Come affiliate with us for a better and conducive reading environment
Email: cbr@cbr.ug
Come affiliate with us for a better and conducive reading environment
Email: cbr@cbr.ug

About Us

Leading Research Centre

Background

Centre for Basic Research (CBR) is a Non-Governmental Organization, (NGO), established in 1987 and a member institute of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA).

CBR’s mission is to spearhead the generation and dissemination of knowledge by conducting research of social, economic and political significance to Uganda in particular and Africa in general, so as to influence policy, raise consciousness and improve the quality of life. In this way CBR has also nurtured researchers in Uganda and elsewhere

Who We Are

CBR is a leading independent research Centre in Uganda, established in 1987 an educational trust and subsequently registered in 1988 as an NGO. CBR is a member institute of the Council for the Development of Social Research in Africa based in Dakar, Senegal.

CBR has a full-fledged resource centre and internet facilities which enable easy access to secondary literature. It has a cohort of researchers with qualifications in various fields in the humanities, law and social sciences. In addition, CBR outsources researchers with key expertise such as in public health, statistics and environmental sciences. Research at CBR is both in-house and commissioned in nature.

CBR collaborates with organisations that have dissemination or lobbying skills to utilise CBR’s research results in their advocacy work in order to ensure maximum impact. The work done by CBR researchers on issues of pastoral crises and transformation during the early 1990’s are still quoted widely by both local and international development and humanitarian/relief agencies.

Our Objectives

Mission Statement

To generate and disseminate knowledge by conducting research of social, economic and political significance to Uganda in particular and Africa in general, so as to influence policy, raise consciousness and improve quality of life.

Our Vision

To become a Centre of excellence spearheading generation and dissemination of appropriate basic and policy information and knowledge in collaboration with partners and clients for sustainable development.
Word from the Executive Director
Dr. Frank Emmanuel Muhereza

The broad aim of CBR is to conduct research on issues of basic social significance. In pursuing this goal, we also document materials on these issues; publish research results; organize training for interested groups and; liaise with institutions with which CBR broadly shares similar objectives. Research at CBR covers a broad range of fields and interests. These include History, Political Economy, Sociology, Political Science, Law, Education and the Sciences. From 1988 to-date, CBR research agenda has included the following studies: Rights and constitutionalism; civil society and governance; labour (peasant, plantation, factory and artisanal); social movements and democratic struggles; appropriate technology in peasant farming; pastoralism in Karamoja; land tenure and land use; the informal sector; gender; environmental accountability in decentralized contexts; non-profit organizations, impact of structural adjustment programmes and aspects of cultural studies.

Governance Structure of CBR

The policy-making organ of CBR is the General Meeting, which comprises the researchers. The General Meeting determines all the activities of CBR. The General Meeting has two sub committees namely; Research Policy Council (RPC), Finance and Administration (F&A). The head of the Centre, the Executive Director, oversees implementation of all policy decisions taken by the General Meeting. The day-to-day running of the Centre is the responsibility of the staff in Administration which includes an Administrator, Finance Officer and Head of Library/Documentation Services.

Over the years, the number of researchers at CBR has grown from 8 founding members to 32 today, of which 24 are resident. CBR has now evolved into an institution with a research team composed of both full-time and part-time researchers. Of the 24 resident researchers affiliated to CBR, 14 are Ph.D. holders, 10 have Masters Degrees. Researchers enjoy autonomy and flexibility, and through peer review of their research work and the possibility of a scholarship to pursue further studies, they are able to develop their career paths while contributing to knowledge of societal significance.

CBR provides an institutional umbrella for multi-disciplinary research in a wide range of fields and interests. These include Basic Research that is intended to inform/influence policy as well as national agenda and general consultancy and technical support to development agencies, government, and non-government organizations through commissioned studies.

In the area of basic research since 1988 to-date, CBR Fellows have researched on various topics in the following areas: labour and social movements and democratic struggles; appropriate technology in peasant farming; pastoralism in Karamoja; land tenure and land use; rights and constitutionalism; the informal sector; gender; environmental accountability in decentralized contexts; civil society and governance; non-profit organizations and impact of structural adjustment programmes. The research results have been published as working papers, books and articles in journals and newsletters. Higher institutions of learning, policy-makers and civil society organizations, have used CBR’s researched knowledge.