Kimkong Heng
Executive summary
This research report is part of a series of research reports commissioned by The Asia Foundation and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) through a three-year program called Ponlok Chomnes: Data and Dialogue for Development in Cambodia. The program aims to strengthen the capacity of the Cambodian knowledge sector institutions to undertake quality research that informs public policy analysis and dialogue in Cambodia. Thus far, two research reports have been published and are available on the Asia Foundation’s website (https://policypulse.org/ponlok-chomnes/cambodia-knowledge-sector).
Aims and research questions
This report presents findings from one of the five studies commissioned by The Asia Foundation to map the landscape of the knowledge sector in Cambodia. The present study focuses on Cambodian youth’s engagement in the knowledge sector and intends to answer three research questions:
- What are the opportunities and challenges of Cambodian youth’s engagement in the knowledge sector?
- How supportive is the current environment for Cambodian youth’s engagement in the knowledge sector?
- How can we promote Cambodian youth’s engagement in the knowledge sector?
Methodology
This study employs a mixed-method design to investigate the challenges and opportunities, as well as recommendations, to promote Cambodian youth’s engagement in the knowledge sector. The study defines the knowledge sector as “the institutional landscape of government, private sector, and civil society organizations that provide research and analysis to support the development of public policy.” It is guided by a conceptual framework that considers youth to be knowledge producers, knowledge users, and knowledge intermediaries, although youth’s primary roles tend to be knowledge users. In this study, it is also posited that youth’s capacities and opportunities to engage in the knowledge sector are influenced by the interactions between other knowledge producers, knowledge users, and knowledge intermediaries, such as universities, research institutes, think tanks, government institutions, and development partners, as well as the broader environment in which these interactions take place.
The study consists of two phases of data collection. The first phase involved 16 semi-structured interviews with youth or university students and other key informants (6 were females) from universities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), think tanks, and/or government agencies. These interviewees had various backgrounds, with four of them being university students/graduates, five university lecturers/leaders, two government officials, one NGO staff, and four think tank staff/leaders. The second phase involved an online survey developed based on findings from the interviews that was administered to 456 youth (52.2% were females), aged 18-35. The study also benefited from a consultation workshop conducted after the completion of Phase 1 data collection to gather additional input from concerned stakeholders. The data analysis was facilitated by qualitative data analysis software NVivo 12 and Microsoft Excel, and all efforts were made to observe ethics regulations throughout the research process.
Findings from the interviews
Challenges
Based on the interviews with the 16 key informants, the study found three main types of challenges affecting Cambodian youth’s engagement in the knowledge sector, including 1) limited knowledge about research, publication, and English language skills; 2) a less supportive environment for research; and 3) other personal and professional challenges. The first challenges were linked with youth’s lack of prior research training/research background, lack of practical/real research practice, and poor reading habits. The second challenges were primarily related to the limited research capacity building opportunities for youth (e.g., lack of training opportunities, limited opportunities for research and publication, lack of information about research support) and discouraging environment (e.g., limited access to primary and secondary data, discouragement from others, limited efforts or initiatives from other stakeholders, limited research facilities, lack of research role models). The third category of challenges were linked with youth’s time constraints, financial constraints, and attitudinal constraints or negative mindset toward research. These challenges mean that the current environment is not supportive for Cambodian youth to actively engage in the knowledge sector.
Opportunities
The study also discovered four categories of opportunities for Cambodian youth’s engagement in the knowledge sector, including 1) new research-supporting programs/initiatives; 2) new platforms for research and publication; 3) greater focus on research and publication; and 4) other opportunities. Specifically, the first category of opportunities included new research programs or initiatives such as young researcher programs, research seminars, research training and internship opportunities, and research fellowship opportunities. The second type of opportunities included new platforms for research and publication such as newly established research forums and conferences, academic journals, and research networks. The third category of opportunities for research were linked with the introduction or implementation of institutional research vision, research policies, and research requirements. In the fourth category, the opportunities lay in the increase of lecturers or teacher trainers with overseas degrees, greater interest in research, and continued support from development partners.
Recommendations
The study also found a set of recommendations to promote Cambodian youth’s engagement in the knowledge sector, including 1) providing research support; 2) providing research and publication opportunities; 3) creating a supportive environment for research; and 4) having a greater focus on research and publication. To provide research support, the focus should be on offering financial support and research capacity building support. Efforts should also be made to provide more research and publication opportunities such as research internship programs, research seminars/workshops, and publication opportunities for youth. In addition, it is important to create a supportive environment for research by nurturing a conducive research environment, promoting stakeholder collaboration, and promoting academic freedom. Finally, there is a need to have a greater focus on research and publication through the establishment and implementation of institutional research policies, introduction of curriculum and assessment reforms to promote research, and improvement in higher education enrolment and management.
Findings from the survey
Based on the survey with youth aged 18-35, who were mostly university students (71.7%), studied for/received a bachelor’s degree (75.4%), and lived in the provinces (66.7%), this study found that the majority of Cambodian youth had experience conducting research, with 83.1% of them choosing “Yes” and 16.9% choosing “No” when responding to a question about whether they had conducted research. Almost half of the 456 survey respondents had conducted mixed-method research while 24.2% had engaged in research based on secondary data and around 12% had conducted qualitative or quantitative research.
Challenges
The study noted the 10 most important challenges to Cambodian youth’s engagement in the knowledge sector. These challenges, in order of importance, included 1) lack of prior research training; 2) lack of practical research practice; 3) lack of research training opportunities; 4) poor reading habits (leading to lack of ideas, knowledge, etc.); 5) lack of time; 6) difficult access to both primary and secondary data; 7) limited attention paid to research in high school and higher education; 8) lack of research collaboration opportunities; 9) lack of information about research support/guidance; and 10) less conducive environment for research. Among these 10 major challenges, three key challenges were most frequently selected by the respondents. They included: 1) lack of prior research training; 2) lack of practical research practice; and 3) lack of research training opportunities.
Opportunities
This study also found that many Cambodian youth knew about research-related programs available to them. Specifically, the results showed that Cambodian youth knew about training/mentoring opportunities (44.1%), research seminar series (37.1%), young researcher programs (36%), and internship programs provided by media outlets (32.2%). They were also aware of other research-related programs, albeit to a lesser extent, such as fellowship programs (25.4%), opinion piece writing opportunities (24.1%), and public lectures (18.9%). A small number of respondents (2.41%) did not know of any research-related programs. Regarding research-related activies, it was found that Cambodian youth were aware of 1) the national policies/projects on research introduced by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation (37.9%); 2) new platforms for research and publication (32%); 3) institutional vision to promote research (30.9%); and 4) the new research forums and conferences (30.9%). They also knew about other research-related activities, although to a lesser extent, such as the establishment or introduction of new academic journals (27.6%), research requirements at some Cambodian higher education institutions (21.9%), and new research networks (18.6%). As for other research-related opportunities, it was found that Cambodian youth who participanted in this study agreed that there were more lecturers and teacher trainers with overseas qualifications (50.9%), more interest in research and publication (47.4%), and continued support for research from development partners and donor agencies (38.8%). A small number of them (3%) did not know about any new research-related opportunities.
Recommendations
The survey results were used to develop the recommendations to promote Cambodian youth’s engagement in the knowledge sector. Overall, five recommendations were rated most highly (i.e., received the highest percentage of “Strongly agree”) by the respondents. They included: 1) incentives for research and publication; 2) research capacity building programs/continuous professional development (for teaching staff); 3) providing research and publication opportunities; 4) research internship/fellowship programs, and 5) promotion of student-teacher relations. Other recommendations that were considered to be key recommendations by the respondents included 1) incentives for research and publication (79.39%); b) research capacity building programs/continuous professional development (78.95%); c) providing research and publication opportunities (78.07%); and d) more research activities/opportunities for youth to engage in research (78.07%), among other recommendations. The respondents also provided other recommendations in their responses to an open-ended question that included the following highlights:
- More opportunities for research, particularly for postgraduate students
- Introduce research into primary school curriculum
- Require university students to publish before graduation
- Ensure that there are qualified research supervisors who can help students, particularly those at the postgraduate levels, to complete their research
- Increase scholarship opportunities for research students and teachers
- Teach undergraduate students about the benefits of research
- Introduce research to students beginning in the first year in universities
- Provide incentives for researchers
- Conduct more research seminars and conferences that target high school teachers
- Recruit more qualified teachers
Conclusion and recommendations
This research report has examined Cambodian youth’s engagement in the knowledge sector, focusing on the challenges, opportunities, and recommendations to promote their research engagement. The study has identified a number of challenges and opportunities as well as recommendations that should be considered to promote Cambodian youth’s engagement in the knowledge sector. In addition to the recommendations discussed above, this study makes four more recommendations that aim to increase Cambodian youth’s capacities and opportunities to engage in the knowledge sector, as well as to enhance their roles as knowledge users, producers, and intermediaries.
Provide research capacity building opportunities
It is important to ensure Cambodian youth, especially university students, have the necessary knowledge and skills to engage in research activities. Without adequate research knowledge and skills, it is unrealistic to expect youth to contribute to the knowledge sector. This can be done at multiple levels, including the national, community, and institutional levels. More research capacity building opportunities should, therefore, be made available and accessible to youth to allow them to develop their research knowledge and skills so that they can increase their research engagement activities.
Provide opportunities for practical research experience
Youth also need opportunities to put their knowledge about research into practice. Thus, more research internship programs should be offered by relevant stakeholders, particularly educational institutions, research institutes, think tanks, and NGOs. In such research-focused programs, youth should be given opportunities to conduct research and be able to receive personalized support in the form of mentorship. This is to enable them to have first-hand experience in conducting research and to have the opportunity to develop their research knowledge and skills through individualized support and mentorship.
Provide publication support
It is also crucial to provide youth with sufficient support and opportunities to develop their writing and publication skills. This recommendation focuses on providing youth with first-hand experience in conducting research and writing for publication. To achieve this goal, training or mentorship programs that aim to develop youth’s writing and publication skills are much needed to help them build their confidence and strengthen their interest in writing and publication. This type of support can begin by focusing on writing short or commentary articles and can progress to engaging in more advanced forms of writing such as research reports and journal articles. When Cambodian youth are given ample opportunities to develop their writing skills, they will be in a good position to develop themselves into knowledge producers who can contribute to developing the knowledge sector in Cambodia.
Create a support network for youth and young researchers
To develop a conducive environment for Cambodian youth to actively engage in the knowledge sector, a lot needs to be done, requiring great efforts, strong commitment, clear vision, and considerable time. In this regard, a final recommendation is to create a support network for youth and young researchers. Such a support network is essential as it helps to create a platform for youth and young researchers to meet and discuss issues relevant to their research interest and career goals. The support network, if well supported and well managed, will provide a supportive environment for youth to develop themselves and fulfil their aspiration to contribute to Cambodia’s knowledge sector. In addition, effective support networks will provide opportunities for youth to meet like-minded people, learn from one another, build networks, take advantage of collaboration opportunities, and find moral and technical support. Therefore, it is essential that concerned stakeholders should work closely together to find innovative ways to establish a platform where Cambodian youth and young researchers can seek different forms of support when needed. The availability of effective support networks will contribute to nurturing an environment in which youth are empowered to enhance their roles as knowledge users, producers, and intermediaries in the knowledge sector in Cambodia.
Kimkong Heng 