Building Capacity to use Research Evidence (BCURE).

Descriptions

DFID sought proposals for a range of innovative programmes that aimed to build capacity of decision-makers in low and middle income countries to use research evidence and rigorous data to inform their decision-making. We intended to invest around £10 million in a suite of up to six new programmes, which would each run for a period of up to 3 years. This would help inform DFID and other development research funders on what types of capacity building approaches on research uptake are most cost effective and have the greatest impact. Having the ability to make evidence-informed policy and practice decisions will be vital if countries are to pull themselves out of poverty. The end results of the programme stream will be enhanced capacity of decision makers in low and middle income countries to routinely gather, synthesise, appraise and use research evidence to inform policy and practice decisions. For the purposes of the call, decision-makers may have been policy-makers, practitioners or intermediaries – or the organisations in which these decision-makers work. Applicants could have been individual organisations or a consortium of organisations of which at least 50% should have been from low or middle income countries. Programmes should have been designed in collaboration with end-users and ideally would be implemented within and through existing in-country institutions. At least one of the countries targeted by each programme should have been a DFID focus country. Proposals must have demonstrated how on-going learning would have been facilitated and how benefits would have been sustained beyond the life of the programme. DFID was keen to test a broad range of capacity building approaches on research uptake, with a varied geographical focus. DFID therefore reserved the right to select the best combination of proposals to meet our requirements, within the overall funding envelope we had available. Proposals were therefore assessed on their own merit with bidders only competing against each other on the basis that there is a limited pool of money available.