The project started in 2008, by a team of young researchers at the BA. They conducted an intensive research over the internet, publications and magazines. They also used institutional contacts to reach out to the existing philanthropic work.
As a small pilot operation, the project focused initially on Egypt where the BA and the researchers are located. This pilot phase was useful as it indicated the need to alternate some elements of the research methodology to better map out the donors in the remaining 11 countries. This included improving and diversifying the ways of communication with donors, investing more time to build relationship with the donors, and asking for higher education experts views and guidance to infiltrate the higher education community in each country.
At a later stage, the team started receiving feedback from the donors. This included a filled application that the project team asked donors to complete. A process of editing and verification took place with the donors across the 12 countries to ensure the accuracy and validity of the gathered data.. Since the donors’ visits to Egypt in the pilot phase facilitated data gathering and networking building; they continued to be undertaken by the project team in most of the countries covered in this Directory. For other countries and due to different circumstances, it was difficult to conduct visits. Therefore, national researchers were recruited to undertake the research in these countries.
Finally, the data received from donors in the 12 countries were compiled in a unified narrative form, which constituted the basis of the final version of this Directory.
It is worth mentioning that in June 2010, the project team held a workshop to soft launch the printed Directory. The workshop brought together scholars, national and regional donors, and graduate students. The workshop was interactive and engaging; participants presented and shared their feedback about the Directory and their views about the status of philanthropy in higher education sector in each country, which was highly beneficial to the project team.
