The Africa Desk

During the consultations now known as The Nairobi Process, it was clear that African researchers often encountered difficulties in finding basic information about funding and other resources. Similarly, the UK academic community had a long history of connections with African researchers, but it was often hard to keep track of these links, to establish contact with potential collaborators, or to communicate funding calls and events to the right people. This is particularly true of those earlier in their careers, who typically lack the contacts and networks that their colleagues have developed over time.

The Africa Desk was initiated in 2013 by the British Academy and the African Studies Association of the UK, and is currently managed by the ACU with support from SCOLMA, the UK Africanists librarians group. At its heart is a directory of African and UK scholars in social science and humanities (it encompasses the latest edition of the ASAUK Directory of Africanists in Britain), enabling academics to locate and make contact with colleagues sharing similar research interests. It also provides information on African studies centres in the UK and specialist Africanist libraries in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.

It is regularly updated with information on new funding calls, scholarship and fellowship announcements and conferences and other events. It is steadily building up a series of resources on finding funding, accessing journals and other research information, and on getting published.

For further information, visit the Africa Desk website.