Global Challenges Research Fund: Case Studies

Research

The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) was a £1.5 billion fund announced by the UK Government in late 2015 to support cutting-edge research that addresses the challenges faced by developing countries.

The Fund focused on the specific objective of supporting developing countries. A key approach is that the activity is undertaken with the developing country partner(s), and not to them. This is significant, as the overarching objective of GCRF activity is to build and embed skills and knowledge in the countries involved.

The Fund was part of the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment. The Government allocated £58 million from this fund to Research England for distribution to English universities who received Quality-related Research (QR) funding in the 2018-19 academic year.

The University was required to provide a three-year institutional strategy plan, which was subsequently assessed to be Official Development Assistance (ODA) compliant, in order to access the funding allocated for the three years from 2018-19. The University provides a monitoring report each year which features evidence and case studies of work completed and outcomes achieved.

The following case studies highlight the tremendous and diverse work that UCLan staff are delivering and how this is making an impact on the developing countries and partners.

2018-19 QR GCRF case studies

Farmers benefitting from UCLan research
Farmers benefitting from UCLan research