Ten years ago, the so-called South-driven Research Cooperation Programme was launched in Vietnam. The programme was formalised in a framework agreement between Denmark and Vietnam with the overall objective of promoting research and developing institutional capacity in Vietnamese research institutions and universities in line with the national research priorities. The overall theme for the research was “Climate change, including applied technology”. The total amount granted under the programme was approx. DKK 50 million.
The research programme was introduced by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an “add on” to the traditional (North-driven) way of supporting development research to promote ownership in the South by making institutions there take the lead in project formulation, the identification of Danish research partners and the management of the research grants. In 2015, Vietnam was phased out as a Danida priority country and no new research collaboration projects – neither South nor North-driven were initiated.
