What is this?

The UK Collaborative on Development Sciences (UKCDS) has just launched ‘Your Research: Science for Global Good’ a researcher and funding hub encouraging researchers to consider how their knowledge and skills could be used to help tackle development challenges. From nanotechnology to behavioural science, we are highlighting the personal and societal impact of researchers who have re-orientated their cutting edge science for global development.

Professor Rachel McKendry, from the London Centre of Nanotechnology and Director of i-sense, is one of the researchers highlighted. Her team has partnered with the Africa Centre in South Africa to use their techniques for developing mobile phone-connected tests to link up people diagnosed with HIV with antiretroviral therapy services. The project has had a lasting personal impact and the tools are now also being used by the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. Having never worked in global development before, her first trip to the Africa Centre was a eureka moment:

“I came back [from South Africa] inspired to focus my future research on global health needs. I stopped worrying about publishing Nature papers, and started thinking about how my research could be translated to deliver impact in some of the poorest countries in the world, who suffer the greatest burden from infectious diseases.”

Alongside these inspiring examples there is a funding hub, enabling researchers around the world to navigate the UK funding landscape and partnership resources.

UKCDS funding hub.

Why now?

Development challenges are increasingly global and complex, from climate change and infectious diseases to the impacts of conflict and food security. These are some of the most intellectually challenging issues the world faces and to tackle them we need international collaborations, world-class research and input from all disciplines, working closely with local communities. We therefore need to widen the base of researchers engaging in global development challenges. In addition, the funding for research for development in the UK is increasing in size and variety. It is therefore an ideal moment for researchers who want to use their knowledge and skills to help tackle development challenges to engage.

Why UKCDS?

The UK Collaborative on Development Sciences (UKCDS) brings together a group of 15 UK government departments and research funders working in international development.  We are therefore ideally placed to develop this hub, acting as a central resource point to inspire and provide information – both about what to consider to do positive and impactful research and about the funding opportunities.

What are we hoping to achieve?

By inspiring more scientists to consider how their research could be used to help solve global development challenges, supporting them to build partnerships and helping them to get funded, we hope this project will have a lasting impact on building the science for development community.

We are always looking for new case studies to highlight to inspire other researchers. Please get in touch if you have one – j.dodson@ukcds.org.uk.