One of the core political objectives of the Swiss Strategy for the Western Balkans in 2005 was to support to the stabilisation and reform process in the Western Balkans. The Regional Research Promotion Programme in the Western Balkans (RRPP) was therefore created in order to fill an existing gap in research funding within the region, complementary to the already existing efforts of Switzerland and other donor programmes in this sector. Regional cooperation in particular was emphasised, with the objective of improving regional integration, creating synergies and fostering
knowledge management.
The RRPP was implemented over a period of ten years in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. The programme promoted and enabled research-based cooperation among the new generation of social scientists and policymakers across the ethnically divided, post-conflict region. It focused on fostering and promoting social science research capacities relevant to social, economic and institutional reforms in the respective countries. Its main objective was to boost research capacities at the individual, institutional and systemic
levels, while promoting research rigour, regional and international visibility and networking, as well as bridging the gap between research and policymaking.

Regional ownership was the guiding principle of the RRPP’s approach. Regional ownership was understood as more than just the technical transfer of research grants to local institutions able to implement and coordinate them. It was understood as a common spirit among members of an organically growing network who are convinced that their research is important for the future of their countries and the region as a whole and whose ambition, their careers aside, is to contribute to this future through excellent work.

 Find more on the pillars per country, the project and impact by clicking here