At its best, development research is transformative. Yet for development research to be its best, donor countries and philanthropic and institutional funders need to support new, sustainable working methods for research projects to reach the scale needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
It was research funded by official development aid that developed a vaccine against Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, whose technology was repurposed to produce the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. In Brazil, interdisciplinary researchers used information gathered from satellites, supercomputers, and the behavior of plant stomata to develop warning systems for people in the path of landslides, floods, and fires, saving both lives and livelihoods.
But in the rush to launch new funds, funders can skimp on consultation with lower- and middle-income countries, thus failing to pin down paths to implementation and limiting research impact.
About the author
Marie Staunton
Marie Staunton is currently chair of strategic coherence for ODA Research Board, which is supported by the U.K. Collaborative on Development Research, and is on the board of Oxford Policy Management. She has worked on international development and human rights for over 35 years in the public, commercial, and NGO sectors. She has been CEO of NGOs including Plan UK, Plan Canada, and Amnesty UK; deputy director of UNICEF UK; and secretary general of the International Federation of Anti-Leprosy Associations.