Strengthening of the participation of the Congolese civil society to the development of Congo through the support of applied research for civil society.

This 2-year project (2008-2010) is financed by the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR-UOS) and builds further on the partnership between HIVA/KULeuven and the Chaire de la Dynamique Sociale (CDS) of the Université de Kinshase (UNIKIN). The project aims at the strengthening of the research capacity of CDS/UNIKIN and 2 partner universities in Lumbumbashi (UNIKI) and Kisangani (UNIKIS), and involves the execution of a number of capacity development activities in Congo, in-service training in Belgium, and joint research activities. The project wishes to contribute to the strengthening of the participation of civil society to political and economical decision-making processes in Congo, through the improvement of the quality of the interaction between research institutes and civil society actors.

Keywords:Development cooperation, Congo, Partnership, Congolese universities, Capacity development, Development aid, Inter-university cooperation, Research

Disciplines:Economic development, innovation, technological change and growth, Social change, Applied economics