The project started in 2008, by a team of young researchers at the BA. They located donors through the Internet, publications and magazines. They also approached 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 12 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 received 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 13 countries to ensure the accuracy and validity of the gathered data.
Since the donors visit 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. In specific countries, 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 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.
The team launched the printed and on-line directory in June 2011. Since then a number of workshops were organized to disseminate and present the know-how of this website. The team visited various universities across Egypt to reach the targeted audiences. Throughout these workshops the team realized that there is an immense interest in the information available. Yet, the concept is unclear to a large number of students. Accordingly, a User's Guide tab was added to equip students with the best information available.
The project started in 2008, by a team of young researchers at the BA. They located donors through the Internet, publications and magazines. They also approached 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 12 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 received 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 13 countries to ensure the accuracy and validity of the gathered data.
Since the donors visit 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. In specific countries, 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 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.
The team launched the printed and on-line directory in June 2011. Since then a number of workshops were organized to disseminate and present the know-how of this website. The team visited various universities across Egypt to reach the targeted audiences. Throughout these workshops the team realized that there is an immense interest in the information available. Yet, the concept is unclear to a large number of students. Accordingly, a User's Guide tab was added to equip students with the best information available.