Center for Economic and Social Policy Analysis (CESPA)

The Centre for Economic and Social Policy Analysis (CESPA) was found by concerned Social Scientists within and without Sierra Leone in December 2000 and was registered in 2002 as a company limited by guarantees.

The Centre is an interdisciplinary public policy research institute. The primary aim of CESPA is to provide intellectual leadership to inspire and to inform policy and practice in the search for poverty reducing policies and the sustainable development of post-conflict Sierra Leone.

The centre’s mission is basically to produce high quality independent and evidence-based research information with a core focus on social and economic issues in order to inform policy making and development programming and practice in the country. The thrust of CESPA’s work is to influence a structured change towards a sustainable economic and social policy that will ensure an effective and efficient, and transparent and accountable system of governance and the sustainable development of Sierra Leone and its people.

CESPA has a very good in-house capacity to provide long and short-term research and development services such as baseline surveys, social surveys (socio-economic, needs assessment, market, employee attitudes, customer satisfaction, public perception, institutional capacity assessment, etc.), validation, evaluation, impact assessment, etc. We also conduct capacity building especially for youth development.

CESPA has a rich and varied mix of competent research associates and a core staff. It has a register of over fifty research associates. Thanks to the support from DfID, CESPA now has a ten persons’ permanent research team comprising a research fellow, researchers, research assistant and junior researchers. With our core staff and the rich fund of social research associates, CESPA has the competence and capacity to provide independent research and development work and technical assistance in R&D and evidence-based research in particular for both the public and private sectors.

Logistics: To support our operations, the firm has an office in Freetown, and six four-wheel vehicles to ply the length and breadth of the country with little difficulty. This puts us in a position to constantly and regularly be in touch with all the fieldwork sites from inception to completion fielding of surveys.

CESPA is also equipped with modern office facilities like computers with appropriate software such as Microsoft Word and Excel, Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS), CS-Pro, Epi Info, printers and photo-coping and internet facilities, etc. that enables the timely preparation and submission of reports.