About GRTD

Global Research and Technology Development (GRTD) funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) represents the full portfolio of high quality and impactful research and development, which tackle the most pressing challenges of our time: to build prosperity, resilience and security around the world.

Who we are

GRTD is a new identity representing the FCDO’s world-leading science, technology, and innovation investments. It is managed by the Research and Evidence Directorate (RED) in FCDO, under the leadership of Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Charlotte Watts. The directorate includes over a dozen research teams of experts and advisers, senior research fellows, programme managers and analysts.

GRTD brings together that work in partnership with leading international universities, institutions, and the private sector to deliver outcomes for the global public good. It also delivers expert analysis and advice to inform decision-making across the FCDO. Through this website, GRTD will share funding opportunities, highlight major partnerships, impacts, and research outputs to enhance engagement between FCDO, academia, and the global science and technology sector.

GRTD is delivered alongside our broad range of partnerships and programmes, including the new Research Commissioning Centre, which seeks to improve the way we work with research partners to equitably fund and commission research.

What we do

We harness global expertise and collaboration

GRTD’s investments in research and development harness the latest science and innovation to deliver through international partnerships. We partner with institutions and researchers through global programmes and international collaborations that can leverage action at scale and develop solutions to complex global challenges.

We employ rigorous research methodologies, adhering to internationally recognised ethical standards, with quality-assured or peer-reviewed research outputs that are disseminated openly.

Our portfolio includes strategic partnerships with global funders; research programme consortia and implementers; private-public partnerships with entities such as the United Nations, World Bank, and international financial institutions; and mission-driven international organisations.

We strengthen local country research systems and partnerships

We invest in deep, enduring and equitable partnerships in low- and middle-income countries to generate locally relevant research and technology development for sustainable impact and development progress. We are committed to empowering scientists to access and contribute to the latest scientific knowledge. We work in partnership to strengthen local research, technology, and innovation capacity and create an enabling environment for innovation.

We influence and deliver long-term, inclusive impact for the global good

GRTD brings researchers and scientists from the UK into open and secure partnerships with researchers and innovators across the developing world. We also work with other allies who share our commitment to open science for the global good, to drive our scientific response to some of the biggest global challenges. We work with international institutions, governments, organisations, and researchers to deliver high quality and impactful research. GRTD global research and technology products provide a pipeline of proven innovations that can be scaled up to support local economies and growth, and research strengthening programmes and science partnerships build capacity to lead, conduct and fund research.

New and improved technologies and robust evidence saves and improves many millions of lives. For example, through the creation of vaccines and medical treatments; improved crop varieties; innovation in humanitarian interventions; and new ways to adapt and become more resilient to climate change and extreme weather. GRTD’s research has also identified interventions which can halve the rate of domestic violence, increase girl’s enrolment and learning in school, and improve women’s access to labour markets. Examples of specific recent innovations include:

- Surgibox Surgifield system: a mobile inflatable sterile operating system which can fit inside a backpack. Named one of Time Magazine’s top 200 innovations of 2023.
- MENFIVE: a novel vaccine for bacterial meningitis (5 serogroups) developed, and used in Nigeria from March 2024.
- CP4-Africa: the first Pan-African high-resolution climate model to improve projections of rainfall extremes, dry spells, high winds, and continental-scale circulation.
- ACE Mobility App: Africa’s first accessible vehicle ride hailing startup-service for people with disabilities. This transport app enables people to request a reliable, affordable and inclusive public commute.

How we work

GRTD research outputs are disseminated openly following a robust quality assurance and peer review process. All our research and development meets the internationally recognised OECD Frascati definition. The majority of GRTD’s funding is defined as Official Development Assistance (ODA), which meets the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC)’s eligibility criteria. This includes country eligibility, concessionality and the promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries as the main funding objectives. Read more about ODA conditions: ODA eligibility and conditions | OECD . The FCDO also funds research in areas not covered by ODA conditions.

Project teams and researchers managing and implementing GRTD-funded programmes are expected to follow the highest UK government standards as set out in FCDO Programme Operating Framework, guidance for Managing Public Money, and wider standards for commissioning research. All GRTD research is expected to comply with the Ethical Guidance for Research, Evaluation and Monitoring Activities and Safeguarding in International Development Research.

We strive towards embedding equality, diversity and inclusion in all GRTD investments, including equitable research partnership principles. We are committed to improving efficiency and effectiveness of research, by reducing bureaucracy and accelerating access to funding in line with the UK government commitments. The GRTD’s Research Commissioning Centre is our main vehicle implementing these improvements. For more information, visit the Research Commissioning Centre page.

Banner image:Local staff member of Azuri Technologies delivering solar system to householder in Africa. Azuri has been supported by the FCDO Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform to scale-up its technology; ©Azuri

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