The authors provide an overview of the current knowledge regarding the external financial assistance research models. The external financial assistance is approached from the longitudinal and transversal perspective. The critical evaluation outlines a clear image of knowledge of this topic, identifying relevant research models. The critical synthesis of the topics in the academic context develops a theoretical and methodological framework, the position taken in relation to other researchers and theorists, finds the gaps in the conceptual approaches, contributing to the complement of the current debates on the researched topic.