SCIENCE AND INNOVATION STRATEGY FOR DFID

2001-2005

Introduction

1.  This paper sets out DFID’s strategy for developing knowledge and research programmes in support of the government’s development objectives.  The recent White Paper “Making Globalisation Work for the Poor” recognises that the most important way in which globalisation could help to eliminate poverty is by speeding up the diffusion of knowledge and technologies to poor countries and poor people.  The spread of ideas, and technical know-how, lies at the heart of successful development.  As in Britain and other developed countries, wealth creation through innovation is a key factor in improving the quality of life.  But it is unfortunately the case that not enough of the world’s knowledge is relevant to the poor, nor are relevant technologies available.   For instance, it is calculated that 90% of the world disease burden is the subject of less than 10% of all international research on health.  More and more research is funded by the private sector, but there is little commercial incentive to invest in solving problems that affect the lives of poor people. 

2.  In that context, direct investment by the public sector, nationally and internationally, remains critical to support the research effort directed at poverty reduction and sustainable development.  But there is a new role for governments also in fostering public-private partnerships to encourage more investment in relevant research.  The International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) is one example.  There is a wider policy agenda to be tackled looking at how fiscal, regulatory and other policy tools can be modified to improve the incentives for private sector investment in research, while seeking to ensure that the products of research are as widely available as possible at affordable prices.  The Chancellor is currently reviewing the way the tax system might be used to encourage relevant research and the Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU) is due to report shortly on measures that could be taken to achieve better availability of drugs to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in developing countries, and help achieve the targets for these diseases agreed at the G8 Okinawa summit. 

3.  Intellectual property rights provide an essential incentive for private investment in research and development.  This applies to developing countries as well.  But there are a number of areas where rules on intellectual property can raise concerns, depending on the circumstances of individual countries.  These include their impact on the availability and cost of, for instance, essential drugs and seeds.  Traditional knowledge, and rights to use indigenous genetic resources, are not currently well covered by the WTO TRIPS agreement.  The patenting of the results of research may also have the effect of “privatising” what should be a public good, as for example in the case of naturally occurring gene sequences.  The White Paper therefore proposes setting up a Commission to look at how intellectual property rules could be developed to take fuller account of the interests of developing countries and poor people.

4.  Thus, in DFID’s strategy for science and innovation, DFID’s own research spending on which this paper concentrates is but one part of a larger picture.  Seeking to influence the actions of others - development agencies, governments and the private sector - is an equally important component of the strategy which is being pursued in a number of international fora from the G8 downwards.  So also are DFID’s efforts to build the indigenous capacity in developing countries to produce, use and apply knowledge.  Access to the research of others will not bear fruit if the capacity to use that knowledge effectively, in particular to innovate, is absent.  That is why DFID invests heavily in education, beginning at primary level but the capacity to attract inward investment and make use of modern technology requires education and skill training well beyond that.  Through a number of programmes DFID supports training and collaborative links up to postgraduate level and beyond.  

5.  DFID’s activities in the knowledge field are guided by DFID’s overall objectives as set out in the following box.

Key Elements

6.  DFID  aims to support the attainment of these objectives in the field of knowledge and research by:

• Commissioning research projects and programmes in relevant areas including renewable natural resources, engineering, health and population and economic and social research and promoting the uptake of the results of research

• Promoting the building of the capacity in developing countries to produce, use and apply knowledge to promote sustainable development and the achievement of the international development targets

• Facilitating the sharing of knowledge and information between producers and users, including through the use of information and communication technologies

• Seeking to increase private sector research for development through the use of public-private partnerships and the investigation of new mechanisms to provide incentives for the undertaking of such research

• Investigating how rules on intellectual property might be developed in future to take greater account of the interests of developing countries and poor people

DFID Research Programmes

7.  The primary objective of DFID research programmes is to provide and share new knowledge which will assist in the attainment of DFID’s international development objectives. They aim to actively improve access to knowledge, information and technology, and to give poor people a stronger influence in agenda and priority setting. A further objective is to contribute to the building of capacity in developing countries to undertake research.

8.  The research programmes are organised on sectoral lines, each of which set their own specific targets within the overall framework set by DFID’s PSA objectives.  Strategy papers are normally revised on the basis of a three year rolling cycle, or as required by circumstances.  In the case of Renewable Natural Resources (RNR) there is a ten year strategy running to 2005.  A short outline of the current strategies of the four major research programmes is provided at Annex 1.  Sectoral strategies will normally be subject to internal and external consultation and be designed to identify priorities taking account of the existing stock of knowledge and the gaps in it, both in the UK and internationally.

9.    Because of the variety of research conducted by DFID, isolation of specific key issues is difficult.  But at the highest level of generality these include:

• how to promote sustainable development and sustainable livelihoods through more productive and environmentally friendly technologies, techniques and policies (RNR and Engineering)

• how to improve human health through improved diagnosis, treatments and health care systems (Health and Population)

• how to improve economic and social policy and practice to promote pro-poor growth and better governance (Economic and Social)

10.    Research techniques range from low to high technology with an increasing emphasis on the participation of users and policymakers in agenda setting and in the design and implementation of projects and programmes to enhance impact and innovation. In most cases collaboration with developing country researchers is a requirement.  

11.    Research is commissioned in a variety of ways - ranging from responsive where DFID acts as a grant making body, to targeted research programmes to meet specific identified policy needs.  In most cases research programmes are let competitively or, in the case of responsive research, through a peer review process involving internal and external assessors.  DFID commissions a significant proportion of its research from small businesses (well over the 2.5% target set out in the White Paper) and is taking part in the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI).

12.   In the assessment of research proposals, a key criterion is the effectiveness of the arrangements for engaging with users and for the dissemination of results and their possible application.  This applies to both to policy and technical research. 

13.    DFID’s policy is to make the results of research freely available as a public good through publication and other means of dissemination, including the internet.  The intellectual property rights, however, rest with the research contractor.  The standard contract grants DFID an irrevocable worldwide licence to the use of IPR generated through DFID-funded research.  Where the possibility of commercial application arises, DFID will negotiate with the contractor to ensure that, as far as possible, the technology is accessible and affordable to those in developing countries whom it is intended to benefit. 

14.    DFID’s research programmes are subject to periodic monitoring and review according to priorities and mechanisms set by the sectoral research programmes.  These processes normally include external expertise. Programmes are generally subject to external evaluation prior to the revision of a strategy.  Individual programmes will also be subject to a Periodic Plan and Performance Review (PPPR), analogous to the review process for the larger DFID country programmes.  In addition, cross-cutting thematic reviews are undertaken on specific issues.  For example, during 2001 a cross-cutting review of the effectiveness and impact of DFID’s dissemination mechanisms will be undertaken. 

15.   Apart from its own directly financed research, DFID will continue to support and influence international research efforts.  The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), which funds a network of international agricultural and natural resources research institutes, will continue to be supported along with other international research initiatives in health and other areas.

Building Capacity in Developing Countries

16.    Through research collaborations, DFID contributes to the building of capacity in developing country research institutions. In the strategy period, more resources will be devoted, and new approaches explored, to the building of capacity through research programmes.  This will also apply to the separately administered Higher Education Links programme (known as FICHE) which funds small-scale links between over 400 mainly university departments in the UK and developing country counterparts.

17.  DFID’s scholarship programmes - principally the Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowship Programme - will also be revamped to enhance their impact on building sustainable capacity in developing countries.

Knowledge Sharing

18.    DFID continues to emphasise the importance of improving the access to research results of those who can make use of them, and also recognises more generally the need to facilitate interaction between researchers, policy makers and other users of research, not just in respect of research funded by DFID.  DFID will continue to support innovative mechanisms for knowledge sharing, including the use of Information and Communication Technologies.  Current initiatives include health communications, distance education, empowerment and conflict reduction, science for development and a policy research institute network in conjunction with the World Bank. 

Boosting Private Sector Research on Development

19.    DFID will continue to be involved in activities to boost investment by the private sector in development-related research.  Public-private partnerships, involving also international agencies and foundations, are one strand of this effort.  Examples include the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, and the Medicines for Malaria Venture.  Another strand is the search for new incentive frameworks that will encourage the private sector to invest in this research.  This includes looking at possible tax incentives and the rules governing intellectual property.

Intellectual Property Rights   

20.    The recent White Paper commits DFID to setting up a Commission, chaired by an eminent person, with international representation, to consider:

• how national IPR regimes should best be designed to benefit developing countries within the context of international agreements, including TRIPS;

• how the international framework of rules and agreements might be improved and developed - for instance in the area of traditional knowledge — and the relationship between IPR rules and regimes covering access to genetic resources;

• the broader policy framework needed to complement intellectual property regimes, including for instance controlling anti-competitive practices through competition policy and law.

21.    The report of this Commission will set the framework for DFID activities in this area in the Strategy period.  Within the parameters of the TRIPS agreement it recognises  the concerns of developing countries in a number of areas, including relating to “traditional knowledge” and access to genetic resources, and also the importance of ensuring the public availability of the results of research which have universal applicability e.g. human, plant and animal genomes. 

ANNEX 1

DFID RENEWABLE NATURAL RESOURCES RESEARCH STRATEGY

Objectives

1.  The DFID Natural Resources Research Strategy has bilateral and multilateral components. Each has the primary purpose of generating new knowledge in natural and social sciences and promoting its use for the benefit of poor people in developing countries whose livelihoods depend on natural resources. Funding is about £30 million a year.

How Research Priorities are Identified

2.  Each of the research programmes has development objectives defined by DFID following wide consultation. There are a large number of these. They are focused on particular countries, regions and production systems and also on individual crops, livestock, trees and fish. They include, for example, reducing the impact of significant pests and diseases; improving the yield and quality of crops; reducing pesticide hazards; expanding tree-based employment opportunities; increased sustainable production of livestock by resource-poor people; improving the management and profitability of low input aquaculture systems and identifying policy changes which would benefit the poor. The task of research programme managers is to commission research which will contribute to the achievement of these development objectives.

How the Strategy is Implemented

3.  The bilateral component of the strategy is organised as eleven research programmes covering the needs of people dependent on agriculture, forestry, livestock and/or fisheries for their livelihoods. These programmes are managed by academic or private sector institutions contracted by DFID against competitive tender.

4.  The international component of the strategy works with the international  natural resources research community, mostly with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and its sixteen centres. DFID seeks to influence thinking in the CGIAR by funding selected programmes and projects of the CGIAR centres which target improvements to poor people’s livelihoods and by DFID representation on key committees and UK representation on centre boards.

How Research is Linked to Innovation

5.  The research undertaken ranges from basic and strategic to adaptive and applied. Bilateral research engages scientists from across the UK and often works in concert with a CGIAR centre. The CG centres often commission work of specialist institutions across the world, with a gradual increase in private sector collaborations. The bilateral programme managers,all experts in their fields, have advisory committees with technical, social, economic and environmental specialists drawn from some 57 UK institutions.

6.  Bilateral programme managers must ensure that research is relevant to programme objectives and responds to the clearly defined problems of specific groups of beneficiaries. Effective participation by developing country partners in the design and implementation of projects is essential.

7.  To ensure research quality and cost-effectiveness, programme managers assess bids for research funding competitively.

8.  The strategy adopts a geographic focus on countries offering significant scope for impact on poverty elimination and deploys a spectrum of information marketing methods: tropical science journals, internationally-accessible data bases, films, videos and radio, books, CD ROMs, leaflets, institutional links, workshops, seminars, training materials and attachments. DFID is trying to increase public awareness of the role of technical and social sciences in the development process.

Evaluation/Lesson Learning

9.  External evaluations of selected agricultural, fisheries, forestry and livestock research themes have been commissioned and summaries of the results published. These provide evidence of positive impacts on development and a reduction in poverty amongst targeted groups.

10.    A common theme of these studies is the potential for greater impact through wider promotion. Yet more effort is being put into ensuring that research does not finish with its paper results but is taken forward and promoted in assemblies of ideas and information, collated from bilateral and international investments, and made useful to clearly identified groups of poor people in target developing countries.

ANNEX 2

Objectives

1. The purpose of the DFID Health and Population Research Strategy is to provide new knowledge to inform national and international policy decisions that affect the health of poor people. Funding is approximately £13 million a year.

How Research Priorities are Identified

2. In line with the purpose of the Health and Population Research Strategy and the new health strategy paper “Better Health for Poor People”, the following priority areas have been identified in consultation with potential research users: health systems development, reproductive and sexual health, communicable and non-communicable disease, child health and environmental health.

3. Knowledge activities that are of relevance primarily to individual countries are supported through DFID bilateral country programmes. As part of the process of developing a Strategy for each partner country, context-specific knowledge needs and appropriate arrangements for meeting them are identified jointly by national health officials and DFID Health and Population advisers and field managers.

4. Health and Population Department (HPD) supports the production of internationally relevant knowledge which meets global or regional need. Specific research questions reflect the priorities of research users at national, regional and international level.

How the Strategy is Implemented

5. HPD supports knowledge activities through the following channels:

• Health and Population Knowledge Programmes
• Health and Population Knowledge Projects
• Innovation Projects
• The DFID/Medical Research Council (MRC) Concordat
• United Nations Agencies
• The European Union Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development
• Commissioned Knowledge Projects, Programmes and Partnerships

6. `Judgements about the nature and extent of the impact achieved through different channels are used within HPD to determine the allocation of resources between channels, and to decide whether new channels need to be created or existing ones discontinued. (The Knowledge Project and Innovation Project channels have been closed to new applications since June 2000.)

How Research is linked to Innovation

7. If it is to have an impact on the health and well-being of poor people, new knowledge must be communicated to decision-makers, and new techniques and technologies must be transferred to users. Target groups include national and international policy-makers, practitioners in poorer countries, and the international health research community.

8. HPD contributes to this vital process of communication and dissemination by circulating summary reports on completed projects and publishing a Knowledge digest for non-specialist audiences. Arrangements for electronic dissemination are under discussion within DFID, and HPD has established an external partnership in order to expand and intensify communication of new knowledge through a variety of means.

Evaluation / Lesson Learning

9. The performance of the Health and Population Knowledge portfolio as a whole is assessed against its purpose, which is to inform international and national policies as they relate to the health of poor people. Indicators of success therefore include various forms of evidence that knowledge generated under the strategy has influenced decision-making at national or international level. Examples of such indicators range from citation of DFID-funded knowledge outputs in a policy document to anecdotal evidence that such knowledge affected the design of a programme or the prevalence of a practice.

10. Some instances of impact are identified in the course of routine monitoring by HPD. Formal impact assessment for particular Knowledge funding channels is carried out either by DFID’s Evaluation Department or by external consultants.

11. Methods for systematic assessment of the impact of health research have been developed and tested by HPD. This work has identified factors that facilitate the utilisation of new knowledge, and provided useful information on how the impact of research on policy and practice can be maximised.

¹ Carried out collaboratively by staff from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Kumasi University of Science and Technology, Ghana

ANNEX 3

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH STRATEGY 2001-2005

Background

The Advisory Committee on Economic and Social Research Overseas (ESCOR) provides research grants for high quality research activities which reflect DFID’s priorities. The research programme is administered by the ESCOR Unit in Economic Policy and Research Department.

Objectives

To ensure that DFID’s commitment to knowledge generation and dissemination is developed further, ESCOR aims to provide a suitable framework through which researchers can access funds to carry out research which is directed towards the achievement of DFID’s objectives [set out in the 1997 and 2000 White Papers in which the over-riding focus is the elimination of poverty]. The framework is intended to be sufficiently flexible to respond to the specific ideas and initiatives of researchers and to stimulate rather than stifle creativity. 

Identification of Research Activities

ESCOR only funds high quality research likely to be of practical relevance to poor people in developing and transitional countries.  The main ultimate users of results produced by ESCOR-funded research should be policy makers and practitioners in developing countries and those in transition to a market economy, and other agencies which support, or impact on, development.  These agencies include development institutions, multilateral agencies, governmental and non‑governmental organisations, and private sector organisations in both the developed and developing world.

ESCOR’s selection procedures are being constantly reviewed and improved to ensure that the overall portfolio contains a good mix of projects. Researchers are encouraged to submit high quality researcher proposals reflecting DFID’s priorities.  Projects costing £100,000 are prioritised and approved by the ESCOR Committee which meets twice a year.  Projects up to £100,000 (formerly considered by a Small Projects Committee) will, with effect from 1 April 2001, be prioritised and approved by the Head of the ESCOR Unit, following advice from a newly appointed “editorial board”, and reported back to the Committee.

New Initiatives - Development Research Centres

To improve the integration of economic and social research policy influencing and southern capacity building ESCOR is introducing Development Research Centres (DRCs).  DRCs are centres of specialisation around a particular research and policy theme reflecting DFID’s priorities which will last for five years, initially. The aim is to provide sufficient and flexible resources over a long enough time period to enable genuine development of expertise and new thinking. While the characteristics of DRCs are flexibility and continuity over five years,  they are nevertheless intended to fund a programme of work with clear objectives, leading to specified outputs.

Following rigorous selection procedures Six Centres have been identified for possible funding from 1 April 2001. These are: 

I.   Centre for New and Emerging Markets

II.  Centre for the Study of Responses to Crisis

III.   Centre for Future States

IV. Centre for Research on Chronic Poverty and Policy Development

V.  Centre for Research on Regulation and Competition

VI. Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability

The aim of these Centres is to generate policy-relevant research which will help the wider development community and DFID to achieve their objectives, including the International Development Targets by 2015. Other Centres will be identified during this strategy period. 

Prior to the introduction of these Centres ESCOR funded 3 year Research Programmes covering DFID’s priority areas. Two programmes which are still current one on “Poverty” and the other on “Globalisation” will be converted into DRCs.

Dissemination

All economic and social research projects are reviewed by external and internal reviewers so that they can make recommendations on the most effective way of disseminating the research findings. The on-going research programmes and the DRC’s are reviewed annually by an independent steering group and dissemination considered as part of this review.

Capacity Building

In line with the policies outlined in the White Paper a greater priority will be assigned to the development of partnerships with institutions in developing countries, usually by means of a tripartite relationship with British institutions.  Greater weight will be given in research programmes/development research centres, and in the assessment of research proposals, to the quality of collaborative arrangements with developing country institutions. ESCOR intends, in conjunction with DFID’s Knowledge Policy Unit (KPU), to provide a catalytic input to encourage DFID’s bilateral programmes to devote more resources to the development of partnerships and capacity building in research.

Evaluation

An evaluation of ESCOR’s dissemination is currently being undertaken and the lessons learnt from will be taken into account in our new dissemination strategy. We are also looking at individual projects to see how successful the dissemination has been.

ANNEX 4

DFID ENGINEERING KNOWLEDGE AND RESEARCH (KaR) STRATEGY

Objectives

1.  The DFID Engineering KaR Strategy determines how DFID will generate and share engineering knowledge that is made accessible to government agencies, Civil Society, private sector and individuals in poorer countries. This Strategy aims to strengthen the capacity of poorer countries to use the knowledge to encourage growth and eliminate poverty. Funding is about £14 million a year.

How Research Priorities are Identified

2.  The Engineering knowledge and research strategy defines its priorities in accordance with the two White Papers on International Development and the international development targets. Engineering knowledge and expertise can contribute to these aims by helping poor people meet their basic needs in a sustainable manner; enabling poor people to strengthen their personal development; and encouraging economic growth.

3.  DFID’s Infrastructure and Urban Development Department (IUDD) through DFID wide consultation and externally with representatives of Civil Society have identified six priority sectors: Energy, Geoscience, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), Transport, and Urbanisation.

How the Strategy is Implemented

4.  IUDD manages the strategy and the overall programme is the responsibility of the Deputy Chief Engineering Adviser. Special advisers manage the sectoral programmes with the option of drawing on relevant Engineering Resource Centres for the skills to administer specific themes.

5.  Guidance on engineering KaR programmes is provided by a Steering Committee of both non-DFID and DFID members who represent the main stakeholders in the applications of engineering knowledge for development. Further guidance is supplied by Specialist Advisory Groups for the sectoral components of the programme. These will generally be drawn from the various international collaborations in which DFID is engaged which help look at policy development and cooperation in a broader sectoral context.

How Research is linked to Innovation

6.  The strategy invites innovative proposals against the sectoral themes through three mechanisms. (i)There is an Innovation Fund for proposals for longer projects addressing more strategic or institutional issues; (ii) An increasing proportion of the programme is being directed to address key aspects within the themes, as the relevant Specialist Advisory Groups assist with identifying specific priority knowledge gaps. This enables the definition of key research requirements for competitive proposals. (iii)There is also a Responsive Fund for smaller-scale funding to be used flexibly to address new or crosscutting ideas. This enables response to opportunities that require timely action or which may fall outside the current sectors.

7.  The engineering KaR strategy also allows for innovation through making knowledge available. A newsletter is published every six months for each of the sectoral components to provide information on the current DFID Research programme and on the latest products from the programme and issued to relevant representatives in both the North and South. Knowledge dissemination is also supported through the specialist engineering resource centres.

Evaluation / Lesson Learning

8.  Each special sectoral adviser is responsible for ensuring that at least 30% of their programme is actively monitored each year. They have also drawn up proposals for evaluating at least 50% of their programme before the review in the fourth year of the strategy. There is ongoing consultation with the Specialist Advisory Groups on the technical objective of the evaluations and with DFID’s Evaluation Department and Knowledge Policy Unit over the evaluation designs and conduct.

9.  The evaluation material will provide a basis for reviews of the overall KaR programme. An interim review will be carried out after the second year and a full review by the end of the fourth year of the strategy.