When opening the the Smart Partnership for Dialogue Conference that took place in Dar es Salaam, last year, President Kikwete said the major difference between developed and developing countries is the investment in science and technology. 

Governments in developing countries should start now to invest in research.

Resarch based knowledge is necesary to address existing and emerging development problems and support for development research is an important element of Danish development cooperation.

Commenting on the COSTECH Framework Agreement with Danida, where Denmark government will give around US dollars 6 million to Tanzanian researchers, the Tanzania commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH)’s Director General Dr Hassan Mshinda says that Denmark has been collaborating with the Government of Tanzania in the research field for along time now. But during all these days it was the Denish research institutions that proposed which areas they wanted to carry on.

However, with the new agreement with the Denish government, Dr Mshinda says Tanzanian researchers will compete for funds given by the Denish government and those who will win, would carry out researches in line with the Tanzania’s five years national development plan, and the national plan of boosting the economy and alleviation of poverty.

Mshinda says, the expected coming researches would now aim at enabling the local resarchers to find out solutions to the current problems it is facing.

The Tanzanian researchers should now know and identify what are the most priority things Tanzanians need,” he noted.

Mshinda has urged Tanzanian researchers to use that opportunity, and for those who will succeed to get funds, they should carry their researches seriously and find solutions to problems that have been facing their fellow Tanzanians, in education, health, agriculture, economic and poverty among others.

Previously the main challenge was seen as the transfer of knowledge produced by Danish and other international research institutions to produce the knowledge needed to improve conditions in Tanzania. At his part Head of Cooperation and Deputy of Head Mission in the Embassy of Denmark in Tanzania Steen Sonne Andersen said that “Research is an important part of Denmark's cooperation with Tanzania.” No country has developed ahead of its universities. Research is of paramount importance for development.

For this reason Denmark supports development of research capacity and the creation of research results that are relevant for economic and social development of our development cooperation partner countries, including and not least Tanzania.

“There are several different research support programmes presently ongoing in the country with currently 29 active research projects under these research programmes – and still more to come!”

As a completely new development within our support to development research the MFA has finalized a “Strategic Framework for Danish Support for Development Research 2014-2018”. It was approved by the Danish Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation last month (in April) and it is available on the Danish Foreign Ministry's website.

In the strategy, the south driven modality is being prioritized even more in the future. This means that institutions in Tanzania take the lead in defining project, selecting Danish research partners and managing research projects. We find it important that researchers in the south are in the driver’s seat and define the research projects that they wish to undertake together with Danish researcher.

The strategy also emphasizes support to development of research capacity at the national level in our priority countries. This is why we are signing an agreement today with COSTECH. We want to enter into collaboration with COSTECH and use COSTECH as a strategic partner in our support to development research in Tanzania.

Seen from the Danish Embassy in Tanzania, “our primary interest is that the research carried out is of high relevance to the development of this country, not least in terms of contributing – directly or indirectly – to key development agendas of the country, and contributing to inclusive growth, poverty reduction and reducing inequality in this country.”

These are indeed the key priorities in the new Country Policy guiding the future cooperation between Tanzania and Denmark – cooperation in the fields of development, commerce, culture and research. We would like to see high-quality research by Tanzanian institutions playing a role also in this bigger picture.

Relevance to national development context – and real capacity strengthening of Tanzanian institutions – are key.

Today’s meeting is meant to provide you with more information regarding Danish support to development research and the possibilities for applying for funds. I know the programme and I can tell you that it is a very tough competition.

But those of you who do make it to the finish line will be able to benefit tremendously from the international collaboration. The resulting high-quality research and strong research capacities hopefully ultimately benefitting the development of your nation as well.

These years there is an increasing awareness among political leaders in developing countries about the importance of research and research based decision making. And some countries have begun to invest their own public funds in research.

The shift of emphasis does not imply that Danish and other international research institutions will cease to be important partners.

Denmark has a strong tradition of undertaking development research. Danish research institutions are internationally renowned and contribute immensely to generating new knowledge and innovative solutions that are much needed by Tanzania and other developing countries.

In a globalised world, international research cooperation is an important aspect of increased economic, social and political cooperation across national boundaries, and working together brings obvious synergies and gains for researchers both in developing countries and in Denmark