Results

Internal monitoring and collaborative evaluations, that involved field visits, workshops and regular interactions between GDN, the Scientific and Technical Advisors and the teams, suggest that the most significant impact of the pilot was to revive, improve and develop local research training opportunities previously dormant or considered ‘risky’ investments.

The pilot triggered the reallocation of institutional resources to support more local research training opportunities, impacted the research culture by expanding in the region (Vietnam-Cambodia), changing the institutional incentives for academic research in higher education (Bhutan) and including primary data collection and analysis within postgraduate studies (Ethiopia). All three teams secured financial resources and a clear mandate to support and expand their projects before the end of GDN funding, enabling each team to showcase the value of their ideas and approach to research capacity building.

Download the Final Evaluation Report here | Watch this film about GDN's program in Bhutan | Or watch Jamba Tobden talk about the program.
 
Update 2021 | Jamba Tobden and Kezang Sherab published an article in the Spring 2021 edition of the Bhutan Journal of Research & Development titled, 'A framework for building research capacity through leadership development, institutional building, and research practice,' looking at the effects of a GDN grant made to the Institute for Gross National Happiness Studies in 2014. Download study (from page 38).