Afrobarometer is set to debut its public-attitude surveys in the Gambia, bringing to 38 the number of African countries in which the network has “let the people have a say.”

The Centre for Policy, Research and Strategic Studies (CepRass) has been selected as Afrobarometer’s national partner in the Gambia and will conduct the country’s first-of-its-kind nationally representative survey and dissemination of the results.

Afrobarometer, a pan-African, non-partisan research network, conducts a series of national public-attitude surveys with the objective of informing the public discourse on democracy, governance, and other policy and development issues.

The project is produced collaboratively by social scientists from across Africa.

Coordination is provided by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) in South Africa, the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Nairobi in Kenya, and the Institute for Empirical Research in Political Economy (IREEP) in Benin.

Michigan State University (MSU) and the University of Cape Town (UCT) provide technical support to the network.

Dr. Bumi Camara, CepRass’ principal investigator for the project, says the Gambia’s recent political transition opens a new chapter in the nation’s quest for democratic governance.

He is optimistic that the survey will provide a voice for Gambians on key issues such as governance, corruption, living standards, and public trust.

“This public opinion survey is relevant for both policymakers and ordinary citizens in order to effectively understand needs and aspirations of people living in the Gambia,” he says.

“Findings from Afrobarometer’s survey in the country will also be a baseline for assessing the current and subsequent governments’ performance.”

During the third quarter of 2018, CepRass will interview a nationally representative, random, stratified probability sample of 1,200 adult Gambians.

A sample of this size yields results with a margin of error of +/-3% at a 95% confidence level. CDD-Ghana will provide technical backstopping for the survey.

CepRass was launched in 2016 by a team of faculty members at the University of the Gambia to complement the efforts of the university in delivering quality research and consultancy services.

The center uses cutting-edge interdisciplinary research methods that combine qualitative and quantitative approaches to address critical socioeconomic, development, political, and governance issues.

CepRass serves as a center for scholarly activities and intellectual creativity, offering researchers the opportunity to conduct assignments that are relevant for policymaking.

As a focal point for reflection and interaction between policymakers and researchers, the center seeks to advocate and strengthen collaboration on evidence-based development.

It operates as a nonprofit organization with a strong conviction that ideas must be communicated to the world and relevant information to the right people at the right time.