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SANPAD (South Africa-Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in Development) is a unique collaborative research programme that has been financed by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1997. SANPAD funds high quality, collaborative research by South African researchers in association with Dutch researchers. In Phase 2 SANPAD will fund research projects under the following themes:
1. New approaches to Economic Development
2. Social Development and Quality of Life
3. Natural Resources and their Governance
4. Democracy, Government and Civil Society
5. Culture Identity and Civil society
6. Poverty Reduction
SANPAD will finance Research Projects that have a social development and policy related content that may be multi-disciplinary and cross thematic and with a special focus on poverty reduction. Details of the sub-themes are explained in the Programme document.
The general SANPAD objectives are to:
- stimulate and promote quality research;
- produce research outputs intended and useful for development purposes;
- promote co-operation between Netherlands (NL) and South African (SA) researchers, and between institutions within South Africa (SA); and
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develop research capacity and a culture conducive to research, aimed particularly at researchers from historically disadvantaged communities.
TO REALISE THE ABOVE OBJECTIVES, SANPAD FOCUSES ON THE FOLLOWING:
1. Subsidising and Fostering Research Projects.
Through an annual call for proposals, SANPAD conducts a process of reviewing and selecting the research proposals. Thereafter, the programme funds the approved research projects, monitors the projects, enables co-operation amongst South African Higher Education Institutions and South African and Dutch researchers within the respective projects, and reports on finances and progress.
SANPAD may provide discretionary assistance for (re)formulating research project proposals. The decision suggesting reformulation is made by the Joint Committee of SANPAD. Reformulation usually entails the assistance of senior researchers in South Africa and the Netherlands and other relevant bodies that may add value to the reformulation of the proposal for resubmission for funding. The reformulation process generally takes the form of workshops.
SANPAD may also provide discretionary assistance for pre-proposal workshops. Funding for Pre-proposal workshops are generally granted to first time project leaders from the designated groups, and to researchers who require further exploration of ideas that they believe may evolve into a full proposal. The application for a pre-proposal workshop must be accompanied by a letter of motivation identifying the reasons why a full proposal cannot be submitted, a proposed list of participants in line with the SANPAD policy on collaboration, a proposed budget for such a workshop in keeping with SANPAD policy on funding such workshops.
2. Developing Research Capacity Through:
- the participation of historically disadvantaged/inexperienced researchers within the projects;
- the Research Capacity Initiative (RCI), which is an intensive research methodology course, which is implemented over seven weeks during the period of a year. The RCI is aimed at developing research capacity particularly amongst historically disadvantaged/inexperienced researchers within a SANPAD funded project; and
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the stimulation of research co-operation between SA and NL researchers, and South African researchers across Institutions.
For the management of these activities SANPAD has an organizational structure consisting of in SA a National Board (SA NB) and in the Netherlands (NL) a National Committee (NL NC), as well as, in both countries, a Secretariat. The SANPAD Joint Committee (JC), consists of members of the SA NB and NL NC, which meets twice annually to take policy related decisions. SANPAD NL also has an Advisory Council (AC). The committees and council are composed of people from different stakeholder and non- stakeholder groups, representing perspectives and capacities needed both in SA and NL.
The Programme Document sets out the policy, funding strategy and administrative operations for the Second Phase (2003-2007)
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