3) Obtain funding to enact jointly defined research priorities

Cambridge Global Challenges supports interdisciplinary research that combines existing expertise hubs across the University of Cambridge by facilitating the response to relevant funding calls.​

Cambridge Global Challenges’ advice and feedback on how to jointly articulate a research and an international development agenda was invaluable when preparing our proposal to EPSRC GCRF – "Robust and Efficient Analysis Approaches of Remote Imagery for Assessing Population and Forest Health in India". We also added several new implementation partners to the proposal, based on our discussions on research implementation in a developing world context. We look forward to working with the CGC on implementing the work in this successful funding bid.” 
Carola-Bibiane Schönlieb and Milla Kibble, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. 

Cambridge Global Challenges supports research proposals that are designed in response and that plan to address the needs of communities inOfficial Development Assistance (ODA)-target countries. We list relevant funding opportunities here.

Drawing on the expertise of its network, Cambridge Global Challenges supports funding applications through:

  • support to the design of research programmes that combine academic and international development ambitions – namely on methodologies for the co-creation of research priorities with beneficiares or their representatives in developing countries and on the inclusion of adequate R&D diffusion processes that allow the intented impact in these countries
  • review of proposals – around the joint articulation of research and international development goals and, where relevant and following the applicant's preference, involving expert feedback available in the Cambridge global challenges community (600+ Cambridge researchers and collaborators in ODA-target countries)
  • identification of research collaborators in Cambridge, in the UK and in ODA-target countries
  • identification of implementation partners
  • advice on call and funder criteria– some advice in relation to Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) can be found here
  • guidance on ODA compliance– ODA is defined here and some guidance is offered by the Research Operations Office here

Cross- Cambridge funding bids

The intertwined nature of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations for 2030 reflect how challenges in developing world contexts do not happen and cannot be addressed in silos. Cambridge Global Challenges supports interdisciplinary research funding proposals – namely combining existing expertise hubs across the University of Cambridge such as the Strategic Research Networks, Strategic Research Initiatives and Interdisciplinary Research Centres.

Please contact coordinator@gci.cam.ac.uk if Cambridge Global Challenges can support your ODA-remit proposal or if you would like to propose a cross-Cambridge funding funding application.

Other support provided by the University of Cambridge to international development research proposals, in coordination with Cambridge Global Challenges, is described here.

Details on grant operation and management mechanisms, as well as policy for ODA-remit work by University of Cambridge researchers is shared here.