Publication funding „Re-Thinking Development in Ethiopia“

Background
This book project originates in the IDS project Reimagining Development funded by DfID and IDS in 2009 and 2010, as well as the FWF funded project "Ways of Knowing - When Local and Scientific Epistemologies meet in Rural Development" (P20685-G14) and the Ethiopian site of the KEF project "NAREM - Natural Resource management revisited.
Analysing ways of knowing in research projects in East Africa." (P170). The book project emerged from the preliminary findings of these projects as well as the ongoing work of the Forum for Social Studies (FSS), Addis Ababa, and the Centre for Development Research (CDR), BOKU Vienna, in Ethiopia. The latter one also is project coordinator for the OeAD funded APPEAR project TRANSACT "Strengthening Rural Transformation
Competences of Higher Education and Research Institutions in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia".

Context
In recent years, Ethiopia has made significant advances in expanding education, health and infrastructure services to its people. Official Government statistics also point to a reduction in poverty levels spurred by increasing pro-growth and pro-poor investment in critical social and economic areas. Despite the gains, however, formidable challenges remain, including pervasive poverty; increasing demographic pressure; a fragile natural resource base, particularly land; and chronic food insecurity that has put the Government in an unenviable position of having to provide food assistance and safety net support to between 13-14 million dependents every year. The latter is a cruel reality even during periods of relatively good agricultural production. It is against this backdrop that FSS and CDR are launching this project for a book on re-thinking development and a critical reflection of Ethiopias development experience, including successes and challenges, over the past 20 years or so.

Purpose
The purpose of the book is to provide insight into ongoing debates among Ethiopian researchers, policy makers, NGOs and international organisations in Ethiopia regarding the countrys development experience over the past two decades. This book will move beyond conventional cliches evolving around food insecurity, environmental degradation, and governance issues that dominate foreign media coverage of the country. It will highlight the development path Ethiopia is taking, and how the country aims at moving beyond aid dependency and current levels of poverty.
The editors wish to see this publication as a rare opportunity to reflect rather than an opportunity to publish a conventional research article. Authors have been asked to substantiate their arguments and reflections with their research experiences. Yet, the book will not consider contributions with e.g. large sets of research data represented in esoteric graphs and tables. The book should be readable for an interdisciplinary audience, including development practitioners and policy makers, and should stimulate
fresh thinking and perspectives for debate on development in Ethiopia.

Follow-up project as book publication of P 170.
Project Management / Editors: Mehret Ayenew/Birgit Habermann - Africa Book Collective (London) in cooperation with the Forum for Social Studies (Addis Abebba)