Last Thursday 17 June 2021, GI-ESCR, the University of Geneva, the Réseau de Recherche Francophone sur la Privatisation de l’Education (ReFPE) and the Right To Education Initiative (RTE) organised an introductory workshop with participants from French-speaking countries to strenghen research methodology on privatisation of education in the francophone space.

The objectives of the workshop were to: 

• Discuss the opportunities and challenges of conducting research on privatization of education without belonging to an academic institution;

• Present research activities within the reach of civil society organisations and raise awareness about the diversity of research methods, including the importance and role of qualitative research; and

• Identify the needs in terms of research training, with a view to developing a specific training in October-November 2021.

The online introductory workshop was attended by over 20 participants from various French-speaking countries such as Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Canada, Congo DRC, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Mali, Senegal, Tunisia, etc. 

The highlights of the introductory workshop were: 

• The presentations made by two partners who have already conducted a research in their respective countries in collaboration with GI-ESCR and the ReFPE. They presented the objectives of their research, the methodology used, the methodological successes and challenges as well as the lessons learnt;

• The presentation on the methodological approaches by the University of Geneva; and

• The gathering of participants’ needs in terms of research methodology.

As a follow-up, a specific training workshop will be held in October-November this year with selected participants with whom we intend to conduct research work. This will ensure that research outputs with partners are strengthened and contribute to successful advocacy campaigns on the importance of the right to education for all at the national level.