Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Velho, Lea
Author-Email: velho@intech.unu.edu
Author-Workplace-Name: United Nations University, Institute for New Technologies
Author-Name: de Souza Paula, Maria Carlota
Author-Name: Vilar, Roberto
Title: Building Research Capacity in Social Sciences for Development in Bolivia: A Case of
	 Institutional Innovation
Abstract: This paper analyses a form of North-South cooperation for building research
	 capacity for development that is quite innovative. It concerns support granted by
	 the Ministry of Development Cooperation of the Netherlands to Bolivia to foster
	 research in social sciences for development. The most notable innovation is that
	 the donor approached the recipient country with an open agenda, allowing Bolivians
	 total autonomy to plan, implement and manage their own programme, thus ensuring
	 local ownership of the process in the South. The resulting programme - Strategic
	 Research Programme of Bolivia (PIEB) - was devised so as to promote research around
	 an agenda built with wide participation of stakeholders. Research grants are
	 allocated on a competitive basis, widely publicised, with clear guidelines and
	 selection criteria. Research proposals are carried out by teams, have a strong
	 component of training and involvement of research users. The achievements of the
	 programme discussed here show the importance of the South retaining autonomy and
	 ownership, provided the local leadership creates mechanisms for building trust and
	 social accountability. They also demonstrate the importance of building local
	 alliances, fostering social capital while, at the same time, nurturing research
	 excellence by creating quality control mechanisms. All elements taken together,
	 PIEB may be seen as an example of institutional innovation in the Bolivian context.
	 The case also demonstrates that PIEB was possible because the Dutch Ministry of
	 Development Cooperation was prepared to take risks and to innovate - an attitude
	 often lacking in the donor community who is usually reluctant and cautious to
	 engage with the unknown
Keywords: Capacity Building, North-South Partnerships, Social Sciences, Institutional
	 Innovation, Bolivia
Series: Discussion Paper
Creation-Date: 2004
Number: 08
File-URL: http://www.intech.unu.edu/publications/discussion-papers/2004-8.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 142 Kb
Handle: RePEc:unm:unuint:200408