. Another aim is to serve as a clearinghouse in order to assist Norwegian authorities and the interested public to make better use of the intellectual resources in this field that are available in Norway. The Network encourages the initiation of research projects which are relevant to its field, but does not itself run research projects.
Pacific Asia is defined as consisting of the following countries: Japan, Korea (North and South), China and Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia and East Timor, and the Philippines. One aim of this Network is to pay special attention to regional issues, with the goal of developing ties with various institutions as well as soliciting funding from foundations in the region. During its first year of activity, external activities were largely focused on China. Altogether fifteen seminars and meetings were organised, most of them in co-operation with other institutions. The biggest event was an international Peace Prize Seminar organised at the University of Oslo in connection with the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Bishop Belo and Mr. Ramos-Horta from East Timor. Members of the steering group have also been active in lecturing in the name of the Network. In order to respond to the growing interest among graduate students in the social sciences, two graduate courses have been designed, one on Chinese politics and another on development strategies in East and Southeast Asia, both at the University of Oslo. These will be offered in the autumn of 1997 and the spring of 1998, respectively.
Turid Johansen, Head of Information
Financing: NORAD, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The North/ South Coalition (Idégruppen om Nord/Sør) is an independent and informal network of persons engaged in work relating to north/ south issues. The Coalition began in 1976 as the "Idégruppen om NØV" to follow up the debate on the New Economic Order. Although this demand subsequently lost political support, the North/ South Coalition has found it important to continue its work by seeking to keep North/ South related questions on the political agenda and to highlight alternative perspectives on development in the South. The secretariat for the Coalition is nomadic, being attached for a three-year period to a suitable institution. In the period 1997 - 1999, the Coalition is located at SUM.
The purpose of this network is to:
Apart from building networks, the Coalition also organises seminars and publishes information bulletins. The board of the Coalition is composed of researchers, politicians and members of NGOs. As the only salaried employee, the Head of Information is responsible for the day to day activities of the Coalition.
The Coalition is one of the organisations in the RORG-alliance for NGOs having a framework agreement with NORAD to undertake information work. In addition, the Coalition is also a participating organisation in ForUM - the Norwegian Forum for Environment and Development.
SUM is formally or informally affiliated with various other networks and programmes working on issues linked with the environment and development. One such formal affiliation is with NERUDA (Network for Rural development in Latin America). The Network, which is financed by the European Union's ALFA programme, consists of seven European and eight Latin American universities/ research institutions. The aim of NERUDA is to co-ordinate research co-operation between its various member organisations. This co-operation is mainly centred around the theme of "Rural Livelihoods and Participation in Different State, Market and Community Regimes in Latin America". The contact person at SUM is Professor Kristi Anne Stølen.
Another example of SUM affiliation is the recently established Norwegian Forum on South Asia (NoFSA), which is an independent organisation presently hosted by SUM. NoFSA's aim is to be a network organisation connecting dispersed Norwegian South Asia resources within research, culture, business, public administration, NGOs, the media, etc. The idea is that these communities may draw on each other's experience and expertise. NoFSA also wishes to improve and expand contacts between Norway and South Asia - a region with an increasing importance to Norway - and to inform a Norwegian audience about the countries in the region.
A project, financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and administered by the Research Council, charting the history of Norwegian Development Assistance has also recently been localised at SUM. Three researchers and a research assistant are to be engaged in this study.
Through the Director, Desmond McNeill, SUM participates actively
in the work of the University of Oslo's Steering Group for Environment
Research. This is administratively linked to the Faculty of Natural
Sciences, and is especially concerned with promoting collaboration
between that faculty and others in the field of environment. During
1997, SUM assisted the Group in organising two successful one-day
seminars, bringing together University of Oslo researchers working
in the fields of "Biodiversity" and "National and International
Instruments of Environmental Policy".
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