[Research Grants] Call for Proposals focusing on Climate Change, Health, Humanitarian, Economic Growth

Deadline: 11-Nov-22

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is launching an accountable grant competition to improve operational delivery and value for money of FCDO research.

It will include testing and developing a streamlined commissioning process for delivery of research in FCDO priority areas, based on learning and best practice from other research-funding government departments and the wider sector.

Objectives

• FCDO is looking for an academic or research organisation with the capacity and expertise to:
  • Establish a commissioning centre for managing FCDO research calls and projects to deliver the initial pipeline of multi-thematic calls and beyond.
  • Develop a streamlined and flexible process for managing research competitions and projects that can deliver high quality FCDO research in line with mandatory FCDO and research standards;
  • Provide FCDO with access to wide-ranging academic research expertise to work with FCDO on co-designing research;
  • Support FCDO and downstream partners with strategic approach to uptake and lessons learning;
  • Set up an Impact Fund and mechanism to support southern-based researchers with Open Access costs; and
  • Develop a new centralised digital platform for communicating and collating results across the FCDO R&D portfolio.

Priorities

• The commissioning centre will have the infrastructure and capacity to manage research calls in any thematic area in development and diplomacy research, focusing on the International Development Strategy priority areas including:
  • Investment
  • Economic growth
  • Women and girls
  • Humanitarian
  • Climate change
  • Nature
  • Global health

A portfolio of non-ODA R&D focussed on wider FCDO diplomacy and policy priorities The improved delivery model will reduce current timescales for commissioning research, increase access to academic expertise and align FCDO closely with the sector, to reduce bureaucracy and deliver more timely research.

Sector: Trade, Water and sanitation.

Funding Information

• Value of funding: More than £1,000,000.

Eligible Countries

• Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Congo (Democratic Republic), Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territories, The, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Eligibility Criteria

• Organisations registered as a not-for-profit with proven experience of commissioning and managing research calls and conducting assurance and managing peer review process.
• Before FCDO disburses first payment, the successful organisation must pass a due diligence in the areas including, but not restricted to: governance, finance, safeguarding , capacity to manage the proposed project and supply chain and safeguarding assessment.
• Eligible organisations: UK-based non-profit organisations, Educational institutions.

For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/international-development-funding/foreign-commonwealth-and-development-office-fcdo-research-commissioning-centre-call-for-proposals