The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), in partnership with the University of Birmingham and the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) has announced the establishment of a new research commissioning centre to support the Research and Evidence Directorate (RED).
The University of Birmingham is the centre’s lead academic partner, co-directed by professors Paul Jackson and Dina Kiwan. The centre is planned to help manage strategic investments in science, technology and evidence through work with a consortium of UK and global research partners.
Our University’s involvement in helping to establish this new research commissioning centre is incredibly exciting. Our consortium relies on the experience and expertise of several research institutions and organisations globally. These partners bring a range of capacities from across FCDO’s thematic areas of research.
Professor Dina Kiwan, Deputy Director of Research and Knowledge Transfer, College of Social Sciences
FCDO will invest up to £25 million in the centre over the coming years to test and pilot approaches to commissioning research more effectively and efficiently. The outcomes are intended to reduce bureaucracy and improve access to research and grant opportunities. The research commissioning centre is underpinned by a commitment to equitable collaborative partnerships and supporting the development of sustainable research infrastructure in the Global South.
Professor Dina Kiwan, Deputy Director of Research and Knowledge Transfer, College of Social Sciences, University of Birmingham says: “Our University’s involvement in helping to establish this new research commissioning centre is incredibly exciting. Our consortium relies on the experience and expertise of several research institutions and organisations globally. These partners bring a range of capacities from across FCDO’s thematic areas of research.
“While the centre is still in its inception phase, we are working closely with FCDO to co-develop and co-deliver a new operating model and a pipeline of direct, rapid and open commissions for both ODA and non-ODA investments, including multi-year and interdisciplinary investments in FCDO priority areas.”
Partners involved in the centre include: the American University in Beirut; Birzeit University; BRAC Institute of Governance; BRAC Institute of Public Health; CAB International (CABI); Campbell Collaboration, Cochrane, Greenwich University; INASP, Institute of Development Studies, International Growth Centre at London School of Economics; Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine; School of Oriental & African Studies, Royal Veterinary College; United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; University of East Anglia, and University of Manchester.
