S.N. Nyeck - MIASA - Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa

S.N. Nyeck holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California Los Angeles with a specialization in international relations and comparative politics. To date, she has pursued two research streams. The first stream is centered on the political economy of development, governance and public procurement reform with an interest on social justice and gender responsive schemes. The other stream reflects on gender, sexuality and politics. Dr. Nyeck is currently pursuing a Doctoral Degree in Practical Theology at Virginia Theological Seminary to expand her research on identity, sexuality and politics to the analysis of intercultural and ecumenical inclusive epistemologies and practices. She has written extensively on interdisciplinary topics such as sexuality and politics, public policy, gender equality, ethics and religion, public procurement reform, economic inclusion, and human rights.

Dr. Nyeck writes about public procurement and governance reform in Africa from historical and contemporary perspectives. In 2015, she co-edited with Orly Benjamin, the first international special journal issue on gender, women and government outsourcing in comparative perspectives. Her publications includes Sexual Diversity in Africa: Politics, Theory and Citizenship co-edited with Marc Epprecht (McGill-Queens’ University Press, 2013); Public Procurement and Governance Reform in Africa (Palgrave, 2016); Routledge Handbook of Queer Africa Studies (2019) and her book Queer Africana Presence: Ethics and Politics of Negotiation (Palgrave-Macmillan) is expected in 2021.

Dr. Nyeck is a Visiting Scholar at the Vulnerability and the Human Condition Initiative, Emory School of Law, Emory University in the United States; the book review Editor for the Journal of Africana Religion; a former Fellow with Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence, Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies in Germany, and a Board member of the West African Research Association headquartered at Boston University. In bridging academia to the policy world, Dr. Nyeck is often solicited as a consultant for NGOs, multilateral financial organizations and international organizations for her expertise in identity politics, gender and public procurement reform.

MIASA Project: Beyond Equity: Vulnerability and Gender in Public Procurement Reform in West Africa

This project investigates the use of gender-responsive public procurement schemes as a tool for regional integration within ECOWAS countries. It does so through data collection and evaluation at two levels of analysis. First, existing ECOWAS legislations on public procurement reform and gender inclusion are mapped out with a
clear distinction between economic and social objectives. Second coherence or dissonance is established between regional integration policies and national frameworks through a review and analysis of a!rmative clauses in national regulations. In studying regional visions of gender-responsive procurement and national ones, focus is on a) assessing the practical and economic rationales for regional policies and the conceptual and practical challenges that integration through procurement brings about. The research is premised on the claim that equality and equity models fall short of a comprehensive affirmative approach to gender-responsive public procurement reform. Innovation is in articulating and demonstrating the benefits of a vulnerability approach to achieving sustainable goals of development, namely goals 5 and 17 in the the governance of public services provision in West Africa.

Year:
2020/2021