29 January, 2025
Funding mechanisms
The UK Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDR) has launched a new booklet, Funding Mechanisms for International Development Research: A Collection of UKCDR Case Studies. This case study booklet provides valuable insights into how to establish and manage effective funding schemes for Official Development Assistance (ODA) research. Compiled by UKCDR, this booklet features a collection of seven case studies from a range of UK-based funders of research for development, exploring key lessons from each funding mechanism.
Building on UKCDR’s 2022 synthesis report of GCRF (Global Challenges Research Fund) and Newton Fund evaluations, this booklet offers an in-depth look at specific funding approaches within the UK ODA landscape. By focusing on the connection between research design, management, and impact, the publication aims to support the development of more effective funding structures that can drive meaningful development outcomes.
The seven selected case studies represent some of the most impactful funding mechanisms within the UK ODA space. These were identified through consultation with UKCDR members, ensuring broad and diverse perspectives across disciplines and funding models. The booklet serves as a comprehensive guide for funders, researchers, and policymakers, offering critical insights into how to design and manage ODA-funded research programs that deliver long-term, sustainable impact.
From this deep dive into seven funding mechanisms for ODA research, UKCDR has distilled nine enablers of impact. These include:
- Long-term thinking;
- Focus on Low and Middle-Income Country (LMIC) priorities;
- Equitable partnerships between the UK and LMICs
- Focus on avenues for impact
- Co-production with research users
- Embedded capacity strengthening
- Transdisciplinary research
- Support for proposal development; and
- Flexibility to respond to emerging needs.
Key features of the booklet include:
- Case Study Summaries: Each case study highlights the distinctive features of the funding mechanism, providing a snapshot of how funding was structured and implemented.
- Key Enablers of Impact: Insights from UKCDR’s previous analyses of REF2021 impact case studies, identifying factors that contributed to successful outcomes.
- Funding Flows and Coordination: Diagrams illustrating how funds were allocated and coordinated among different actors within each funding mechanism.
- Stakeholder Perspectives: Views from funders and award holders from both the UK and Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), focusing on funding design, governance, partnering with LMICs, and the development impact and sustainability achieved through these projects.
- Impact Framework: A comprehensive analysis of the different types of impact achieved through ODA-funded research, including conceptual, instrumental, learning and development, and networks and connectivity impacts, as outlined in UKCDR’s 2023 report on the landscape of development research impact.
This booklet is intended to be a valuable resource for those involved in the design and implementation of ODA research funding mechanisms, offering practical guidance to improve future funding approaches. By learning from these diverse case studies, the booklet aims to foster a deeper understanding of the complexities of funding development research and help ensure that future initiatives can maximize their potential for positive, sustainable impact.
Lessons Learned from ODA Research Funds – Seven Case Studies of Funding Mechanisms is available now for download on the UKCDR website.
About UKCDR
The UK Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDR) is an organisation working side-by-side with government departments and research funders to amplify and enhance the UK’s research for international development sector. UKCDR works to advance the impact of UK-funded development research by promoting collaboration, improving the quality of research, and enhancing the integration of research into development policy and practice.