Tanzania is one of the 13 African countries participating in the Gender Equality and Inclusivity (GEI) Project, and they’re using the opportunity to learn from other councils and contexts. 

The Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) is responsible for research and innovation, and it strives to reach the national expectations of gender equality and inclusivity. However, they realise that they’re not reaching everyone under their current mechanisms, and some groups aren’t benefiting from resources. 

Through this project, COSTECH wants to shift their culture by helping staff, researchers, and reviewers to integrate gender, equality, inclusivity and intersectionality (GEII) in research practices to improve the quality of research produced by 2025. 

COSTECH has identified that there is inadequate understanding of GEII by key players engaged in the research process, including COSTECH staff, proposal reviewers, and researchers. Through this project, they hope to address this as well as appeal to stakeholders to join the efforts to help secure equal representation. 

Senior Resources Manager at COSTECH, Bestina Daniel, explains that GEII is a lens to analyse the quality of research, and they want to increase women’s participation. They are analysing the research grant cycle, including the process of calls, research design, implementation, reporting, and dissemination, to show how GEII can be integrated. 

COSTECH wants to increase their capacity to drive research innovation in a way that everyone benefits. 

To find out more, click here. 

Funding for implementing GEII activities was provided by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and the National Research Foundation, South Africa.