The Senior Research Officer
Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development
P.O. Box G28
Honiara, Solomon Islands
Telephone: 23900
The current (Feb. 1994) Senior Research Officer is Ms. Audrey Rusa.
The application not only requires an outline the proposed research, a listing of benefits to the Solomons, two general letters of reference but also a letter of support from the people in the area in which you are intending to do research.
Given this latter requirement it is perhaps desirable - if not always possible - to attempt to go, on a tourist visa, to the area in which you are proposing to do research. Travelling as a tourist you can attempt to contact individuals who would be willing to help you to get research permission. A letter of support from the village to attach to the application is important. Contacts could also be made with members of the local Area Council and at the Provincial assembly level. If a pre-field work trip is not possible try to establish local contacts through correspondence - though this might be a more time consuming route.
If a reconnaissance trip is possible, after returning to your home institution the completed application is to be sent to the Senior Research Officer and it is then passed down to the Area Council of the area in which you propose to do research. Area Councils tend to meet sporadically and you may need to wait some period of time. If approved the Area Council will forward you application to the Provincial Assembly which will then, in turn, forward it to the central government.
In Honiara the newly reconstituted research committee is scheduled to meet every month to review research applications. It is composed of Audrey Rusa, Derrick Sikua (Secretary of Education), John Naltoro (Director of the National Archives), Lawrence Foanaota (Director of the national Museum), Walter Hubert (Director of Library Services), and Moses Biliki (of the Conservation Division).
Currently research permits are given for three months and they are renewable (recently some have been renewed five times or more). There is currently talk of extending this period to six months. In order to obtain a research permit a deposit of $200 (Solomon dollars; this is currently approximately $70 U.S.) must be given and this will only be returned to you once four copies of your final research report have been received by the Senior Research Officer. In addition the research permit costs $150 (Solomon dollars) for three months.
You must also have a Residency Permit while conducting research. You cannot apply for a Residency Permit until you have the Research Permit in hand but the moment the Research Permit is given to you the clock starts ticking on your first three months. As a consequence a few weeks of your research permit will be spent having your application for Residency processed. In order to receive resident status, you will either have to give the Immigration Division the homeward portion of your airline ticket to keep on file; or set up a joint account with them at a local bank for the amount of a ticket which would get you home - insurance that the Solomons will not have to pay for your trip home. The Residency Permit costs $210 (Solomon dollars) for three months.
Both the Research Permit and the Residency Permit can be renewed by mail from your field site and do not require quarterly trips to Honiara.
The research fees charged by the Provinces vary: for example, Guadalcanal charges a lump sum of $200 (Solomon dollars) and Makira/Ulawa charges $500 (Solomon dollars). Currently only Western Province have placed a ban on research and they are seeking to pass a research ordinance.
Research Permission for the National Archives and the National Museum are also reviewed by the Research Committee although both institutions fall under the Ministry of Home Affair. Once again initial contact should be made with Ms. Rusa.
Updated 16 November, 1998