News archive - Assessment of Research Capacities in Social Sciences - Report on Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244) Now Available

Three new reports on research capacities in the field of social sciences have recently been published by the Regional Research Promotion Programme for the Western Balkans (also see page 5). The assessments have been compiled in cooperation with local partners, such as the Riinvest Institute for Development Research in case of the report on Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244).

According to Riinvest’s analysis, the social science research landscape in Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244) is characterised by the following features:
1. Donor driven: Financial sources are mostly provided by international donor organisations such as the World Bank, USAID, the UNDP, the OSCE and the European Commission.
2. This leads to a lack of individual/free research, as topics are mostly set by the abovementioned donor organisations.
3. A trend of business orientation can be observed, as international funding triggered the establishment of a great number of private, commercially oriented research institutes.
4. A low number of researchers with PhD degrees is especially characteristic for the private institutes. Moreover, journals and scientific papers are rarely published.
5. There is also a lack of institutional framework for social science research. However, priority setting for the Science Strategy was a significant step in this respect.
6. Availability of Publications: Furthermore, research output is mostly published online, but there is a lack of initiative to make reports available in international libraries such as the Central and Eastern European Online Library (CEEOL).

Geographical focus
  • Kosovo*

Entry created by Katarina Rohsmann on June 24, 2010
Modified on June 24, 2010