Research Initiative

Recent News & Reflections

view all articles from research initiative »

Sisters are undoubtedly creating sustainable change in Africa, but their work is not well-documented or widely known. In an effort to increase awareness of their integral role in the future of Africa, ASEC's Research Initiative has the following goals:

Fill the research gap in the area of Catholic sisters in Africa by collecting data about women religious, their roots, reach and impact.
Increase the research skills of African sisters by providing workshops and support to help them to get their research published.
Provide opportunities for women religious to engage in research projects.
Develop ASEC as a central repository of research data related to sisters in Africa.

Disseminating Research

ASEC is committed to increasing the capacity of sisters to conduct research, evaluate ministry projects and collect congregational-level data. Our staff in both the USA and in Africa are also dedicated to conducting our own original research about women religious in Africa.

Explore our research & published work »

Our Books About Catholic Sisters

ASEC has published two books in order to increase awareness of their integral role in the future of Africa.

Voices of Courage

The book Voices of Courage (2015) shares the work and lives of sisters in Africa. Because of our research workshops we anticipate more research to be developed by our participants.
Read more | Purchase

Transformative Partnerships

ASEC's second book, Transformative Partnerships: Role of Agencies, Foundations, Institutions in Promoting Strategic Social and Sustainable Change for Women Religious in Africa (2019) invites us into an emergining field of research on women religious in the Global South.
Read more | Purchase

Teaching sisters how to conduct research

We are committed to teaching sisters how to conduct research, evaluate ministry projects and collect congregational-level data. That's why evaluation and evidence-based strategic planning are built into the SLDI program curriculum.

In 2015, we began offering research training workshops. Our first research workshops, for sisters and religious life scholars, were held in Kenya (November, 2015) and Ghana (January, 2016). Over 60 participants learned about qualitative research and data gathering.

Visiting Scholar Program

Sr. Florence Emurayeveya, EHJ, Nigeria, Visiting Scholar

Sr. Florence Emurayeveya, EHJ, a visiting sister scholar from Nigeria, learns research skills at the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University during her 6-month fellowship. Here, she's working with Jonathon L. Wiggins, Ph.D., CARA Research Assistant and Director of Parish Surveys.

In 2016, ASEC partnered with Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) to initiate a Visiting Scholar program for African sisters. A Sister who is well-qualified to conduct research spends 6 months working with researchers at CARA to develop her own research study focused on sisters in Africa.

Visiting Sister Scholars:

Sr. Bibiana M. Ngundo, LSOSF, Ph.D., Kenya - Spring, 2017
Sr. Florence Emurayeveya, EHJ, Nigeria - Fall, 2017
Sr. Joan Chisala, CSJB, Zambia - Fall, 2018
Sr. Hellen Bandiho, STH, Ph.D., Tanzania - Spring, 2019
Sr. Margaret Dione Ajebe-Sone, SSTCJ, Cameroon - Fall, 2019
Sr. Aloysia Sebueng Makoae, SNJM, Lesotho - Spring, 2020
Sr. Lucy Dora Akello, LSMIG, Uganda - Fall, 2020 (delayed due to COVID-19)
Sr. Victorine Atsufui Afi Dorkenoo, SMMC, Ghana - Spring, 2022
Sr. Mini Joseph, JMJ, India - Spring, 2023

Since completing their time as Visiting Scholars, Sr. Bibana and Sr. Florence also contributed chapters to ASEC's book, Transformative Partnerships (2019). Both sister scholars have also completed research reports on Catholic women in Africa and women entering religious life in Nigeria, respectively. Prior to her time as Visiting Scholar, Sr. Hellen completed a comparative study examining the education levels of two congregations in Tanzania. Her research was also published in Transformative Partnerships.

In October, 2018, ASEC staff partnered with Fr. Thomas Gaunt at CARA and Srs. Bibana and Florence to present at the Society of Scientific Study of Religion Conference. We look forward to more collaboration opportunities with CARA and Visiting Scholars.

Research Initiative Results

To date, 35 African researchers (including Sisters) have been funded to conduct their research.

Research Partnerships

Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA)

The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) is a national, non-profit, Georgetown University affiliated research center that conducts social scientific studies about the Catholic Church. Founded in 1964, CARA has three major dimensions to its mission: (1) to increase the Church’s self understanding, (2) to serve the applied research needs of Church decision-makers and (3) to advance scholarly research on religion, particularly Catholicism. CARA has more than 50 years of experience in quality social science research on the Catholic Church and offers a range of research and consulting services for dioceses, parishes, religious communities and institutes, and other Catholic organizations.