Strategies for enhancing sustainable research funding in Tanzanian public universities

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Introduction Sustainable research funding remains a major challenge for public universities in Tanzania, limiting research productivity, institutional autonomy, and long-term research sustainability. Although diversified funding models are increasingly advocated, limited qualitative evidence exists on the integrated institutional strategies that can strengthen sustainable research funding in resource-constrained higher education systems. Methods Guided by Resource Dependence Theory and Stakeholder Theory, this study employed a qualitative, exploratory design to examine strategies to strengthen sustainable research funding at three research-intensive public universities (UDSM, MUHAS, SUA) in Tanzania. Thirty-seven purposively selected participants, including university administrators, research leaders, heads of department, principal investigators, early-career researchers, and finance and grants officers, were interviewed, and institutional strategic plans, research policies, annual reports, and research guidelines were reviewed. Data were analysed thematically in NVivo 14. Results Four interrelated strategies emerged: strengthening internal institutional funding mechanisms; expanding local partnerships and stakeholder engagement; enhancing international collaborative funding strategies; and establishing supportive national and institutional policy frameworks. The findings indicate that sustainable research funding depends on an integrated institutional ecosystem that combines resource diversification, institutional capacity building, stakeholder collaboration, international partnerships, and effective research governance. Reducing excessive dependence on external donor funding requires coordinated institutional and policy interventions that strengthen research resilience and institutional autonomy. Conclusion This study contributes context-specific evidence on sustainable research funding in Tanzanian public universities by demonstrating how Resource Dependence Theory and Stakeholder Theory complement one another in explaining research funding sustainability. The findings highlight the need for integrated institutional strategies that combine diversified funding sources, stakeholder collaboration, and supportive governance frameworks to strengthen the long-term sustainability of research. Because the study focused on research-intensive public universities, future research should examine other categories of higher education institutions and broader stakeholder perspectives.

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