How we fund research

30 November 2011

DFID is committed to commissioning world class research which we do through partnerships and co-funding arrangements with a wide range of research and development organisations. Competitions to apply for research funding are posted on our website. We mainly fund research in the following ways:

1. Core funding to research organisations. We provide core funding to global organisations which have the expertise to deliver research and technologies that directly benefit poor people. Examples of this type of funding include our support to the research centres and challenge programmes of the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR).
2. Product development partnerships (PDPs). Half of our budget for health research is invested in PDPs - a form of public-private partnership. PDPs bring together a range of expertise to develop new and improved products to combat diseases affecting poor people or their livestock. Examples of PDPs are the Medicines For Malaria Venture and Drugs For Neglected Diseases and Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed).
3. Research Programme Consortia (RPCs). These are large research programmes that focus on generating policy-relevant knowledge on a particular theme, such as the Transform Nutrition RPC, and the International Centre for Taxation and Development RPC.  They comprise a group of institutions, which may include academic, civil society or commercial organisations. 
4. Direct funding. DFID directly funds a wide range of organisations to undertake projects on a range of research themes.  Examples include the Research into Use Programme.
5. Partnerships with UK Research Councils. These include joint programmes with the Economic and Social Research Council on the International Development (Poverty Alleviation) programme and the Natural Environment Research Council on the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme.
6. Collaboration with other donors. We collaborate with other donors to develop joint research programmes, which can bring economies of scale as we can combine resources. Examples include: the climate adaptation in Africa programme with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC); health research capacity building programmes in Kenya and Malawi with the Wellcome Trust and IDRC; and impact on maternal mortality with USAID and the Gates Foundation.

Chart: Proportion of DFID research funding going through each of these channels