Welcome to ‘DFID Research’, our new blog series. As DFID’s Chief Scientific Adviser, I have a lead role in ensuring that DFID ministers and officials can access and use relevant high quality evidence and scientific expertise, to inform their decision making. I am also responsible for overseeing DFID’s substantial research budget. I am seconded from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where I am Professor of Social and Mathematical Epidemiology.
At DFID I lead the Research and Evidence Division, where I work with an experienced and strong management team and staff. This includes my Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Alastair Ager from Queen Margaret
University, and a number of externally recruited senior academics. We commission rigorous research, evaluation and evidence synthesis to produce new evidence and technologies that can deliver tangible development impacts, and inform DFID’s and the broader development sectors’ work. This includes an increasing focus on evidence to help DFID deliver effective humanitarian and development responses in fragile and conflict affected settings — where poverty is increasingly concentrated. It also includes research to respond to the impacts of climate change, the increasing urbanisation of Africa and to deliver education and health services. We remain committed to ensuring that no-one is left behind, including tackling persistent gender inequalities.
We believe that three elements are critical to achieving research impacts: a strong focus in our calls on generating evidence to tackle important evidence gaps — identified following detailed scoping and consultation; a commitment to research excellence, as a basis for strong evidence and good decision making; and a foundation of meaningful and equitable partnership — between researchers in the ‘north’ and ‘south’, across disciplines, and withprogrammers and policy makers.
I hope that DFID Research blogs will ‘lift the bonnet’ on the work that we do, provide a fora in which we can share information about the research that the Research and Evidence Division at DFID is commissioning, showcase examples of impact, and keep you informed about new initiatives. I hope that you will be interested in following this blog. Please do spread the word about DFID’s Research Blogs by sharing this post on your Twitter or Facebook. Also keep up to date with all DFID’s research news including new funding opportunities by following us on@DFID_Research
Thank you
Charlotte
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