Since 1992, the Netherlands Ministry for Development Cooperation has been supporting location-specific, multi-disciplinary and multi-annual research programmes in developing countries. The Country Research Programmes have three main, related objectives.

1. to promote demand-oriented research which is essential to local development,
2. to stimulate the dissemination and use of its research findings for policy formulation and implementation, and
3. to promote relevant research capacity strengthening.

The development of these and aims to programmes follows a process approach and aims to maximize autonomy and ownership by the programmes from the outset: design, implementation and management takes place entirely in the countries concerned and research agendas are set in an autonomous internal dialogue between researchers and non-researchers; collaboration with researchers from outside the own country is possible but not at all required.

Seven programmes are currently operational in Bangladesh, Bolivia, the Indian State of Kerala, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Uganda, and Vietnam. Three programmes in Egypt Mali, and Zambia are in the preparatory phase.

Members of Country Research Programmes