Connect South

The Connect South campaign centres around a website that both serves as a portal for information and a call for action to those working in development to pledge their support and re-establish GDNet's own commitments to southern researchers. The campaign invites partner organisations to sign a 'Charter of Commitments' and to outline how they will help Southern researchers communicate their work more effectively. Also on the Connect South website are announcements, thematic windows, regional windows, community groups, learning and publications, and information from/on journals, data, and funding. Central topics include: macroeconomics and economic growth, urban development and the global south, private sector development, development finance and aid effectiveness, labour and social protections, environment and climate change, education and training, and poverty and inequality.

Connect South uses social media to get the word out. For example, in a dedicated discussion group on LinkedIn, the campaign asks participants to make a pledge to Connect South by telling others "how you or your organization will Connect South. If you're stuck for ideas, why not take inspiration from the pledges that other people have made or copy one of the following examples?

• Hold a discussion with colleagues on how you might support southern researchers better.
• Spread the word by writing about the challenges you face as a researcher on your blog.
• Take the time to find southern research in your web searches.
• Consider fostering research partnerships with southern-based organizations.
• Improve access to your research either through open access or low-cost subscriptions for Southern users."

Everyone who makes a pledge will be featured on the Connect South website. Organisations will also be given the opportunity to feature the Connect South logo on their website for the duration of the campaign.

Science.

According to GDNet, Southern researchers continue to experience challenges such as accessing development research and data, securing research funding, communicating research findings to peers and policy audiences, and coping with the dominance of Northern academic practices. For example, a 2010 study [PDF] found that Africa's contribution to international academic research in information and communication technologies (ICTs) for development was "very low", at between one and nine percent of publications. "There is a general trend for Southern research to cover practical case studies and applied knowledge, rather than the empirical, evidence-based, knowledge practised by Northern institutes, which have better access to resources for theoretical research," said Shahira Emara, Knowledge Services Manager at GDNet's Cairo, Egypt, office. "Southern research capacity needs strengthening and more investment - including in terms of communications capacity - to amplify Southern voices," said Emara. That is, access to good-quality research and datasets also needs to be coupled with "information literacy", involving the ability to search for, evaluate, and use information.