APPENDIX 20
Memorandum from the Department for International
Development
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Select Committee asked for an update on
how the Department for International Development has followed
through on the recommendations made in their report "The
Use of Science in UK International Development Policy" which
was published in November 2004. The Select Committee asked that
the update made special reference to the impact of the Chief Scientific
Adviser, and the contribution he is making to the development
of the new White Paper on International Development. In addition,
this memorandum provides an update on specific action by the Department
for International Development in response to recommendations for
the Department since the Government's January 2005 response to
the Select Committee report. The update uses the recommendation
numbering of the original report.
2. Significant progress has been made since
the Select Committee's report and the Government response. 2005
was a year in which the importance of science and technology for
development was highlighted in international fora; the key role
it can play being explicitly recognised in the UN Secretary General's
report "In Larger Freedom", in the report of the Commission
for Africa, and in the Millennium Review Summit. This momentum
is set to continue and we particularly welcome the recent decision
of the AU Commission to have science, technology and innovation
as the theme of the January 2007 AU Summit of Heads of State and
Government.
3. DFID has equally made strong progress
in responding to the Select Committee's specific recommendations.
Professor Gordon Conway, the Department's first Chief Scientific
Adviser, took up his post in January 2005. The Secretary of State
announced a significant rise in DFID's research budget in a speech
at the Smith Institute in London on 9 March 2005 where he said;
"Science and technology works; science and
technology saves lives. And for that reason, I am especially pleased—and
proud—to use the opportunity of this seminar to announce
this morning that we will increase our Central Research Department
spending by 58% over the next three years—from £86
million last year to £136 million in 2007-08. That's an extra
£50 million per year. I hope this is very clear evidence
that not only do we say it's important but we are also putting
money in."
4. On 13 March 2006 the Secretary of State
announced £100 million over five years to fund three new
research initiatives in sustainable agriculture:
— a programme to promote the widespread
use of research outputs from earlier DFID funded research (Research
into Use);
— regional research programmes in Africa
and Asia;
— joint programmes with UK research
councils.
5. In addition DFID will continue with existing
support of £20 million per annum to international research
institutions. Hilary Benn said:
"New technology developed with the help
of innovative research will give poor farmers the seeds, knowledge
and the tools to make a better living for themselves and help
lift their communities out of poverty. When farmers are successful
the rest of the economy flourishes too. Investment in research
today will lead to fewer people having to live tomorrow without
basic healthcare, education or the many services we take for granted."
"2005 was an important year in the fight
to defeat extreme poverty all over the world. By turning research
into practical help for poor farmers we will be closer to making
poverty history."
6. The Select Committee may also want to
note recent examples of the impact of DFID funded research. These
include:
— New DFID-funded research has shown
for the first time that starting to breastfeed immediately after
birth significantly increases the chances of survival of babies.
Four million babies in the developing world die each year in the
first month of life. If mothers start breastfeeding within one
hour of birth, 22% of babies who die in the first 28 days, the
equivalent to almost one million newborn children each year, could
be saved. The research was carried out by the Kintampo Health
Research Centre in Ghana and the London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine.
— For decades India's farmers have
been fighting the invasive "mile a minute" weed, Mikania
micrantha, which devastates whole fields of crops and plantations,
grows at a rate of up to 9 cm per day (roughly the height of a
double decker bus each month) and results in vast profit losses
for farmers. Researchers in India and the UK have found a cost
effective solution for both commercial and subsistence farmers.
Research funded since 1996 by DFID's Crop Protection Programme
has raised the hope of many farmers in the form of a rust, Puccinia
spegazzinii, identified in Latin America. The rust fungus
is a biological control agent that only attacks the mile-a-minute
weed. The impact on farmers' livelihoods is immense—potentially
increasing profits by 30%. In June 2005 the Indian Plant Protection
Agency issued a permit that approved the release of the rust fungus
on a limited scale in two Indian States. This is the first time
an exotic biological control agent has been approved for release
in India and South Asia.
— The front-line warriors in the battle
against malaria are not always doctors or scientists. In Kilifi,
near the Kenyan city of Mombassa, they are shopkeepers. DFID-funded
research showed that when children in Kenya contract a fever,
many parents go to their village kiosks to buy aspirin-based drugs.
But if the fever is a symptom of malaria, these drugs are inadequate,
and children can die as a result. Indeed 26,000 young Kenyan children
die of Malaria each year. The Kenyan Shops Programme, resulting
from the research, trains kiosk-owners to recognise the signs
of malaria and recommend appropriate drugs—or a trip to
the hospital. More than 250 kiosk-owners in Kilifi have now received
training and the results are promising. Before the programme was
introduced, antimalarial drugs were given only to 25% of children
with malaria who were treated with drugs from a kiosk—and
just 8% received the right dosage. Now, 50% receive antimalarial
drugs and of these 60% take the right amount. The programme has
been so successful that it now forms part of Kenya's national
Malaria Strategy and is being introduced to five other districts
where malaria is endemic.
— Crops are like children—give
them a good start in life and they usually grow tall strong and
healthy. But, if crops get off to a poor start because of poor
soil conditions, they become stunted and sickly. Unfortunately,
this is often the case in marginal areas of the semi-arid tropics
where crops are commonly re-sown, which is expensive and can lead
poor farmers into crippling debt. Research from DFID's Plant Sciences
Research Programme has shown that "On-farm" seed priming,
in which seeds are soaked for several hours before sowing, is
a low-cost, low-risk intervention that helps to promote germination
and emergence in poor soils. Primed crops emerge faster and grow
more vigorously. This alone is reason enough to adopt seed priming.
In many cases, however, crops also flower earlier, which is very
important in drought prone areas, mature earlier and give higher
yields (on average 30% higher). Seed priming can also be used
to further increase yield by as much as 90% by overcoming soil
nutrient deficiencies (eg molybdenum, zinc and phosphate) and
improving soil nutrient disease resistance. Since 1997, many thousands
of farmers in south Asia and Africa have directly benefited from
this research.
7. The consultation process for the new
International Development White Paper has also provided a valuable
opportunity for continued engagement by the UK and international
scientific community.
IMPACT OF
CHIEF SCIENTIFIC
ADVISER
8. Since his appointment the Chief Scientific
Adviser (CSA) has played an important role in DFID and has helped
bring further scientific rigour to our evidence based policy making
processes. He is a core member of the Development Committee, the
key internal committee which:
— Provides oversight and direction
on key policy and cross-cutting country issues across the Department;
— Promotes synergy between actions
centrally, regionally and multilaterally where this can improve
delivery; and
— Enables organisational learning on
issues that have implications for the way we do business
9. The CSA has also been closely engaged,
providing advice, support and guidance, with many of the policy
groups within DFID; for example with the Global Environment team
on climate change issues, with the Renewable Natural Resources
and Agriculture Team on the agriculture and growth agenda, with
the Water Energy and Minerals team and with the Conflict and Humanitarian
teams on disaster risk reduction. He is closely involved with
the work of Central Research Department. The Chief Scientific
Adviser meets with Ministers regularly and has provided advice
on issues such as avian influenza, early warning systems and water.
10. He has equally worked closely with regional
divisions; most notably with Africa Division, in taking forward
support to Africa's Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of
Action which is being developed by the AU and NEPAD, and with
Asia Division in taking forward their thinking on avian influenza
as well as on the climate change agenda. His visits to DFID Country
Offices—he has visited nine in the past year—have
helped raise the profile of science and technology and of the
contribution they can make to reaching the Millennium Development
Goals.
11. The Chief Scientific Adviser provides
a valuable interface between the Department and the UK science
base. He has visited, or been visited by, many from key UK organisations
and institutions, and has met many others in less formal situations.
We particularly recognise the importance, and value, of keeping
in touch with thinking in this key development community and this
will continue to be a core part of his role. He has played an
equally active part in the cross-Whitehall Chief Scientific Advisers
Committee and Global Science and Innovation Forum.
12. The Chief Scientific Adviser has been
engaged in discussions on the new International Development White
Paper throughout the whole of its development process. He has
been consulted by the White Paper team individually and as part
of wider Departmental processes and has submitted contributions
directly and through others who have contributed following discussion
of the science and research agendas.
UPDATE ON "THE USE OF SCIENCE IN UK
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY: GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO THE COMMITTEE'S
THIRTEENTH REPORT OF SESSION 2003-04":
6. We conclude that DFID has given insufficient
consideration to how best to help developing countries identify
their requirements for scientific and technological advice and
research, and how to ensure that science, technology and research
are represented appropriately in developing countries' Poverty
Reduction Strategy Papers. Since Country Office staff are unlikely
to have the full range of technical expertise or experience required
to supply effective independent advice, DFID should work together
with other donors to develop specific guidance on best practice
in this area. (Paragraph 27)
As was recognised in the January 2005 Government
Response, Poverty Reduction Strategies help governments focus
public policy and public expenditure on the actions necessary
to promote development and achieve the Millennium Development
Goals. They aim to enhance country ownership and leadership of
the development process and provide a framework for delivering
more coherent donor support. DFID are working with the World Bank
and others to help developing countries improve their policy analysis
and reforms focused on accelerating growth.
DFID has supported the development of "Africa's
Consolidated Plan of Action for Science and Technology" which
was agreed at the 2nd African Ministerial Conference on Science
and Technology held in Abuja in September 2005. The Consolidated
Plan of Action will help take forward an African-led approach
to financing and implementation of science and technology by national
governments. It will also help to look at how science and technology
plays an important role across sectors such as agriculture and
health, and in the generation of evidence-based policy making
by governments.
8. We urge DFID to develop clear guidelines
to inform decisions on the balance between short-, medium- and
long-term aid as well as clear country[en rule]specific policies
with respect to this balance. (Paragraph 31)
Predictability is key in countries with high
aid dependency and which need to increase recurrent expenditures
to achieve the MDGs. DFID is taking steps to improve the predictability
of its aid by developing ten-year "Development Partnership
Arrangements", which normally include financial commitments
up to three years ahead, and being clear about the conditions
that are attached to DFID's aid. DFID's policy on conditionality
focuses on striking a careful balance between ensuring that aid
is used effectively and making aid more predictable. We will consider
interrupting aid or changing the way in which aid is delivered
where there is significant deterioration in commitment to poverty
reduction. Precisely how we respond depends on the severity of
the particular event, the trend of change and the impact that
any decision will have on poor people and longer term poverty
reduction efforts. To protect predictability, our policy is to
respond early to a possible problem by discussing the issues with
the partner government to assess the overall situation and whether
the event constitutes a breach of fundamental conditions. We only
suspend aid in-year in exceptional circumstances. At the level
of individual aid instruments, DFID is increasingly adopting rolling
multi-year Poverty Reduction Budget Support arrangements. DFID's
internal guidance on the choice and mix of aid instruments—including
Poverty Reduction Budgetary Support, projects, technical cooperation
and grants to civil society—is currently being revised.
9. We are pleased to hear DFID acknowledge
the importance of science, technology and research for achievement
of the Millennium Development Goals, but we are not convinced
that these words have been translated into policy or practice.
We remain concerned that technology-intensive areas such as infrastructure,
energy, water and sanitation are at risk of being neglected by
DFID and other donors due to their omission from the headline
Millennium Development Goals. (Paragraph 35)
The links between infrastructure and achievement
of the Millennium Development Goals are now receiving greater
and wider recognition, with DFID actively involved in the promotion
of increased investments and improved donor coordination. Examples
include DFID's lead in setting up an Infrastructure Consortium
for Africa, with representation from international and African
financial institutions and donors, aimed at meeting the urgent
infrastructure needs of Africa. We are also working closely with
the World Bank on an Investment Framework for Clean Energy and
Development, which includes new technologies, aimed at helping
developing countries meet rising energy demand in an environmentally
sustainable way. Both these examples were an outcome of the 2005
G8 Gleneagles Summit.
Using DFID's inputs on water, energy and transport,
the OECD Development Assistance Committee completed its report
in March 2006 "Guiding Principles for Using Infrastructure
to Reduce Poverty". The report will be published this year
and is expected to be basis for future donor involvement.
We are setting up consolidated resource centres
for expert advice and analysis covering all the main infrastructure
areas, including water, transport and energy. These will be in
place this year, with existing resource centre arrangements continuing
in the meantime.
DFID is increasing its research efforts in Water
and Sanitation, having invited proposals to undertake a new research
programme over the next five years, commencing in 2006. In addition
we are working with the EU coordinating the work of Member States
on water and sanitation research, including dissemination of the
outputs for developing countries. Options for further work are
being considered. The Secretary of State announced in March 2005
that "DFID will double over the next three years its funding
(both bilateral and multilateral) for improvements in water and
sanitation in Africa; up from £47.5 million this year to
£95 million in 2007-08.".
On energy, we are inviting expressions of interest
for the design and implementation of a new research programme
on Energy for Development, aimed at improving access to energy
services in support of growth and poverty reduction. Subject to
receiving satisfactory responses, the programme will run for five
years.
For transport, in 2005 DFID helped inaugurate
the Global Transport Knowledge Partnership (gTKP) aimed at improving
investment decisions for transport infrastructure and services.
We support a successful South East Asia Community Access Programme
(SEACAP), and hope to build on it with a similar programme in
Africa.
12. We support DFID's increasing emphasis
on the role that public-private partnerships can play in facilitating
research for development where costs would otherwise be prohibitively
high, or there would be no incentive for private sector involvement,
and where the benefits are clear for the developing country partners.
(Paragraph 43)
DFID's Research Funding Framework identifies
public private partnerships as a key mechanism, especially in
health and agriculture. DFID commissioned a study on "Leveraging
Private Sector Research" as part of the preparation process
for the development of its Research Funding Framework.
DFID has increased its funding of not-for-profit
public private partnerships—increasing funding for the International
AIDS Vaccine Initiative, the Medicines for Malaria Venture and
the International Partnership for Microbicides, and adding support
for the TB Drugs Alliance and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases
Initiative. DFID is also supporting the emergence of a Global
Alliance for Livestock Vaccines. We have also produced guiding
principles for the future funding of health public private partnerships,
based on our experience to date.
22. We can only surmise that research has
not received the attention it merits in DFID in the past. We hope
that this new arrangement will indeed be an improvement. DFID
will also need to take care that separation of the Policy Division
and Central Research Department does not impede the interaction
between research and policy-making in DFID. (Paragraph 67)
The significant increase in our research budget
announced in 2005 confirms the importance given to research by
DFID. DFID recognises the need for very good channels of communication
between Policy Division and Central Research. Both groups hold
regular meetings to discuss work and priorities. Central Research
Department has increased opportunities for Policy Division Teams
to interact with external researchers. For example, external researchers
provided a key resource at a recent Horizon Scanning meeting facilitated
by Policy Division to feed into thinking about DFID's long term
priorities and the new International Development White Paper.
Policy Division Teams have good relationships with Central Research
Department on specific issues, for example, global AIDS policy,
Access to Medicines and Renewable Natural Resources and Agriculture.
Policy Division advisers also sit on advisory boards of research
programmes relevant to their work and expertise.
24. We appreciate that DFID considers the
research that it commissions to be for the global good, but it
should be axiomatic that such research will also be utilised for
the development and refinement of DFID's own policies. (Paragraph
71)
See answer to question 22. It is also an ongoing
area of interest to DFID's Chief Scientific Adviser.
In addition, DFID is about to launch a free,
online research portal that will bring together all information
on its research, including access to reports and publications.
This will better inform a wide range of development practitioners
and developing country partners of the outcomes of DFID-funded
research. The portal will also be a new channel for DFID's own
staff to use research outputs, and the Communications Team in
Central Research Department has a programme to make staff aware
of it and encourage its use
26. DFID and its clients are not getting
the most out of the research it commissions due to the poor links
between the Central Research Department and the Country Offices.
We recommend that the Central Research Department work more closely
with the Heads of Profession and regional departments to ensure
that Country Offices receive the information they require, in
a readily digestible form. (Paragraph 74)
The new research portal, described in the reply
to para 24 above, has been designed to meet this need. It will
be a major new channel for country office staff to acquire readily
digestible information from DFID's research.
In addition, Central Research Department staff
regularly make visits to DFID offices in countries where there
is considerable research underway. A formal agreement on ways
of working together between Central Research and the country office
has been piloted in Ghana, and similar arrangements will be made
during 2006 for India, South Africa and Kenya
27. We recommend that DFID stipulates in
its research contracts that researchers must make their research
results, including any large data sets collected, publicly available
within a reasonable period following completion of the work. (Paragraph
75)
In the light of the recommendation by the Select
Committee, the contracts for new research programmes require that
at least 10% of the total budget for the project must be used
to promote the communication, dissemination and uptake of research,
to ensure the output has an impact in reducing poverty. In addition,
DFID has inserted in the contracts a non exclusive irrevocable
royalty-free world-wide licence for DFID to use transfer or otherwise
deal with the intellectual property produced in the research;
this could be used if researchers were not to publish their research.
Researchers are also required to submit their publications to
be published on DFID's research portal.
DFID's research portal will enable long-term
access to the outputs of research we have funded. The research
portal will adopt international standards and norms, for example
in the use of internationally agreed metadata, that will enable
other systems, such as those managed by the United Nations, to
find and point to relevant DFID information via the Internet.
New research contracts will require information to be provided
by researchers to ensure the research portal remains up-to-date
and comprehensive.
32. We conclude that DFID has failed to devote
sufficient attention to evaluation of research. DFID must ensure
that its past deficiencies in evaluation of research are rectified.
We welcome the fact that DFID is strengthening its evaluation
department and is now undertaking evaluations of two major research
programmes in renewable natural resources and engineering, and
also note that DFID's recent publications, such as the new HIV/AIDS
Strategy, Taking Action, place greater emphasis on evaluation.
However, resolving this problem will require a culture change
within DFID as well as good intentions and the increased resources
already at its disposal. (Paragraph 86)
Since the Government Response was published
Central Research Department has set up a Monitoring and Evaluation
Group, which includes the Head of DFID's Evaluation Department.
This group is about to publish a set of guidelines which will
be used across the Central Research portfolio.
35. It is highly regrettable that DFID appears
to have given so little attention to gaining developing country
input to the Research Strategy. DFID's failure to incorporate
the views of developing countries into the Strategy makes a mockery
of its claim to follow a demand-led approach and calls into question
the value of the Strategy. (Paragraph 92)
Since the Government Response was published
scoping work for new climate change research has been undertaken
extensively in developing countries, DFID is currently holding
a series of workshops in Africa to help design elements of its
new Sustainable Agriculture Research Strategy.
37. It is a source of alarm that DFID did
not seek to learn the lessons of its £200 million investment
in the Renewable Natural Resources Research Strategy Programme
prior to the development of a new Research Strategy. This is suggestive
of poor planning and management. DFID's decision to develop a
new Research Strategy at this time, in the absence of key information
and a DFID Chief Scientific Adviser, was imprudent. (Paragraph
94)
The Evaluation of the Renewable Natural Resources
Research Strategy (RNRRS) has been published on the DFID website.
It has informed the design of the new £100 million Sustainable
Agriculture Research Strategy, which Hilary Benn launched at the
beginning of March. The Strategy consists of:
— a programme to promote the widespread
use of research outputs from earlier DFID funded research (Research
into Use);
— regional research programmes in Africa
and Asia;
— joint programmes with UK research
councils
The Research-Into-Use Programme will identify
up to 30 successful technologies and practices generated from
research funded by DFID as part of the Renewable Natural Resources
Research Strategy over the last 10 years, and will aim to promote
their widespread use in Africa and south Asia. Technologies will
be selected only if they have the potential to increase farmers'
incomes, reduce poverty for the community, halt environmental
degradation, and/or increase food security. Lessons from the programme
will be collected and shared to show how responsible forestry,
fishing, farming and livestock rearing combined with new, useable
technology can help reduce poverty. DFID's Chief Scientific Adviser
contributed to the programme design process and chaired the event
on 13 March at which the Sustainable Agriculture Research Strategy
was launched.
39. A high priority for DFID's new Chief
Scientific Adviser must be to develop a coherent policy on science,
technology and research that encompasses issues such as the provision
of scientific and technical advice to DFID and the effective use
by DFID of scientific knowledge and research results to promote
innovation. (Paragraph 96)
The development of a Science and Innovation
Strategy remains high on the list of priorities for the Chief
Scientific Adviser. To assist the development of this strategy
an extensive consultation process, which drew a large number of
high quality contributions, was undertaken in 2005. The results
of this consultation have helped inform the contributions the
Chief Scientific Adviser has made to the development process for
the new International Development White Paper.
43. DFID should commit significant extra
funding specifically for capacity building, over and above the
existing research budget. In addition to the funds for capacity
building that are currently channelled through the central research
budget, DFID Country Offices should play a much greater role in
capacity building. However, a major collective international effort
with a long-term horizon is vital for sustainable science and
technology capacity building to be effected on the scale required.
DFID should take advantage of its leadership roles in NEPAD and
the Commission for Africa, as well as the forthcoming UK Presidencies
of the G8 and EU, to call for an international science and technology
capacity building strategy supported by the necessary resources.
(Paragraph 106)
DFID continues to recognise the importance of
countries building up expertise and experience in science and
technology. Our work is based around national and regional initiatives.
In September 2005, African countries agreed a five year Consolidated
Plan of Action for Science and Technology with an initial funding
target of US$160 million over a five year period. DFID has provided
funding to support the development of the Plan. With other donors,
we are discussing with African partners, and in particular with
the NEPAD Office of Science and Technology, how we can best support
implementation of the Plan; and we will be looking at a significant
contribution to its funding. The AU and NEPAD envisage an `African
Science and Innovation Facility' being developed to channel funding
for pan-African flagship research and development programmes.
In this regard we also welcome the recent decision of the AU Commission
to have science, technology and innovation as theme of the January
2007 AU Summit of Heads of State and Government.
51. Investment to strengthen the whole system
of innovation in developing countries is required to make research
more effective. Capacity building of national research systems
must therefore encompass reinforcement of knowledge transfer and
dissemination mechanisms. (Paragraph 132)
DFID investments in this area continue to include
support for the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF)
using the local private sector to bring innovations to market.
The new Sustainable Agriculture Research Strategy mentioned above,
explicitly addresses these issues through its focus on research
into use and on supporting existing regional research structures.
The Communications Team of Central Research
Department commissions a range of programmes that will directly
strengthen innovation systems. This ranges from providing free
online access to scientific journals through Access to Global
Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA), Health Internetwork (HINARI)
and the Programme for the Enhancement of Research Information
(PERI), to supporting the media's ability to utilise scientific
evidence in public debate and in the way in which it challenges
government. The Team is also using the media to help raise awareness
of research findings, for example by integrating research messages
into a Television Soap drama: Makutano Junction. The drama series
aims not only to entertain audiences, but also to communicate
useful information that relate to day to day life, for rural and
peri-urban people. Each episode contains important, topical information
that rural dwellers have identified as being of interest and relevance
to them. There have been episodes about malaria prevention and
control, safe sex, parental management of local schools and the
care and management of donkeys DFID will also advocate for international
bodies, ranging from the CGIAR to the WHO, to focus on promoting
national systems of innovation and their access to information.
52. Investment in Information and Communications
Technology, for example to grant institutions in developing countries
reliable access to the internet, is money well spent and we encourage
DFID to give such support high priority. Failure to address inadequacies
in ICT infrastructure and equipment can negate the benefits of
other investments in capacity building: effective science and
research require access to the global pool of knowledge, and isolated
researchers are likely to flounder without both scientific and
moral support from their peers. For the same reasons, DFID should
also continue to support networks that include researchers in
developing countries. (Paragraph 135)
Since the Government Response was published,
DFID has supported the development of a Research Africa newsletter,
which would help resource networks of research managers in Africa.
DFID is in the process of evaluating its existing
portfolio of ICT research projects and is in discussion with the
Canadian International Development Research Centre and the World
Bank about partnering to commission a new ICT research programme
that will potentially be funded through a network of developing
country researchers.
All new DFID Research Programme Consortia commissioned
by DFID are required to include at least 3 developing country
institutes. Recent new consortia have signed up over 30 of the
leading research institutes in Africa.
59. Determining the extent of any brain drain
of scientists, researchers and scientific and technical support
staff from developing countries, and understanding the consequences
of this migration for international development, require further
research and data collection. At the very least, UK Government
departments should monitor the numbers of migrants from developing
countries in their employment and the destinations of developing
country award holders for scholarships that they sponsor. However,
a far more powerful evidence base could be built if other countries
were willing to engage in a long-term international study of the
mobility of scientists and researchers from developing countries.
We recommend that DFID take the lead in calling for the initiation
of such a study by the UN or another international agency. (Paragraph
146)
DFID is continuing to build, with others, the
evidence base on the links between migration and development.
This includes the impact of the migration of highly skilled people
from developing countries. DFID plans to publish a policy paper
in the summer of 2006 which draws together some of the evidence
and sets out some ways in which DFID plans to respond. The paper
is currently in draft and is available at www.dfid.gov.uk/consultations/.
The meeting of the UN High Level Dialogue on
International Migration and Development in New York in September
will focus international attention on the multi-dimensional links
between migration and development. The Report of the Global Commission
on International Migration, "Migration in an interconnected
world: New directions for action" provides part of the
backdrop for the Dialogue. Amongst other things, it argues that
given the changing pattern of international migration, the notion
of "brain drain" is somewhat outmoded as it implies
that a migrant who leaves his or her country will not go back
there. It suggests that in the current era there is a need to
capitalise on the growth of human mobility by promoting the notion
of "brain circulation" in which migrants return to their
own country on a regular or occasional basis, sharing the benefits
of the skills and resources they have acquired while living and
working abroad. The Government will actively engage in further
discussions on this and other aspects of migration and development
at the Dialogue.
61. There is clearly scope for better alignment
and co-ordination of FCO and DFID activities. Although we welcome
the willingness of the FCO to explore these opportunities, we
regret the fact that this has not happened before. As well as
coordination between the central Government departments, there
is much to be gained from interaction between the FCO and DFID
at country level. (Paragraph 155)
The appointment of a Chief Scientific Adviser
in DFID has helped improve the dialogue between the two Departments.
Both Departments are members of the Chief Scientific Advisers
Committee (CSAC) and the Global Science and Innovation Forum and
contact in these groupings and outside has facilitated discussion
of opportunities for collaboration.
65. The Funders' Forum could be a very useful
vehicle for promoting co-ordination of UK-funded research for
development. In view of the large numbers of potential participants,
we recommend that the Funders' Forum be subdivided by sector or
theme to prevent it becoming too unwieldy. However, we remain
highly concerned that DFID has not made sufficient provision for
eliciting input from developing countries and do not see that
the Funders' Forum as proposed will ameliorate this problem in
any way. (Paragraph 168)
An initial meeting of a broad range of UK funders
of international development research was held in 2005. It was
agreed that there would be an annual meeting of this group, with
the first formal meeting planned for September 2006. An annual
report of funders' international development activities will be
prepared for this meeting and work is underway to develop an online
information system that will enable sharing of research, activities
and policy by UK funders. DFID also participates in both the Environment
Research Funders' Forum and a Funders' Forum for health in developing
countries. The Funders' Forum is explicitly a UK body, and not
intended as a way of collecting input from developing countries,
which we agree requires different instruments.
69. We consider that DFID was rash in untying
research funding without eliciting firm commitments from other
countries that they would also adopt that policy over an agreed
timescale. The current situation poses a threat to the sustainability
of the UK development sciences research base and has therefore
resulted in feelings of distress and disappointment towards DFID
in the research community. Having taken this course of action,
DFID must now redouble its efforts to persuade other countries
to untie their research funding. (Paragraph 179)
Since the Government Response was published,
the European Community has agreed to untie all aid to Least Developed
Countries and also untie all food aid. The OECD's Development
Assistance Committee has a commitment to continue to make progress
on untying in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (March
2005). We continue to promote efforts to untie Aid from other
donors.
71. We strongly encourage the building of
North-South partnerships in science, technology and research.
(Paragraph 183)
The new higher education partnership scheme,
DELPHE, will be launched in April 2006. This will replace the
current Higher Education Links scheme (1981-2006) which will be
completed in March 2006. It is funded by DFID with support from
the British Council and HE institutions in the UK and overseas.
DELPHE will support a variety of partnerships between HE institutions,
enabling them to collaborate in activities linked to sustainable
development, poverty reduction and science and technology in DFID's
25 priority focus countries across Africa and Asia.
Expected activities include initiatives for
skills development, knowledge sharing, problem solving research
and other activities that will contribute towards towards achieving
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
It is also expected that there will be South-South
as well as North-South partnerships. Proposals for projects will
be led by a partner in one of DFID's 25 bilateral focus countries.
These lead partners will be responsible for managing the projects,
normally over a three year period, a task which in itself will
contribute towards building capacity within participating HE institutions.
DFID is making £15 million available for
DELPHE, over a seven year period. The programme will be managed
by the British Council, drawing on the resources of its overseas
network. The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) will
assist by disseminating and gathering information through its
networks of universities and scholars and by promoting DELPHE
to Commonwealth Scholar alumni.
DFID has also built links between Northern and
Southern Institutes into its new Research Programme Consortia,
whereby a bid for such a consortia must include at least three
developing country partners.
75. We are of the view that the UK Research
Councils can play an important role in funding research for international
development and consider that such research is highly likely to
deliver additional, incidental benefits for the UK. The Research
Councils should adopt a clear and consistent approach to the funding
of scientific and technical research for international development.
(Paragraph 196)
DFID has set up a new responsive research programme
jointly with the ESRC that will allow access to research grants
by UK institutions. DFID have approached BBSRC and NERC for two
more, within the new Sustainable Agriculture Research Strategy.
We have a long term concordat with the MRC. Establishment and
membership of various funders forums mentioned above provides
DFID with opportunities to discuss such issues. DFID is also leading
ongoing discussions with HEFCE and the Research Councils.
77. We propose that a cross[en rule]cutting
Development Sciences Research Board be established with a mandate
to award grants for development sciences R&D to UK-based institution.
(Paragraph 198)
and
78. We believe that
the recent substantial increases in the aid budget would be complemented
by a commensurate increase in the availability of funding for
development sciences R&D in the UK, in order to strengthen
the evidence base available for international development policy-making,
and to safeguard the UK's ability to maintain a leadership role
in this field. We estimate that an initial budget of approximately
£100 million per annum would be required for the Development
Sciences Research Board to fulfil its role effectively. (Paragraph
201)
A development sciences working group, chaired
by Sir David King and including Sir Gordon Conway, has met three
times since July 2005. Following an initial analysis the group
has commissioned further work to assess the current state of the
UK development science research base and its future prospects,
and to identify what, if any, impact this will have on strategic
UK objectives.
The team undertaking this work will also look
at the potential for the establishment of a Development Science
Research Collaboration, along similar lines to the existing Clinical
Research Collaboration, and explore the options for its role and
responsibilities and its membership and governance.
The results of this work are expected to be
made available to the development sciences working group in the
early summer and is expected to provide necessary information
for any potential bid for funding for development science as part
of the Comprehensive Spending Review.
March 2006
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