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This paper analyzes an innovative form of North-South cooperation -- specifically between the Ministry of Development Cooperation of the Netherlands & Bolivia -- to strengthen research capacity in the social sciences for development. The most notable innovation is that the donor approached the recipient country with an open agenda, allowing the Bolivian partners total autonomy to plan, implement, & manage their own program, thus ensuring local ownership of the process in the South. The resulting program -- the Strategic Research Program of Bolivia (PIEB) -- was devised so as to promote research around an agenda built with wide participation of stakeholders. Research grants are allocated on a competitive basis, widely publicized, with clear guidelines & selection criteria. Research proposals are carried out by teams & have a strong component of training & involvement of research users. The achievements of the program show the importance of the South retaining autonomy & ownership, provided the local leadership creates mechanisms for building trust & social accountability. They also demonstrate the importance of nurturing research excellence by creating quality control mechanisms. All elements taken together, PIEB may be seen as an example of institutional innovation in the Bolivian context. Notwithstanding the success & achievements presented above, building research capacity in the social sciences for development is an intensive, long-term, & continuous process. In the long run, foreign assistance can only supplement investments made by countries on their own. 42 References. Adapted from the source document.