The Afrobarometer at Ten: Building a Network of Survey Research in Africa

For ten years, the Afrobarometer has undertaken a comparative series of national public opinion surveys that measure public attitudes toward democracy, governance, the economy and market reform, leadership, identity and other issues in Africa. From its inception, the Afrobarometer project has worked with a network of partners, based in Africa and the United States, to generate scientifically reliable data on public opinion in Africa while at the same time aiming to strengthen institutional capacity for survey research in Africa. Additionally, the Afrobarometer has also sought to widely disseminate and apply its results to various stakeholders, including those based in Africa and outside of the continent. This presentation will offer an overview of the Afrobarometer project in the preceding ten years, identifying some of the key achievements made in realizing its objectives as well as some of the challenges encountered in carrying out survey research in Africa. Presentation (ppt) | Paper (pdf)

Boniface Dulani was awarded the prestigious Fulbright Fellowship to study for a PhD in Political Science at Michigan State University from August 2006. He hopes to graduate in the Fall of 2010. Since May 2009, Boniface has been working as a Donor Liaison Coordinator on the Afrobarometer Project, a comparative series of national public opinion surveys that measure public attitudes toward democracy, governance, the economy and market reform, leadership, identity and other issues in Africa. Prior to coming to MSU, Boniface worked for seven years at the University of Malawi (Unima) as a Lecturer in the Department of Political and Administrative Studies. His major PhD field at MSU is Comparative Politics, and his minor subfield is International Relations. His PhD research is on Personal Rule and Presidential Term Limit rules in African politics. He has published and consulted widely in the fields of Democracy and Governance as well as political economy of development, working with both Malawian and International research partners. In his free time, Boniface enjoys watching sports, with a passion for the Malawi national soccer team, Manchester United and Michigan State Spartans. His e-mail address is: dulanibo@msu.edu