The Documentation Unit of the Nir, Botswana - What it is, What it Does

Extract

The National Institute of Development and Cultural Research (NIR), of which the Documentation Unit is a part, was established in 1975 under the sponsorship of the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation and as an integral part of the University College of Botswana. This was followed by the signing of an agreement between the Botswana Government and the Foundation in which terms of reference with regard to day-to-day functioning of the Institute were stipulated. The Documentation Unit was the only Section when NIR was established but in 1978, the Research and Training Unit was formed. The aims of NIR as outlined in the pamphlet “National Institute of Development and Cultural Research Aims and Activities” are:- “to stimulate, co-ordinate, implement and follow-up research that will contribute to processes which ultimately will benefit large and less privileged parts of the population of Botswana and/or its peoples.