National Research Fund (FNI) Mozambique 2016-2023
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The National Research Fund (FNI) has applied to Sida for funding of 42.5 million SEK to carry out the "Support to the National Research Fund (FNI) Programme" in Mozambique, during the period 2016-2021. The intervention aims to strengthen the capacity of the FNI as a funding agency, by i) strengthening FNI through development of a grant management and administ...
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- C01 - Project-type interventions ,
- D02 - Other technical assistance
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The National Research Fund (FNI) has applied to Sida for funding of 42.5 million SEK to carry out the "Support to the National Research Fund (FNI) Programme" in Mozambique, during the period 2016-2021. The intervention aims to strengthen the capacity of the FNI as a funding agency, by i) strengthening FNI through development of a grant management and administration system; ii) strengthening support for research and innovation funding; and iii) improving FNI’s monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework to strengthen FNI´s role as a research council. Swedish support to MCT/FNI was initiated in 2005. The first phase covered the period 2005-2006, to develop the Mozambique Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy 2006-2016 (MOSTIS). Thereafter, during the periods of 2007-10 and 2010-15 was for the implementation of MOSTIS, creation of the National Research Fund (FNI) and capacity strengthening of the ministry (MCT/FNI).The external assessments made in 2014 by E&Y raised a number of challenges within the organizations (MCT and FNI), particularly on issues related to the institutional structure of FNI: financial management, internal control system and grant process (lack of monitoring of the projects that have received grants)Despite all the challenges mentioned above, the external evaluation by Elming and Dias of April 2014, concludes that FNI has a good credibility among the Mozambican researchers and to a large extent lives up to what can be expected from a young national research funding organization, and that FNI has made substantial progress in its function as a national research council and most important, many of the recommendations presented in the evaluation of Elming and Abrahamsson (2010) and Elming and Dias (2014) have been or are being implemented by FNI.Given this institutional weakness, long term support was not approved instead, it was decided that FNI should go through an inception phase of one (1) year, in order to strengthen their capacity to implement programs, improve the institutional capacity and their management systems related to finance, monitoring and evaluation. The other reason why the inception period was important, was due to the fact that the former contribution (phased out in 2015), was administered through the MCT. So, the change in approach of providing direct support to FNI also posed a challenge to FNI, so improving institutional capacity and management systems was considered of utmost importance.With support from Ernst & Young, internal control (manuals for project implementation, organizational structure), financial management (banking reconciliation) and administration (archives) were strengthened.Despite the above mentioned challenges, Sida makes the assessment that FNI, despite serious problems over the years, now is in a much better condition and that the objectives of the intervention will be met.
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Total aid 51,499,936 SEK distributed on 0 activities
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Result
No specific reporting for 2022 is available yet, as 2022 and parts of 2023 will be included in the final report for the program. However, an external evaluation (Sida Decentralized Evaluations 2022:36) confirms results for all objectives. For the first objective, the 2022 evaluation finds that the Grant Management and Administration System (GMAS) is functional and in use by FNI, in particular for online management and administration of applications. All calls are now made in GMAS. For geographical locations with poor internet connection, paper applications can still be submitted (and are entered into GMAS by FNI staff). The system was instrumental in switching from face-to-face to online training activities with grant holder during Covid-19. Its use for follow-up of grants and portfolio analysis can be improved. A number of activities are part of the second objective. The evaluation shows that Sweden has supported in total 54 research project and numerous calls during the program period. Targeted workshops on e.g. scientific proposal writing have been developed and hosted by FNI, and the monitoring of grant project include capacity strengthening components. Specific publication- and research mobility grants have been supported, and postgraduates from various universities in Mozambique have been attached to FNI funded research projects.The evaluators find that the program has been instrumental in FNI establishing itself as the leading research granting institution in Mozambique, with solid connections regionally and internationally. For example, FNI is part of the regional Science Granting Council Initiative (SGCI) and collaborates with national councils for science, technology and research in South Africa, Malawi, Zambia and Namibia. As to the third objective, FNI has adjusted its M&E framework and developed specific monitoring tools with support of Swedish funds. FNI is now better placed to track and and measure progress, as well as provide feedback to recipients of grants. However, meta level analysis within and across academic fields can be improved. The evaluators developed a Theory of Change that has been adopted by FNI. Overall, the evaluation finds that FNI's organisational capacity has improved thanks to Sweden's investment in the GMAS and M&E system, and that most stakeholders (grantees, applicants and external institutions) now recognize FNI as a professional and well-connected institution. Challenges remains, including a narrow funding base and low investments from the Government of Mozambique. FNI also has some way to go to fully take on the role of change agent in the national system of research and innovation that is much needed to address existing geographical and scientific biases.
The overall aim is to strengthen the capacity of FNI as a national research and innovation funding agency in Mozambique. The contribution has three objectives: i) strengthening FNI through the development of a grant management and administrative system ii) strengthening support for research and innovation funding iii) improving FNI's monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework to strengthen FNI's role as a research council The expected main outcome is a functioning FNI capable of managing research and innovation funds, and an increase in Mozambique's production and use of scientific knowledge for inclusive economic growth and social development.
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