Guidelines for Non African Participating Institutions (Second Tier)

Special Provision for Non African Institutions

Non African educational or research institutions catering to African students on an ongoing basis or offering African Studies research-based programs may register with the DACB as Non African Participating Institutions (Second Tier). Most of the expectations and provisions pertaining to African institutions and their appointed liaison coordinators apply with special conditions* mentioned below.

  • Collecting biographical data. Church related educational institutions hold the key to the successful implementation of the enterprise. Although each institution will necessarily utilize an approach in keeping with its own unique ministries and modus operandi, it is the hope of the DACB that faculty, students, church leaders, and missionaries will, with the full cooperation of their affiliated organizations, participate in writing the stories of the men and women who have contributed most significantly to the distinctive nature and vitality of Christianity in Africa at local, regional, national, and/or continental levels.

1. Each non African participating institution will appoint a DACB liaison coordinator, to serve as the official communication facilitator between the institution and the Boston University offices of the DACB.

2. As the DACB is essentially an African endeavor, it is important that any student at a non African participating institution who chooses to write for the DACB be someone who

  • Is African, residing in Africa, OR
  • Has spent a significant amount of time in Africa, OR
  • Has devoted a significant amount of his or her academic career to the study of Africa.

3. Each contributor will undertake this study under the auspices of the participating institution to ensure accuracy of detail and conformity to the standards laid out in the Instructional Manual for Researchers and Writers. Having collected these stories, and having determined the adequate merit of those selected for inclusion in the dictionary, the designated supervisor will submit these to the institution’s liaison coordinator, who shall forward them to DACB offices at Boston University.

4. Each non African participating institution is responsible for the accuracy and integrity of a biographical study prior to submitting it to the DACB central office in Boston University. Each story accepted for inclusion in the dictionary will be identified with the liaison coordinator, the non African participating institution, its author, and, where applicable, the corresponding institution in Africa.

5. Stories submitted must conform to the guidelines in DACB’s Instructional Manual for Researchers and Writers.

  • Forwarding biographical stories to the DACB central office. The designated DACB liaison coordinator will see that the completed stories are forwarded to the Boston University offices of the DACB.
  • Receiving a copy of the DACB CD-ROM. Once the stories have been entered into the electronic database, a copy of the entire database on a CD-ROM will be returned to the non African participating institution via the DACB liaison coordinator.
  • Register of participating institutions. Denominations, schools and institutions participating in the DACB will be listed on the DACB website’s annually revised DACB Register of Participating Institutions.

Expectations and Provisions For Liaison Coordinators (Second Tier)

Liaison coordinators are expected to:

  • Serve as official liaison between their institutions and DACB offices at Boston University
  • Encourage the researching and recording of the biographies of Christians (lay and clerical, indigenous and foreign) who are deemed to have made a significant contribution to the founding, nurture and vitality of a church or churches in an African nation
  • Function as the institutional depository of all such stories
  • Forward the collected biographical studies to the DACB offices at Boston University
  • Provide DACB information on request to those interested in participating in the project

Services rendered by liaison coordinators are on a strictly voluntary basis, and there is no provision for remuneration. Nevertheless–

  • Liaison coordinators will be identified in the DACB literature.