The research in social sciences is victim of a “technician” view, and to settle for technical procedures for localisation of science and knowledge is a failing approach, moreover the scientific research in social sciences needs an “incubator and encouraging” institutional climate, are the big conclusions taken from the interactive meeting that assembled many directors and presidents of social sciences research centers, the 24th november 2023, at Novotel Mohammedia.

The interactive meeting is inscribed in the continuity of the efforts of the Menassat center, to open and enrich the debates about scientific research. The meeting was an opportunity to develop a global reflection around the state of scientific research in the social sciences, be it within or outside of the moroccan university.

The meeting organized by the Menassat center for research and social studies was attended by the director of Menassat Aziz Mechouat, Mohammed Ababou, director of the Sociology and Psychology center at the university of Fes, Rokia Achmal, member of the Executive Bureau of the Moroccan Observatory for Political Participation. Also took part in the meeting, through a virtual intervention, was Mohammed Masbah, director of the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis. The meeting was moderated by the two principal researchers and founding members of the Menassat Center, professor Mouhssine Mohammed Rahouti, and professor Abderrahmane Zakriti.

ABABOU : the research in social sciences is victim of a technician view

In his intervention,Mohamed Ababou reviewed the history of the emergence and development of research laboratories in

social sciences in Morocco and how they adapt to social transformations, more precisely the politics and strategies that Morocco adopts to frame the research in social sciences. He insists on

the necessity of restructuring these centers of research that still suffer from the lack of scientific production.

The speaker attributed this weakness to the context of the Moroccan University and the obstacles created by its laws, which are organizational and bureaucratic. These impose certain limits that stifle laboratories and cause heterogeneity in experiments and scientific production, in addition to a weakness in internal financing. Ababou focused on the monopoly of a “vision of the laboratory from the exact  sciences on the perception of scientific research at the university, which is not compatible with the nature of the scientific research in social sciences, who impose on research laboratories a sort of dependence to a technical view that is largely due to perceptions derived from exact sciences without taking in account the specificity of the research in social sciences.

Before concluding his intervention, Professor Ababou gave an overview of the experience of reflexivity at the temporal level and the impact of this transition from individual reflexivity to collective reflexivity, on the results of scientific research. He also mentioned some important points on which we must focus in order to improve the status of social science research in Morocco. He summarizes these points in the need to have coherent and specialized scientific and research teams, the need to create specialized teams, in addition to the need to separate laboratories from scientific projects from establishments.

Aziz Mechouat: the localization of science is not a technical procedure :

For his part, the director of the Menassat center reviewed the circumstances of the emergence and the steps of development of the research centers in Morocco and their close link with the evolutions of the incubator environment, politically, socially and economically. Mechouat said that the localization of science in a society is not only a purely technical process, but rather this localization should be part of a cultural model that elevates scientific knowledge with the aim of rationalizing society in all its aspects social, political and economic levels.

In this context, Mechouat presented the preliminary conclusions of an exploratory research led by the Menassat center for research and the studies on a sample of research centers and laboratories in social sciences. The results of the survey covered 154 university laboratories or laboratories affiliated with official institutions and 40 centers operating outside the university. Amongst the preliminary results, the results revealed that 79,38% of these centers belong to the university or to official institutions.  In terms of geographical repartitions, 53.06% of these centers are situated in the capital city, Rabat, and 10% in Casablanca. The rest is divided between the other regions of Morocco. In terms of the laboratories included in the Menassat survey, the percentage of the laboratories affiliated to the University Mohammed V of Rabat is 23,38%, followed by the University Of Fes with more than 15% of research structures in social sciences.

The representation of sociology stays weak, at only 2.04% against 20,41% for the sciences. When it comes to the language of work, Arabic and French dominate with similar percentages, 39% for each. During his intervention, the professor Mechouat has also presented the quantitative repartition of the centers in terms of the final form of scientific production and the type of activities exercised by the research centers in Morocco.

Mechouat also underlined that the interactive meeting continues to be a preliminary step to reflect the scientific production in social sciences in Morocco, be it within or outside of the university, and the opportunities of development, and ensure the means to increase productive capacities and their efficiency. Taking into account the importance of science and knowledge in their institutional form and their role in the rationalization and construction of a society based on scientific data, which would contribute to judicious decision-making.

Rokia Achmal :  human resources are essential for the improvement  of research centers

Through her intervention, Mrs. Rokia Achmal underlined the importance of human capital and the impact of human and material resource engineering on the pace of production and on the mobilization of financial support for the institution. She believes that the reason for the failure of most research done by these centers is due to a lack of structure, experts and technicians, which leads to a disruption of governance functions and a loss of research opportunities and potential partners, obtaining projects and financial support. During her intervention, the speaker highlighted that the weakness of the communication and the limited access to these centers through the internet are amongst the main reasons that widen the gap between the weakness of scientific production and increase the vulnerability and fragility, as well as the position of these centers.

Concerning the limited nature of scientific research in Morocco, the speaker added that the laws put into force and the weakness of the national policy on scientific research are direct causes for it, as well as the lack of ways of communication. In addition to that, the sharing experiences between the private and public institutions, which reduces the chances of the institutions to participate in certain research. The production in social sciences needs an important and  constant financial support, explains Achmal.

At the end of her intervention, the speaker recommended improving initiative, openness and communication between research institutions, and subjecting specialized executives to enabling courses aimed at strengthening their capacities in the field of projects of engineering research, in addition to sharing experiences. The need to coordinate with other centers and benefit from the digital climate, then establish the foundations of flexible governance, which is based on the principles of transparency and integrity.

Mohammed Masbah : the comeback of research centers needs an incubator institutional environment

In the same vein, and through a virtual intervention, the professor Mohammed Masbah, director of the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis, insisted on the fragility of the work environment  of the research centers in Morocco. As a result, and despite more than thirty years after the emergence of research centers, they still suffer from vulnerability. The speaker attributes this to a number of factors, of which the most important is maybe the general political environment.

 Masbah declared that research centers can only thrive in a free and democratic political environment that experiences some kind of trust and positive interaction between policymakers, civil society and intellectuals. Masbah focused on the sustainability challenge related to the donors and operational environment of these centers. He emphasized that the strategy of donors at the global level takes into account the opportunities for democratic transformation in a particular country and also takes into account the irreducibility of these countries to the lower ranks. These criteria mean that Morocco and its public and civil research institutions are not among the priorities of major international donors.

As for the environment of civil society, given that research centers external to universities are an integral part of civil society, the speaker affirms that the fabric of civil society suffers above all from major problems linked to institutionalization and to professionalism. The majority of centers have deficits in terms of human resources, because most of the researchers and workers in these centers do not continue their role, due to a lack of salary competitiveness.

Professor Masbah concluded, emphasizing the importance of joint work between research centers, as this work has positive effects on the ability of institutions to obtain and use resources and financial grants, as well as to cope with the challenges the centers face.

​Saad Eddine Igamane: Flexibility is essential for the success of research centers:

Through his experience within the Interdisciplinary Institute of Social Sciences, Saadeddine Igamane affirms that research centers suffer from several problems, the most important of which are time constraints, funding constraints and in certain cases problems linked to governance.

Igamane added that the objective of creating a research center independent of the university is complementary to the latter. This represents more flexibility of work, which is manifested by applying for projects, by understanding social phenomena and being open to new forms of advocacy activities based on field data via tools such as Policy Papers.

Igamane stressed that research centers external to the university are characterized by the flexibility of their work, especially if they gain credibility of action. Igamane believes that the presence of specialized colleagues from throughout the national territory constitutes a strength, which adds to the capacity of these centers to attract foreign researchers, in addition to the capacity to cross the borders between the different specializations, the freedom to form scientific teams according to the theme of the research project, and the freedom to work in collaboration with centers and laboratories.

At the end of his speech, Igamane emphasized the importance of structuring and professionalism in the management of human and material resources. In addition, achieve institutionalization while defining the strategic objectives of the center, following legal procedures, networking and developing partnerships based on commitment.

As a reminder, Menassat is a research institution and non-profit organization based in Casablanca, Morocco. The center aims to conduct in-depth research aimed at developing pioneering ideas and applying different approaches to social problems, whether at local, national or regional levels. Menassat functions as an open scientific platform to provide research space, present studies and stimulate debate, capable of bringing together academic and civil society activities. The main mission of the structure is to develop key sociological research, conduct field research, provide expertise and objective analyzes and present them to decision-makers, academics, representatives of civil society and all interested parties. . Menassat is made up of many eminent researchers who determine the roadmap and research axes of the institution. The diversity of training and research orientations of the members allows the institution to have specialized scientific capacities. In addition, the researchers who make up the organization work on developing the research program, strategies and forms of cooperation with other partners. Menassat consists of researchers from various fields of the humanities, including principal investigators, assistants and collaborators.