1. The
general picture
The Center for Advanced Study (CAS) was founded in 1996 as
an independent, non-political Cambodian institution devoted to research,
education and public debate on issues affecting the development of the
Cambodian society. The Centre uses an integrative, problem-oriented approach,
and seeks to work with Cambodian and international scholars. CAS conducts
research programs designed to help clarify public policy options and develop priorities
from a humane, people-centred perspective. CASf research orientation is, at the
same time, educational. Research projects carried out by CAS provide training
opportunities for junior scholars, who work in teams mentored by senior
scholars. We are also involved with capacity building in more formal ways: we
develop and coordinate structured research training programmes. The CAS can
draw from a large pool of researchers, many of them students/graduates from the
Phnom Penh University or the Royal University of Fine Arts. At the moment the
Centre has a research director and four salaried researchers on its payroll and
a pool of around ten freelancers with extensive fieldwork experience.
CAS was foreign managed until the end of 1999. Since 2000
it is a Cambodian organization, under the general and research direction of Dr.
Hean Sokhom, Ph.D. CAS had foreign
UNV sponsored researchers – with a mixed research/capacity building task
description - on its staff until mid 2001. From that time onwards, engagement
with foreign researchers has been on the basis of project-related collaboration
only. From mid 2002 until mid 2004 CAS receives UNV sponsored institutional
strengthening support.
CAS has conducted research for different national and
international organizations on various subjects, among others on health and
health care (including HIV/AIDS), health seeking behaviour, civil society,
voter awareness, gender issues, and trafficking of women and children. CAS has
extensive experience in both quantitative (country-wide surveys) and in-depth,
qualitative research, and has worked with and for organizations such as The
Asia Foundation (TAF), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Health Organization (WHO),
Department For International Development (DFID), International Organization for
Migration (IOM), World Vision International (WVI), International Labour
Organization (ILO), OXFAM, Pharmaciens sans Frontiers, The Open Society
Institute, and Coffey Philippines.
2. Technical capacity
q 1998: A baseline survey of voter knowledge and awareness before the major voter education campaign for the 1998 elections got underway (938 voters in 17 provinces, time and budget constraints prevented probability sampling but an explicit effort was made to replicate the characteristics of the Cambodian population at least as far as sex, rural/urban, Khmer/non/Khmer characteristics, and ecological zones (affecting means of livelihood) were concerned. Some population categories like minorities and disabled that are usually underrepresented were over-sampled (funded by DFID and Forum Syd).
q 1999: An impact survey of voter knowledge and awareness after the 1998 elections (N=546, representative quota sampling in 17 provinces, again funded by DFID and Forum Syd)
q 2000: A baseline survey of the Cambodian electorate aimed at informing voter education programs for the 2002 commune elections (in collaboration with Charney Research, New York, N=1006, representative random population sample from 24 provinces, funded by The Asia Foundation)
q 2002:
Cambodia disease control and health development project (final projects evaluation
survey), a combined health services provision evaluation and repeat household
survey that provides comparable data to the baseline National Health Survey
conducted in 1998 by the Ministry of Health. (in collaboration with Coffey
Philippines; a representative sample of approx. 15,000 women in 12,000
households, plus 525 exit-poll interviews and 79 facility surveys; funded by
the World Bank and the ADB through the Ministry of Health).
In 2003 CAS executes a follow-up to the 2000 baseline survey of the Cambodian electorate with The Asia Foundation, and as part of a EC-funded internationally comparative study, a sex workers and mobility survey.
In as far CAS does not have technical expertise in-house, it contracts particular aspects of a study out. For data-entry and cleaning, as the National Institute of Statistics has proper facilities we usually work with them. Analysis is regularly done in collaboration with foreign partners.
CAS approach to survey work has always included a qualitative questionnaire development phase. We consider the ability to craft questions attuned to local cultural norms and language, including awareness of the problems that arise due to differences between written and spoken Khmer, one of our fortes.
2.2 Qualitative expertise
Most of CAS work to date has been qualitative in nature using semi-structured and open interview schedules and focus-groups. CAS field workers are also familiar with PRA techniques.
A couple of examples of qualitative projects conducted by the Centre are:
q 1997 –1998: Three qualitative studies on trafficking of women and children from Vietnam to Cambodia and from Cambodia to Thailand (for IOM, Catholic Relief Services and World Vision International)
q 1998: Qualitative study of grassroots civil society in the context of rural development efforts in Northwest Cambodia (for Forum Syd and Diakonia)
q 1999: Qualitative study of the UNDP/CARERE local planning process and its impact on civil society with a focus on Battambang province (semi-structured and open interviews)
q 1999: Study on health care seeking behaviour and preferences in Kampong Chhnang in connection with health care reform and the proposed introduction of user fees for services in the public health care system (in depth interviews with rural and urban families of various SE groups; for WHO).
q 2000: Brief assessment of the mental health service needs of Cambodians who are survivors of landmine accidents (for SSC)
q 2001: Volunteering at grassroots level (five case studies based on in-depth interviews, for UNDP/UNV)
q 2002: Research support for the World Vision International Children at risk research project (individual semi-structured interviews and group discussions)
In 2003 a qualitative study and the relationship between images of masculinity and domestic violence (for PADV) and a study on Buddhist ordination ceremonies and reasons for young men to (temporarily) become a monk are examples of qualitative work.
q Professionalism in deciding upon the aspects of a project that need to be contracted out.
q A strong track record in developing research instruments for the Cambodian setting and conducting its data-gathering with adequate sensitivity to local cultural and normative systems, working with fieldwork monitors that have ample experience with eliciting accurate information on personal matters and the capacity to train others.
q Innovative data sources and methods.
Indicators for this reputation for both our qualitative and quantitative strengths are:
q Many research sponsors decide to work with CAS again after having collaborated with us on a first project (e.g. TAF, JICA, WVI, ILO, Toyota Foundation).
q CAS is regularly asked to be the LRI in an internationally managed project (much more than is evidenced by our list of projects because we only accept if we are asked as partners as opposed to just executing some elsefs fieldwork).
q CAS is continuously approached by INGOfs, UN organizations and international research projects with a request for experienced research assistants. Again if we provide staff – which we do if we consider it a learning opportunity for the individual(s) involved – this is not visible in our lists of projects.
3. Infrastructure
q CAS has the necessary supporting infrastructure to enable proper execution of the surveys and qualitative projects. The office has computers, e-mail access, and a Khmer editor. The Center has a modest (public) library with holdings that are comprehensive in several content areas that CAS has worked on repeatedly. At present, in-house English editing is also available. For data-entry and cleaning we normally work with the NIS.
q In-house English comprehension and writing skills are sufficient to digest all relevant English language documentation, communicate with those partners that use English and/or use English as the link language, and write English drafts that are fit for editing (rather than producing Khmer output first that has to be translated).