Evaluation of the Research Capacity Building Program ‘Strengthening of FNI as National Research Fund’

The object for this evaluation was Fundo Nacional de Investigaçao (FNI) with which Sweden in 2016 entered into a five year grant agreement (activity period 2016-12-01 – 2021-11-30) with the aim of strengthening the capacity of the FNI as a research council and funding agency. On 2021-03-30 the agreement was amended and extended until 2022-12-31.

The purpose or intended use of the evaluation was to supply 1) Fundo Nacional de Investigaçao (FNI) with input of what works well and less well in order to inform decisions on how the implementation of the programme may be adjusted in a possible new programme phase and 2) to provide Embassy of Sweden (EoS) with input to the ongoing assessment and preparation of a possible new phase of contribution.
The evaluation collated and analyzed lessons learned, challenges faced and best practices obtained during the implementation which will inform a possible upcoming cycle. The emphasis of the evaluation was on learning lessons in order to understanding what has and what has not worked as a guide to future planning. Special emphasis was put on 1) the contribution of FNI to producing research results of high quality in Mozambique 2) FNI’s effort to strengthen their capacity in the innovation area 3) FNI’s development and use of the General Management Administration System, 4) international collaboration, especially with other national research councils 5) quality of FNI’s peer-review selection processes for research grants and 6) the effectiveness of using resources within the Sida-funded activities.
The primary intended users of the evaluation were the management of FNI, EoS, Sida’s Research Cooperation unit and managers of Sida’s other bilateral and regional research programmes.
The evaluation was designed, conducted and reported to meet the needs of the intended users.