Benchmarking study: Responsible Funding programmes for Global South partnerships in higher education and research
This benchmarking study examines support programmes for (i) Global South partnerships in research and research capacity-building and (ii) Global South partnerships in higher education and capacity-building cooperation, including mobility and scholarship schemes (especially from the Global South to the Global North). The report briefly present a set of programmes, analyses which features can be considered especially inspiring or innovative from the Finnish perspective, and highlights what Finland could learn from the experience of these countries and programmes.
A selection of support programmes in research and research capacity-building and in higher education and capacity-building offered by 12 different institutions from five different countries (Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden) were included in the analysis. The examined programmes offer interesting insights into how sustainable, responsible, equal, and impactful partnerships can be supported. The analysis looks at the national strategies and policies behind the programmes, presents key aspects of the programme implementation, studies how multisectoral cooperation could be supported, and highlights especially inspirational features related to programme monitoring, evaluation, and impact.
The main findings form a set of good practices and identified trends, which are categorized according to the key aspects that the study looked at:
• Policy coherence, joint funding, and national coordination
• Selection of partner countries, and building needs-based cooperation strategies and reciprocity
• Actions, focus, and scope of the programme
• Fostering sustainability, impact, and multisectoral cooperation