Under the terms of the 2014-2018 convention, CEPED’s internal organization rests on three key principles: collegiality, fair representation of all partners with supervisory authority and of personnel categories, and cross-sectionality between research teams and CEPED’s constituent entities.
Under the collegiality arrangements, the directorate (comprising one director and one assistant directorate) works closely with the head of the administration and management office and the heads of the four research teams. The latter are nominated by members of the individual research teams as part of an “enlarged directorate” arrangement. The aim is to implement Ceped research policy in accordance with proposals from the Ceped board. The board comprises the enlarged directorate team and elected representatives from each staff category: academics, researchers, research officers and support staff, and doctoral students.
The research programs and teaching at Ceped are organized in four closely linked multidisciplinary teams of academics and researchers highly specialized in their respective fields. Monthly research-oriented seminars organized by the research teams aim to foster the continued sharing of recent work, insights and collaboration potential between researchers. The seminars typically involve a presentation of recent work, challenges faced, questions that need wider exposure, followed by interactive discussions and networking opportunities. Cross-sectionality between research areas is provided in three major ways: cross-sectional projects led by researchers from different research teams (see overall Ceped project); working groups, composed of staff from the four research teams and the administrative team; and study days that bring together Ceped and other research institutions.
The overall five-year project also comprises specific cross-sectional projects involving two or more research teams, aimed at (1) exploring the common orientations (thematic, geographic or methodological) underlying all four research areas, (2) increasing the cross-sectionality of research conducted in each area, (3) specifically addressing topics not examined independently in the individual areas, and (4) enhancing the combined and comparative perspectives between researchers working in different fields (see overall Ceped project). The boundaries of these cross-sectional projects are deliberately open, so that researchers from other Joint Research Units (UMRs) can participate. This will allow other cross-sectional projects to emerge through cooperation between Ceped and other UMRs and by responding to requests for proposals.
Ceped also operates working groups, integrated and coordinated in a Scientific Coordination and Information Cluster. Working-group membership and coordination are designed to ensure that the three partner institutions and all personnel categories are represented. The groups work on:
- internal and external information issues
- matters regarding doctoral students (such as funding and doctoral studies charter)
- support for scientific activities (such as study days, project development, and book presentations)
- scientific watch regarding institutional tools and reforms in the Ceped’s three mother institutions (Paris Descartes University, IRD, and Ined).
The two-yearly general meeting enhances the cross-sectionality of Ceped activities across its various components.
