Scientific expertise is a powerful accelerator for development, via the analyses, recommendations, concepts, etc. that it provides for political decision-makers, to inform their decisions.
In 2017, around 20 institutional assessments were conducted, involving up to 16 IRD and partner researchers, depending on the project.
Two assessments were conducted for the AFD. The main one, entitled “Reference Study on the Lake Chad Region” involved five French experts and eleven African experts from Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad. Among other objectives, this research led to the identification of indicators and sentinel data to monitor the main political, security, economic, demographic and environmental dynamics of the region.
Moreover, the AFD adopted a team coordinated by IRD, to develop an operational approach to preventing violence and criminality adapted to its sectors of intervention. This assessment, currently being finalised, particularly involved the collection and synthesis of available knowledge on the ways of preventing violence and criminality in Medellín, Bogotá and Fortaleza, to draw up recommendations for carrying out projects in violent contexts.
At the end of 2017, a contract was signed with the AFD to conduct an assessment identifying the major issues connected with the question of the future of the Niger River in Mali, primarily upstream in the river and in the Inner Delta. This assessment will be conducted in 2018.
The institutional assessments conducted in 2017 included the development of a project on direct request of the Swedish government, concerning the causes of migration from the Kayes region in Mali.
Concerning collective scientific expert assessments, negotiations continued with Haiti’s Ministry of Agriculture and Mineral Resources, with a view to conducting an assessment on the theme of artisanal fishing. These exchanges led to the planning of an initial workshop in January 2018.
The terms of reference for the assessment conducted under the AMRUGE-CI programme concerning the cultural and industrial potential of natural substances were finalised, and the initial workshop was scheduled for early 2018.
Finally, exchanges took place with the Ministry of Overseas France, for an assessment to be conducted on the exploration and exploitation of the deep-sea mineral resources of Wallis and Futuna.