UK aid cuts: compromising lives, livelihoods and learning

Over the past few months there have been many important responses to the UK aid cuts. Few have foregrounded UK aid’s investment into research, learning and innovation.

As researchers in global development, we see first-hand the immeasurable impact of the FCDO’s (and previously DFID’s) commitment to this: research funding means aid is invested more effectively and efficiently.

With FCDO grants we have led and supported research that has strengthened policies, including the ambitious new policy for non-formal education in Zimbabwe which will support access to education and vocational training for over one million adolescents and youth.

The grants have supported collaborations between academics and local organisations that have trialled and evidenced innovations to advance children’s wellbeing, including addressing child labour in Bangladesh.

They have furthered our expertise in digital and distance learning, enabling partnerships with governments to improve teaching and learning in tens of thousands of classrooms and community education spaces around the world.

Funding has enabled the establishment of research networks that have led to knowledge sharing and job-creation across borders.

The UK aid research funding model is not perfect, but it is a force for good. It supports inter-disciplinary research, challenging siloed thinking in development: as climate, poverty, conflict, authoritarianism, health and education become more interconnected, new understandings about these connections are vital.

UK aid funds studies led by institutions in lower-income countries, boosting their profile in the global research landscape and maximising research’s relevance. These engage with those most affected by crises, enabling more meaningful responses. Research can challenge paternalistic aid-spending tendencies, facilitating innovation in resource distribution, as well as in technology and services for the world’s poorest people

Much UK aid research funding comes with a condition that data must be made freely available, generating a valuable public good. Research also underpins teaching materials for UK students and helps to promote inclusive global outlooks in our universities.

And if investing in global stability, sustainability and spending efficiency isn’t convincing enough, UK aid research funding contributed to the development of the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine, which readers – from all over the world - will have benefited from.

As noted by many in the global development space, UK aid cuts will lead to the loss of life and livelihoods. If the research budget diminishes, these devastating effects will be exacerbated by the loss of learning.

Alison Buckler (Senior Research Fellow in International Education) – [email protected]

Keetie Roelen (Senior Research Fellow in Poverty and Social Protection) – [email protected]

Kwame Akyeampong (Professor of International Education and Development) – [email protected]

Dinar Kale (Professor of Innovation and Development) – [email protected]

Agnes Kukulska-Hulme (Professor of Learning Technology and Communication) - [email protected]

Giles Mohan (Professor of International Development) – [email protected]

Parvati Raghuram (Professor of Geography and Migration) – [email protected]

Freda Wolfenden (Professor of Education and International Development) – [email protected]

The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.