Leading experts from the UK and in developing countries across the world are joining forces to tackle some of the most serious global challenges in a new multidisciplinary research programme launched today.
In one of the most ambitious international research programmes ever created, £225 million has been invested across 37 interdisciplinary projects to address challenges in fields such as health, humanitarian crises, conflict, the environment, the economy, domestic violence, society, and technology.
Jo Johnson, Minister for Universities and Science, said: “From healthcare to green energy, the successful projects receiving funding today highlight the strength of the UK’s research base and our leadership in helping developing countries tackle some of the greatest global issues of our time.
“At a time when the pace of scientific discovery and innovation is quickening, we are placing science and research at the heart of our Industrial Strategy to build on our strengths and maintain our status as a science powerhouse.”
Professor Sir Mark Walport, Chief Executive designate of UK Research and Innovation, said: “In the same way that facing these global challenges requires a multi-national response, finding the solutions to them requires researchers from many disciplines to work together. The Global Challenges Research Fund makes that possible, and means that the UK’s world-leading researchers are able to get on with the job of working with each other and partners across the globe to make the world and society more sustainable.”
Andrew Thompson, RCUK Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Champion, said: “The ambition is to lay the foundations for a sustained and targeted research effort to address the most intractable challenges faced by the world today, climate change, disease and epidemics, food insecurity, rapid urbanisation, and forced displacement and protracted conflict.”
GCRF Research Councils UK Collective Fund is supporting projects in the range of £2-8 million over four years. It will build upon research knowledge in the UK, and strengthen capacity overseas, to help address challenges, informed by an expressed need in developing countries.
“The announcement of this international multidisciplinary programme ensures we will continue to build capacity both in the UK and in developing countries, and that our collaborative research partnership will be strengthened so together we can work to tackle the challenges faced by developing countries,” said Dr Amanda Collis, BBSRC Executive Director of Science.
Projects consist of UK and developing-country researchers, working together as equal partners. Several BBSRC-led projects focus on animal health, sustainable food systems and preserving biodiversity. The funded project titles are listed below:
- How animal health affects humans
- Designing climate smart policy for growth
- Research and empowerment for sustainable food supplies
- Capacity building for bioinformatics in Latin America
- Safeguarding the future of seaweed aquaculture in developing countries
- Preserving, restoring and managing Colombian biodiversity
- Biopharmaceutical and animal vaccine production in Thailand and beyond.
Case study: Designing climate-smart policy for growth, Professor Timothy Benton – University of Leeds
Extraordinary demands are being made of the people who grow our food. They are to feed 2.5 billion more of us by 2050 – and do this without exhausting the soil, depleting water supplies or robbing us of biodiversity. They are to cope with the extreme weather, heat and moisture changes brought by climate change and also, since agriculture turns out to be a major carbon emitter, cut greenhouse gases too. In addition, in Africa at least, they are to propel the continent to economic development and prosperity.
To achieve this needs research done in countries that have few research resources, by a wide range of disciplines whose practitioners need to understand how to do policy related research. They also need strong channels to communicate their results to the decision-makers.
Learning from the ‘policy paralysis’ that prevented some African countries from achieving some of the Millennium Development Goals, AFRICAP will pull experts together from the UK and a variety of African countries. It will help four African countries to build their research capabilities. It will also tap into an existing network of policy experts across the continent so that research results really can lead to policy changes, and a better-fed continent.
More details on each of the 37 grants can be found in the Growing research capability to meet the challenges faced by developing countries (PDF) handbook.
For further details on exact elements on the projects, please contact the associated institution’s press team.
ENDS
About the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF)
GCRF is a £1.5 billion fund that supports cutting-edge research which addresses the global issues faced by developing countries. It harnesses the expertise of the UK’s world-leading researchers, focusing on: funding challenge-led disciplinary and interdisciplinary research; strengthening capacity for research, innovation and knowledge exchange; and providing an agile response to emergencies where there is an urgent research need. It forms part of UK government’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment and is overseen by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and delivered through 17 delivery partners including the research councils, the UK academies, the UK Space Agency and funding bodies.
About BBSRC
BBSRC invests in world-class bioscience research and training on behalf of the UK public. Our aim is to further scientific knowledge, to promote economic growth, wealth and job creation and to improve quality of life in the UK and beyond.
Funded by Government, BBSRC invested £473 million in world-class bioscience, people and research infrastructure in 2015-16. We support research and training in universities and strategically funded institutes. BBSRC research and the people we fund are helping society to meet major challenges, including food security, green energy and healthier, longer lives. Our investments underpin important UK economic sectors, such as farming, food, industrial biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.
More information about BBSRC, our science and our impact.
More information about BBSRC strategically funded institutes.
Contact
- Media Office, BBSRC
press.office@bbsrc.ac.uk – tel: 01793 414694