With an objective of upgrading social scientists, NCCS has been providing training to young scholars through residential workshops. The purpose of the workshops is to enhance the capacity of fresh social scientists through interactions with scholars, party leaders and leading activists from Nepal and other South Asian Countries. Six residential workshops have already been organized with continuous support from the Ford Foundation:
1. Electoral System and Research Methodology (December 2000)
2. Political Parties and Parliament in Nepal and Research Methodology (March 2002)
3. Participatory Democracy in Nepal and Research Methodology (January 2004)
4. Democracy and Minority Rights and Research Methodology (January 2005).
5. Restructuring the Nepali State and Research Methodology (February 2006)
6. Constitution Making, Restructuring the Nepali State and Research Methodology (January 2007)
The theme of this year's workshop, on 21-30 January 2007, was Constitution Making, Restructuring the Nepali State and Research Methodology. This is a part of the project on Restructuring the Nepali State and Democratic Sustainability funded by the Ford Foundation. Altogether fifteen young scholars with different disciplinary background of social sciences participated in this workshop. The Centre gives preference to female and university teachers of political science.
The topics dealt with were:
1. Constitution Making and State Restructuring: Thematic Discussion
2. Retrospect on Political/Constitutional Development in Nepal
3. Conflict Resolution, Peace Building and Constitution Making
4. Constituent Assembly and Constitution Making Process
5. Inclusion in Constitution Making: Modalities and Contents
6. Federalism
7. Ethnicity and State restructuring
8. Regional Movements and Madhesi Politics
9. Marginalized Group and State Restructuring Agenda: Gender and Dalit Perspectives
10. Political Parties and Inclusive Democracy
11. Local Democracy and People's Empowerment
12. Social Science Research in Nepal
13. Research on Inclusive Democracy
14. Research Methodology: Sampling
15. Field Survey Techniques and Experiences
Around 45 experts from university, political party and civil society, including five from other South Asian countries contributed to the workshop as resource persons. They were invited considering their expertise and experiences on the subject matter. Some of the papers presented at the workshops are published in our journal, Nepali Journal of Contemporary Studies, or as Occasional Paper. Orientation on research methodology is a part of the workshops and is followed by a fieldwork program in which the participants of the workshop are expected to apply their theoretical knowledge gained in the workshop. After the workshop of 2007, a questionnaire survey on Constitution-Making and State Restructuring in Nepal was conducted from 2 to 14 February 2007. The previous year, 30 surveyors had crisscrossed 21 parliamentary constituencies across the country in May 2006 to survey on State Restructuring and Consolidation of Democracy. Qualitative interviews had been conducted in 2005.
