A research council, appointed by the Swedish Government, guides the focus of Sida’s research support. It has a wide mandate, including these areas (the proportion of the budget allocated to each area is listed in parentheses):
- Health (25 percent)
- Natural science and technology (25 percent)
- Social sciences and humanities (22 percent)
- Natural resources and the environment (12 percent)
- Research supporting activities (11 percent).
An additional 5 percent is set aside for other sub-sectors.
Sida offers its support for knowledge development at a regional and international level. We provide core support for research organisations in Africa, Asia and Latin America to implement their own research agendas.
The overriding objective of research cooperation is to strengthen the research capacity of partner countries and promote development-oriented research in the above areas. Building capacity can mean training Ph.D. students in research projects, building laboratories and modern library facilities, setting up local research funds and routines for prioritising research proposals, or advice and dialogue on reform of universities and national research systems.
Sida has long-term agreements with seven countries it feels are in greatest need of support. These are:
- Bolivia
- Burkina Faso
- Ethiopia
- Mozambique
- Rwanda
- Tanzania
- Uganda
These countries receive 25 percent of Sida’s research support budget.
And the good news is that effective results from Sida’s research support means it can begin phasing out research cooperation with Honduras, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos and Vietnam.
By supporting the establishment of local research centres at universities and other research facilities in developing countries, Sida helps people there initiate and perform their own research. Sida also supports specific project-based research, the kind that often gets more attention.
