Dr Alex Balch (left) in Ghana, developing community-led strategies to combat modern slavery in West and Central Africa.
The University of Liverpool has been ranked 10th in the UK for GCRF (Global Challenges Research Fund) and Newton Fund awarded projects.
The recent analysis by Research Professional compared the success of UK universities in leading GCRF (Global Challenges Research Fund) and Newton Fund awarded projects.
Three years on, the University of Liverpool is enjoying growing success in addressing global challenges. Since 2015 the UK government, as part of its international aid (ODA – Official Development Assistance), has provided funding for research which benefits low and middle income countries. Liverpool has performed well with total awards of: GCRF £16,111,257 (27 awards); Newton Fund £6,556,145 (43 awards) and other ODA funds £6,720,923 (7 awards).
Examples projects include:
- One health capacity building in the Horn of Africa;
- Developing community-led strategies to combat modern slavery in West and Central Africa;
- Developing anticoagulation services for cardiovascular disease in Uganda and South Africa;
- Clean energy through hydrogen-fuelled vehicles in China;
- Working with the Yazidi people to preserve their heritage and identity.
This activity is overseen by the Global Challenges Strategy Group which includes senior academics from across the university. In the coming years the group will oversee the delivery of the university’s global challenges research strategy and QR GCRF grant from Research England. The Chair of the group, Professor Matthew Baylis, said “we are very pleased to see the University of Liverpool making a significant impact in low and middle income countries. We are looking forward to putting in place further activities to ensure future success.”
Pump priming schemes and events
This academic year 31 research projects have been allocated ODA Seed funding via pump priming schemes delivered in November 2017 and March/July 2018, with an average value of £5,295.08.
This year the Global Challenges team have hosted two major events, ‘UK global challenges and international research policy – the view from BEIS’ (May) and ‘Making an Impact in developing countries’ (June).
Both events were a success with over 80 delegates attending in total.
Further information
If you would like to get involved with the Global Challenges Strategy Group please contact Andrew Holmes at Research Policy for more information: Andrew.Holmes4@liverpool.ac.uk.
To find out more please see the recently updated and redesigned International Funding Site at: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/intranet/international-funding-opportunities/