In today’s blog, Isobel Marr, International Development Research Officer, shares details of our annual fund to accelerate the development impact of externally-funded ODA projects and an upcoming information event for researchers interested in the call.
About the fund
Recognising the pathway to impact takes time and often extends beyond the lifetime of an individual project, this fund offers flexible funding to generate a wide range of outputs, outcomes and impacts from previous and existing externally-funded ODA projects. Funding can be used to support knowledge exchange, commercialisation and capacity building to enable innovation and impact in an international development context.
Grants of between £5k-40k are available for five-month projects. The fund is open to University of Edinburgh researchers who hold an externally funded ODA grant; this includes GCRF, Newton, NIHR and DFID. Projects that have not been funded through ODA funds but have a strong international development angle will be considered.
Deadline and key dates
The deadline to submit a one-page expression of interest is 16 November 2020.
Based on these expressions of interest, we will invite a number of applicants to submit a full application. Those applicants will also be invited to an online workshop to discuss their project proposals with peers and impact specialists.
The deadline to submit a full application is 14 December 2020.
More information about the call is available on our website, including the full application form.
Information webinar
We are holding a webinar to support those interesting in applying to the call.
Date: 5 November 2021, 2.30-3.30pm
Book a place at the event (University of Edinburgh staff only)
The webinar will:
- Outline the call in more detail
- Share best principles for ensuring impact (presentation by the University’s Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team)
- Discuss development impact in an ODA context
- Showcase previous projects run through this fund
- Give potential applicants a chance to ask questions
What activities can the fund support?
Examples of the types of activities this fund could support include (but are not limited to):
- Activities to disseminate research and outputs, such as; conferences, media consultancy, production of websites, engagement with other LMICs, etc.
- Activities to engage with broader audiences outside of existing collaborating countries and/or institutions, such as; involvement of other DAC list country researchers, transitioning research findings to other LMICs, regional meetings, etc.
- Activities to engage broader audiences outside of academia, such as; consultation with local NGOs/charities/business, demonstrations of research outputs, academia-industry/community appointments, etc.
- Activities to influence local policy or practice and raise awareness or understanding of research findings with or through engagement with local communities or groups, provision of publically-available online information and resources, and supporting curriculum design. etc.
- Activities to identify innovation outputs with clear potential and credible pathways to develop tools, products (including commercialisation of data sets), services, processes and/or technologies etc.
- Activities targeting hard to reach, marginalised or disadvantaged groups, such as women, minority genders, people with disabilities in LMIC countries.
Further resources
- Considering impact from the outset: guidance on theory of change, log frames, monitoring and evaluation. (University of Edinburgh staff access only)
- Ethical Action in Global Research
- Gender sensitivity in ODA research
Contact Us
The International Development Research Hub in Edinburgh Research Office are administering this fund. If you have any queries do not hesitate to get in touch: idr.hub@ed.ac.uk
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