IDC to hold first session in higher education inquiry
The International Development Committee is kicking off the oral evidence sessions for its inquiry exploring the FCDO’s approach to higher education and research partnerships.
The inquiry will consider the medium to long-term benefits of these partnerships to the UK’s international development goals, and whether the FCDO's approach to them may shift in response to a reduced aid budget.
The first evidence session will open with a panel featuring academics from the University of Edinburgh, University of East Anglia and the London School of Economics.
Witnesses on this panel could be questioned about how the FCDO could learn from the government's £1.5-billion Global Challenges Research Fund, which ran between 2016 and 2021, and whether research partnerships can replace larger programmes lost due to cuts to Official Development Assistance.
Meeting details
A second panel will feature witnesses from the Institute of Development Studies and Universities UK International.
These witnesses could be pressed on the role that higher education and research partnerships can play in UK development strategy, and the soft power benefits of these partnerships.