GDNet reaches out to researchers

February 23, 2012 Leave a Comment

By Maya Madkour – GDNet

GDNet is now reaching out to its researchers, letting them know their work has been featured on a number of its regional windows. Part of a strategic decision to cultivate long-term partnerships with its users, GDNet understands the importance of putting a name, and face, to the organization.


GDNet staff now contact researchers every week to find out how they can create a better, more rewarding online experience. Researchers are then informed that their profile is on rotation, where users can access their work, information, and find out more about what they do; they’re encouraged to participate, and play an active role; whether by submitting their most recent work, using online services, or by providing feedback.

The reactions we’ve elicited were heartwarming to say the least; many were excited to find out their work had been featured. One particular researcher was happy she found a platform where she can learn from other users and get feedback on her work. Accessing Southern knowledge from many parts of the developing world also made her very happy.

We will continue creating direct linkages between GDNet staff, researchers, and our audience, to better accommodate their needs and serve as a knowledge hub and intermediary.

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“Understanding and Avoiding the Oil Curse in the Arab World”, why this topic?

February 2, 2012 Leave a Comment

At the ERF Conference on “Understanding and Avoiding the Oil Curse in the Arab World”, I had the opportunity to interview Ahmed Galal, Managing Director of the Economic Research Forum about the importance of the topic to the region and the role of ERF in producing knowledge about the important issues of natural resources and long-term development.

Ahmed Galal, Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Watch more videos with Abdullatif Al-Hamad, Director General and Chairman of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and Ibrahim Elbadawi, Economic Policy and Research Center – EPRC, Dubai Economic Council & Economic Research Forum – ERF) on ERF Blog.

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“Understanding and Avoiding the Oil Curse in the Arab World” was the theme for the ERF & AFESD Conference

January 23, 2012 Leave a Comment

Organized jointly by the Economic Research Forum and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the conference “Understanding and Avoiding the Oil Curse in the Arab World” was held in Kuwait on January 15-16, 2012 and convened around 100 regional and international researchers.

Eleven countries of the twenty-two members of the League of the Arab States are oil exporters and they account for approximately 55 percent of global oil reserves and 29 percent of natural gas reserves. The hydrocarbon sector dominates these economies, contributing about 50 percent to GDP and 80 percent to government revenues. Neighboring countries are also impacted by oil, through its impact on labor earnings, capital mobility and trade in goods and services between oil and non-oil exporters. If the region does not harness the power of natural resources, it is likely to experience extreme volatility, post-boom growth collapses, Dutch disease, weakened institutions and rent-seeking behaviors: the so called “oil curse.”  The reverse also holds.

In this context ERF has initiated a major research undertaking on “understanding and avoiding the oil curse in the Arab world,” which aims at understanding the macroeconomic challenges related to oil dependency as well as exploring options to address those challenges including fiscal, financial, monetary and exchange rate policies.

Bringing together renowned academics and policy makers, the primary objective of this conference was to initiate discussions on the macroeconomic challenges posed by oil dependency in Arab countries, and of policies for harnessing the power of natural resources. The conference was preceded by a workshop, which was held in Cairo on October 7- 8 2011 to discuss draft papers.

To view posts from the Conference, check the ERF blog

Download the conference agenda

Follow-us on twitter @ERFlatest

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Some findings on the investment climate and business environment in Africa

January 9, 2012 1 Comment

Once again, I am sharing with you a couple of video interviews I made in Kampala, Uganda at the GDNet-TrustAfrica Policy Workshop held on June 7-8, 2011.

Francis Kemausuor, Energy Centre at the Kwameh Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, presented the findings and recommendations from his paper on “Jatropha biofuels in Ghana – Making informed policy decisions”. The study addresses the role policy can play in the emerging biofuels industry to the benefit of Ghana. It shows that jatropha production could be more rewarding for investors when using irrigation under the application of fertilizer, and could be even more promising at the national level if Ghana begins commercial production of clean jatropha oil.

Margaret Matanda explored the complexity of the new market entry and the risk taking by earthenware manufacturers through her paper on “Entrepreneurial orientation and access to new markets by small-scale earthenware manufacturers in Western Kenya”.

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Take away lessons from the GDNet-TrustAfrica Workshop

January 8, 2012 Leave a Comment

It has been quite a while since I posted the last blog from the GDNet-trustAfrica Policy Workshop held in Kampala, Uganda, on June 7-8, 2011.

During the workshop, I have had the opportunity to interview some of the participants about the so-called “take away lessons” from the workshop. I thought of making a blog out of those interviews since it is important for GDNet to keep an eye on what participants learn from the research communications capacity building events, and to use their comments and critics to improve the training workshops and materials.

Watch highlights from researchers sharing what they learned from the workshop below:

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