Fifteen (15) researchers from different African countries were in Addis Ababa, for a three – day workshop which was jointly organised by the ICTD and the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF). This was under the banner of the African Tax Research Network (ATRN).

 

The inaugural Research Methods and Dissemination Workshop took place between 3-6 November 2015, and targeted junior to mid-career researchers working in the area of taxation and development. The workshop sought to strengthen their research capacity and enable them publish and communicate their key research findings to broader policy audiences.

 

Facilitating the workshop were internationally recognised experts, working in taxation and international development: Firew Woldeyes, a Research Fellow at the Ethiopian Development Research Institute, Vanessa van den Boogaard, ICTD Researcher and PhD student at the university of Toronto and Nicholas Benequista, a Researcher and PhD candidate at the London School of Economics. The three trainers successfully led the sessions, which included: Quantitative methods, Qualitative methods and Publication and dissemination of research findings.

 

The workshop took a hands-on approach, where researchers presented their papers, and received feedback from the trainers and fellow researchers, on how to improve their research. They also took part in a write-shop, where they were guided on how to turn their draft papers into one-page briefs with policy recommendations, which are applicable in real policy situations.

The 15 participants were from Burundi, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

 

Here are some of the feedback we received from the participants at the end of the workshop:

Haleokoe Jopo from the Lesotho Revenue Authority, wrote, “I really learned a lot from this workshop and I’ll work hard to incorporate the inputs.” John Ashilere from the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigeria on the other hand said, I really appreciate the effort that ATAF and the ICTD put in to make the workshop very interesting and memorable. The experience was very great.” Finally, Cynthia Mutasah from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority had this to say, It is true that after the training we had in Addis, our researches will be far much better than before.”

 

Similar workshops will be held every year, after the Annual Tax Research Network (ATRN) Congress, which is spearheaded by the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF).