On May 27-28, 2025, the West African Center for Banking Studies and Training (COFEB) organized a theoretical workshop, conducted by videoconference, as part of the 2025 edition of its capacity-building program for WAEMU researchers on “Fundamentals of economic research methodology and research proposal drafting”.

Chaired by Professor Adama Diaw, Chairman of the Reading Committee of the Abdoulaye Fadiga Prize (PAF), the workshop was facilitated by Professor Abdoulaye Seck of Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal, and Associate Professor at COFEB; Professor Pam Zahonogo of Thomas Sankara University in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; and Professor Nasser Ary Tanimoune of the University of Ottawa, Canada. The sessions brought together some three hundred doctoral students and doctors of economics from WAEMU countries, affiliated with various regional and international universities and research centers.

The proceedings began with a welcome address by Professor Adama Diaw, followed by a speech by Mahaman Tahir Hamani, General Manager of COFEB, who presided over the ceremony. After greeting the attendees, Mr. Hamani, on behalf of the Governor of the BCEAO, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, expressed his sincere gratitude to the panel for their unfailing support for the Central Bank’s initiatives to promote research. He also commended the keen interest shown by the Union’s researchers in the program, which was created upon recommendation of the Abdoulaye Fadiga Prize (PAF) Reading Committee with the aim of fostering high-quality research within the Union through better training for researchers.

Over the course of the two-day workshop, the participants were able to strengthen their knowledge of applied research in economics, key aspects of empirical modeling, project design, scientific communication, and research funding, as well as operational management for research projects.

The discussions were enriched by question-and-answer sessions that allowed participants to gain a clearer understanding of approaches to research project and study design, data analysis, and the importance of econometric techniques, as well as methodology.

At the close of the workshop, Sékou Camara, Director of Research and Partnerships, representing the General Manager, who was unable to attend, thanked the facilitators on behalf of the Central Bank authorities for the quality of their presentations and their dedication to supporting young researchers in the WAEMU region. He also praised the workshop participants for their diligence and the aptness of their contributions, while calling on them to put what they had learned into practice by drafting articles and papers to be submitted during the practical phase of the workshop, scheduled for the second half of 2025.