UK research funding for international development: a changing landscape

Information

The UK Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDR) is a group of government departments and research funders working in international development.

For over a decade, they have brought UK research funders together to discuss priorities and coordinate efforts to garner maximum impact.

They are a neutral and impartial entity governed by the Strategic Coherence of ODA-funded Research (SCOR) Board.

Biography

Marta Tufet joined UKCDR as Executive Director in January 2018. She previously led the development of the UK Department of Health’s first NIHR Global Health Research Programme, while on secondment from Wellcome, where since 2009 she had been developing and implementing a wider range of Wellcome’s strategic research funding partnerships and capacity strengthening initiatives in developing countries, including fast-tracking the Ebola research response.

Marta has a broad understanding of policy, research and the funding landscape having previously also worked at the African Academy of Sciences in Kenya to establish the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, the Charles Darwin Research Station in the Galapagos Islands, and at the journal Nature.

She is a Trustee of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene and Chair of its Grants & Awards Committee, and a Trustee of the Galapagos Conservation Trust. Marta has a research background in malaria with a B.Sc in biology and a PhD in parasitology from Imperial College London.

Abstract

In recent decades there has been unprecedented global development progress. Since the 1990s the world has managed to more than halve the number of child deaths and people living in extreme poverty, this success is linked to economic development but also in great part to science, innovation and research. But there is still much progress to be made in a world that is rapidly changing and where major development, demographic and environmental transitions are bringing new challenges that require different, innovative and transdisciplinary solutions. In recognition of this changing world, in 2015 the UK adopted a cross-governmental approach to aid funding that saw a significant increase in the proportion of the aid budget dedicated to research through a number of new funds.

This changing landscape provides a fantastic opportunity to address global development challenges by building on the UK universities and research institutes’ long tradition of outstanding work in, with and for developing countries, but a greater number of players calls for greater coherence to ensure added value through enhanced synergy and complementarity and reduce risk of potential duplication. By bringing together funders, policymakers and researchers across disciplines, UKCDR aims to ensure UK research for international development is efficient, cost-effective and achieves maximum and long-lasting impact in developing countries.

Presentation

Marta's presentation is primarily for the research community to find out more about the UKCDR, the challenges and opportunities in research for international development, and how the University can collaboratively respond to these. However, anyone with an interest in this field is welcome to attend.

Recording

A recording of Dr Tufet's presentation can be accessed by University of Exeter Staff via this link.

Registration

Please register your interest in attending this presentation via the online registration form.

If you have any questions please contact research-events@exeter.ac.uk.