| The Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development (INURED or the Institute) is a research and higher education establishment based in Haiti. INURED’s mission is to contribute to the development of high-level research and scientific training in Haiti with the aim of improving the educational, socioeconomic and political conditions of Haiti’s people. INURED conducts three types of activities: • Higher Education Research and Training • Production, Centralization and Diffusion of Knowledge • Community Intervention INURED is a collective initiative set up by a group of Haitian and foreign researchers with the support of local and international partners. The Institute forms part of an international network of universities and research centers that collaborate actively in the implementation and development of its program of activities. Objectives • Promote and institutionalize multidisciplinary research on the themes of Violence, Health, Education, Economy, Environment, Public Policies, Governance, Agriculture, Renewable Energy, Religion and Migration; • Contribute to the training and renewal of the country’s intellectual and professional cadre through the creation of multidisciplinary M.A. and Ph.D. programs focused on these themes and through systematic support for existing M.A. courses; • Participate in the national effort to rebuild Haitian society and its public institutions through the production and publication of empirical data and scientific analyses capable of assisting national and international public and private institutions in the effective implementation of intervention and development policies; • Develop international research and training networks, particularly with the Dominican Republic, by consolidating and implementing academic collaborations and transnational exchange programs; • Curb the Haitian ‘brain drain’ by identifying and grouping the country’s currently scattered human resources and by providing a research and teaching environment capable of absorbing them; • Create and develop a high-level Scientific Library and a Documentation Center for centralizing and diffusing knowledge about the country; • Create a space for spreading information and knowledge and enabling collective reflection and public debate where all Haitians – irrespective of their social origin and level of education – will have equal access to information and the means of expression. Background Haiti’s social situation evokes a series of well-publicized images: extreme poverty, environmental crises, the precariousness of agricultural production, overpopulation in the big towns and cities, institutional instability, political violence, foreign military presence and so on. None of these are new phenomena: rather, they are part of a long history that has become perceptibly worse over the last two decades. Contributing to this decline has been a lack of systematic, independent and continuous research and analysis of Haitian society that would enable the development of policies for solving or at least alleviating the many problems affecting Haiti. One of the urgent challenges facing contemporary Haiti, therefore, is the need to generate empirical data concerning the country’s social reality. The Haitian academic world has been almost powerless to deal with the complexity of the problems posed by the general crisis afflicting Haitian society and the collapse of the country’s social institutions. The absence of an institutionalized space for scientific research, the scant human resources available – a situation aggravated by the ‘brain drain’ abroad – and the lack of technologies and professional structures have all impeded the development of academic institutions in Haiti. This has led to a severe lack of skilled citizens capable of contributing to the study of Haitian society and the systematic production of first-hand empirical data to be used to guide public policies and the action of local and international organizations working on the ground. Haitian universities have few solid structures for pursuing empirical research: eighty percent of the empirical data and knowledge produced about the country result from one-off projects sponsored by international cooperation agencies. The short-term dynamic of these interventions leads to the production of fragmented and dispersed knowledge, consistent indeed with the partial and provisional form taken by these interventions. Over the last twenty years, the country has witnessed the continuous dismantling of higher education training programs, a phenomenon that reinforces the ‘brain drain’ abroad and annuls the attempts made by the State and universities to invest in postgraduate training. Except for the area of medicine, there are no longer any Ph.D. programs in Haiti. Some M.A. programs are currently in a phase of creation or reconstruction in the state university and in some private universities, but for the most part they are geared towards professional training. Existing Haitian universities possess embryonic scientific libraries that are not yet centers of reference. Their document collections are scattered and very often inaccessible, some containing no more than a few thousand works, most of them outdated or obsolete. Existing libraries do not subscribe to the main international scientific journals and are not connected to the international networks of university libraries. Available documents are mostly in French, which exacerbates the country’s isolation from Spanish, English and Portuguese productions and limits the possibilities for regional and international exchanges. The creation of the Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development (INURED) is intended to respond to this situation and contribute to the development of an institutionalized space for high-level scientific research in Haiti. History The discussions leading to the creation of the Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development in Haiti began in the 1990s, when the country entered a new crisis culminating in the intervention of international forces in 1994. Evaluating this context, a group of Haitian, American and Brazilian researchers became interested in applying the strategies used in other national contexts to respond to similar situations. In 1999, this pioneering group created the Family and Youth Community Research Center,Inc. (FYCRC) in the United States, dedicated to studying the different problems affecting the living conditions of Haitians in the United States and Haiti itself. This institution – subsequently officially recognized as a non-profit organization in the United States and linked to universities and research centers in Florida, New York and Massachusetts – was the first step toward implementing the project of founding the Institute. After its creation, FYCRC actively developed an international network of researchers specialized in the study of the Caribbean and Haiti and undertook systematic discussions on planning and organizing a high-level research institute in Haiti. Thanks to the FYCRC’s efforts, the support of American, Brazilian and Haitian universities (the Faculty of Human Sciences, the Ecole Normale Supérieure of Haiti State University, and Lumière University) and the financial support of the Haitian State (the Prime Minister’s Office, the Department of Education, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Religion, and the Ministry of Tourism), INURED came into being and was officially inaugurated in May 2007, during a forum attended by more than ninety international researchers. The latter came from seventeen universities and research centers from Haiti, Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, France, the United States, Canada, Martinique and the Dominican Republic. The forum’s participants collectively discussed the Institute’s mission and its founding principles. They decided on its different entities, research policies and academic programs and committed themselves to assuming an active role in the different Research Laboratories. Founding principles Independence – INURED is a non-profit organization working independently of any political, ideological or religious affiliation; Interdisciplinarity – INURED’s work approach recognizes the complementarity between disciplines and encourages their dialogue; Application – INURED promotes a conception of science as a means to reflect on social phenomena and as a place for elaborating intervention and development policies; Transnationality – INURED conceives the research process within a dynamic perspective that transcends national borders; Collaboration – INURED envisages research as a collective enterprise of producing knowledge and expertise that involves on an equal footing researchers coming from a wide variety of disciplines and institutions from both Southern and Northern countries; Transparency – INURED advocates transparency both in its financial management and in the selection of candidates for scholarship, research and teaching programs. Personnel Administrative Staff Director/Chancellor Louis Herns Marcelin, PhD. – herns.marcelin@inured.org Director of Administration Jean-Marie Joseph – jeanmarie.joseph@inured.org Director of Partnerships and Communication Alpen Sheth, M.A. – alpen.sheth@inured.org Administrative Assistant Lourdy Mackentoch Jean – lourdy.jean@inured.org Coordinator of Academic Programs Ragas Nang-yad, M.A – ragas.nang_yad@inured.org Coordinator of Community Programs Jean Ruben Peterly Riche – peterly.riche@inured.org Community Forum Liaison, Cité Soleil Jean Dilhomme – maestjerome@yahoo.fr Johny Fontaine – fjohny25@gmail.com Research Consultants Jean-Philippe Belleau, Ph.D. Daniel Derivois, Ph.D. Charlene Desir, Ph.D., Education Myrvine Fleureau, MA, Psychologie, Violence et Trauma Josiane Hudicourt-Barnes, M.A., Education Laura Kallus, M.A., Social Sciences, Violence and Gangs Jeffery McDonald, Ph.D. Medical Anthropology & Sociology, Program Evaluation Gayle L. McGarrity, Ph.D., Social Sciences & Medical Anthropology Ragas Nang-yad, M.A., Education Natacha Nicaise, Ph.D., Social Anthropology, European Development Policies Ajaykumar Panicker, Ph.D., Sociology, Politics & Civil Society. Yves-François Pierre, Ph.D., Urban and Rural Sociology ; Environment Thurka Sangaramoorthy, Ph.D., Public Health, Medical Anthropology Glenn Smocker, Ph.D., Environment Studies, Urban and Rural Studies Helen Penelope Spraos, MA, Development Management, Social Development Studies Gilbert Saint-Jean, MD, Ph.D., Epidemiology and Public Health Jane Sinagub, Ph.D., Education Studies Ida Vintes Tafari, Ph.D., Public Health and Medical Anthropology James Vivian, Ph.D., Biostatistics, Health Statistics Margareth Wilson, Ph.D., Economic Anthropology, Community-Based Organization Research Associates and Assistants Research Associates Sudarshana Bardoloi, PhD Candidate, York University Daniel Derivois, Ph.D., Université Lyon II Lygia Elena, B.A. University of Miami Caroline Shenaz Hossein, Ph.D. Candidate University of Toronto Emanna Louis, M.A., University of Miami Alpen Sheth, M.A., University of Miami Cécile Vermot, MA, Université de Paris Research Assistants Ligia Elena, BA, University of Miami Erin Goldsmith, BA, University of Miami Aurora Martinez, BA, University of Miami Anthony Minerva, BA, University of Miami Kristina Rosales, BA, University of Miami Louis Jean Sergo, BA, State University of Haiti Austin Webbert, BA, University of Miami Lauren Yothers, BA, University of Miami Scientific Committee Coordination Jean Robert Cadely, Ph.D., Florida International University Fritz Deshommes, M.A., Université d'Etat d'Haïti Gerdès Fleurant, Ph.D., Wellesley College Myrvine Fleureau, M.A., Université de Paris Michael Houseman, Ph.D., CNRS, Université Paris Sorbonne - Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes Edward LiPuma, Ph.D., University of Miami Ira Lowenthal, Ph.D., Chercheur indépendant Lilian Manzor, Ph.D., University of Miami Louis Herns Marcelin, Ph.D., University of Miami & FYCRC Marika Moisseeff, Ph.D., CNRS, Université Paris X Nanterre Federico Neiburg, Ph.D. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Yves-François Pierre, Ph.D., Chercheur indépendant Kate Ramsey, Ph.D., University of Miami Michel Soukar, M.A. Gina Athena Ulysse, Ph.D. Wesleyan University Members Edmund Abaka, Ph.D., University of Miami Jean-Claude Bajeux, Ph.D., Centre Oecuménique des Droits Humains José Renato Batista, M.A., Universidade do Rio de Janeiro Jean-Philippe Belleau, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Craig Calhoun, Ph.D., Social Science Research Council Sergio Carrara, Ph.D., Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro & CLAM Michele Cayemittes, MD, MPH, Institut Haitien de l'Enfance Calixte Clerisme, Ph.D., State University of Haiti Renald Clerisme, Ph.D. Linda Marc Clerisme, Ph.D. John Commerford, Ph.D., Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, Ph.D., Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Daniel Derivois, Ph.D., Universite Lyon II Charlene Desir, Nova Southeastern University Rachel Beauvoir Dominique, Ph.D., Université d'Etat d'Haïti Rubém César Fernandes, Ph.D., Viva Rio Pascale Fournier, JD, University of Ottawa & Harvard University Olivia Maria Gomes da Cunha, Ph.D., Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Henry-Robert Jolibois, Ing., Université d’Etat d’Haïti & ISPAN Benjamin Lee, Ph.D., The New School Aurolyn Luykx, Ph.D., University El Paso Texas Franklin Midy, Ph.D., Université du Québec Lillian Manzor, Ph.D., University of Miami Natacha Nicaise, Ph.D., Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Bryan Page, Ph.D., University of Miami Moacir Palmeira, Ph.D., Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Antonio Ramalho, Ph.D., Universidade de Brasília Lygia Sigaud, Ph.D., Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Merrill Singer, Ph.D., University of Connecticut Eddy Tejeda, Ph.D., Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales Omar Ribeiro Thomaz, Ph.D., Universidade de Campinas Bridget Wooding, Ph.D., Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales Ragas Nyang Yad, M.A., INURED Board of Trustees (Haut Conseil Administratif) Louis Herns Marcelin, Ph.D., Chair and Chancellor Guy Noël, MD, Vice Chair and Public Relations Annick Elie, BA, Treasurer Wesner Marcelin, MA, Secretary Ginette Diederich, MD, Member, (Chair, Family and Youth Community Research Center, Inc.) Georges Celcis, Member Gina Athena Ulysse, Ph.D., Member Bertrand Laurent, Ph.D., Member Laurinus Pierre, MD., MPH, Member Caroline Rose-Avila, MA, Member |