Swedish support of research capacity building in developing
countries has long been lauded as visionary and tenacious. Support to research has gained importance in Swedish development cooperation. With minor exceptions development research using Swedish sources is funded by SAREC, Sida’s department for research cooperation. This is not by default but, since the establishment of SAREC, other Swedish research councils have in practice withdrawn their funding. In recent years, a SAREC-Formas cooperation has provided some promising openings for increased cooperation with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). However, it is since long debated, with fuel added by the endorsement of the Swedish Policy for Global Development, whether other research councils should not fund research of global importance.