In October 2010 the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Gates Foundation) and the Southern Africa Trust convened a colloquium with participants from research, media and advocacy groups in order to explore and strengthen the relationships and linkages between them in doing pro-poor policy advocacy work. The convening of the Dar es Salaam colloquium in October 2010 was based on the assumption that there are weak relationships and linkages between research, advocacy and media which undermine the effectiveness of pro poor policy advocacy work of civil society. The outcome of the colloquium was that similar dialogues between research, advocacy and media be held at national level and the relationships and linkages between research, advocacy and media is necessary for the work of each to be effective.
The Southern Africa Trust together with the Foundation for Civil Society convened the first national meeting for the United Republic of Tanzania (URT) on creating linkages between media, research and advocacy in Dar es Salaam on 20 June 2011. The aim of the meeting was to bring together participants from various sectors: research, media, and advocacy to discuss the implementation of the project on strengthening linkages between these constituencies in doing pro poor policy advocacy work in the URT. The project takes forward the recommendation of the Dar es Salaam colloquium to convene research, advocacy and media at national level. The meeting was facilitated by John Ulanga, Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for Civil Society.