Article featuring results from from Janet Vähämäki and the SweDev report on the consequences of funding cuts for development research.
A new article by Marta Paterlini about the government cuts to funding for development research was published in SciDev.Net on 15 May 2024. The article cites results from the recent SweDev report on the consequences of funding for development research, as well as comments from SweDev’s Janet Vähämäki.
The article highlights the negative implications of funding cuts for long-term research partnerships in the Global South, which have “undermined decades of work”. Janet Vähämäki reflects: “The majority of the research community believe that the impacts of the cuts for the global South are negative – both in the short- and long-term”.
The article further contextualises these cuts as part of a larger shift away from development research funding, both within Sweden and amongst other countries in the Global North. The cuts in funding not only put research capacity in Sweden and in partner countries at risk, but also “undermined confidence in the research support system as a whole”, and has negative implications for Sweden’s reputation as a research partner, concludes the article.