Buying-In and Buying-Out in GREEN transition investments: Exploring the effects on local communities and government in Tanzania

project summary

The objective of the research programme ‘Buying-In and Buying-Out in GREEN transition investments: exploring the effects on local communities and government in Tanzania’ is to investigate how GREEN transition investments are implemented in Tanzania. We will examine how local populations and local governments are engaged in decision-making and implementation. This involves understanding who benefits and how , how decisions are made, which institutional arrangements are promoted, and the implications for democratic participation. The project will be the first study to systematically examine how both local government authorities and communities experience GREEN transition investments in Tanzania and how they would like to benefit from such investments in their own contexts. This research will develop a unique theoretical framework in order to understand the ways in which local communities and government authorities understand ‘value’ in relation to GREEN transition investments within complex transnational and national institutional arrangements. The study will provide solid empirical evidence to promote democratic deliberation and research-based decision-making processes at national and sub-national levels. The research team will apply a mixed methods approach which combines insights from implementation studies and surveys at local levels around the GREEN transition investments focusing on perceptions of the investments and how people would like to benefit and become engaged.
Through four carefully selected case studies in four regions of Tanzania the research will explore how GREEN transition investments open spaces for innovation as to how, why and who should benefit and who loses in such investments. The multi-disciplinary team comprises specialists in Political Economy, Sociology, Economics and Development Studies and will support PhD and Postdoc candidates in formulating their own projects. The team will apply shared research protocols and joint analysis across the cases. The research team will work with the respected Tanzanian NGO, Policy Forum, which is specialized in policy dialogue in parliament and at sub-national levels. The project will provide organizational and institutional capacity-building support to strengthen research and teaching, particularly related to the topic of GREEN transition investments at UDOM and AKU.