GCRF Agile Response to COVID-19 programme: light touch review

Executive summary

Programme overview

The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Agile Response to COVID-19 is a UKRI International Programme which funded international projects aiming to address and mitigate specific impacts of COVID-19 in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Purpose and approach of this review

This purpose of this light-touch review is to bring together key findings, early outcomes and results of the programme to give an overview of:

how it has progressed
how it has met its original aims
any significant changes, challenges or outcomes experienced at project level

This review will present data, narrative and examples collected from internal cross-UKRI information. Evidence has been collated from grant holder project reporting and funding opportunity documents which can be used to highlight impact and provide learning for designing similar programmes in future.

Key findings

Programme aims

The GCRF Agile Response to COVID-19 programme aimed to mitigate short and longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, wellbeing, community cohesion, and economic prosperity in LMIC’s. The programme was funded through the GCRF which aimed to address global challenges and provide an agile response to emergencies where there is an urgent research need. A total of 40 projects were successful in receiving funding and the programme has been widely successful in delivering against its objectives.

Application process

Due to the urgency of the programme we took a flexible approach to the application process. Active GCRF grant holders were encouraged to consider whether they could repurpose their projects to meet the objectives of the funding opportunity. This was identified as the quickest way to get projects started.

A simplified rolling application process was developed and implemented so new applications could be fast tracked with the aim for projects to be active within four weeks of receiving notification of success. This was an experimental process which expedited applications and enabled us to provide funding as quickly as possible.

The development of this new process has enabled UKRI to capture valuable lessons and learnings for the development of similar programmes should they be required for future urgent funds.

Funded projects

The projects proposed a variety of different pathways to have an impact including:

contribution to policy change
influence on practice
manufacture of interventions
collection of crucial data sets for future use

Funded projects had a wide beneficiary reach in 30 Official Development Assistance (ODA) countries and encouraged collaboration between UK and international organisations with the aim of facilitating capacity strengthening. This was achieved through the inclusion of overseas co-investigators and collaboration with project partners from over 40 countries.

The broad focus on short and longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that project objectives covered a wide remit, including:

the mitigation of impacts on children’s learning and development
domestic violence
psychological and emotional effects of the pandemic

Other projects concentrated on groups that were most likely to be underrepresented or living in hard-to-reach areas, including street vendors, refugees, people with disabilities and migrant workers, ensuring that they were included in the response to COVID-19.

Several projects aimed to address the immediate short-term impacts of the pandemic, including:

development of mass-scale vaccination programmes
systems for tracking disease spread
development of low-cost personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilator equipment

One of the key risks to awards progressing was the ongoing pandemic which presented a variety of challenges including lockdowns, travel restrictions and spread of the illness. This led to delays and meant that many original project plans, objectives and outputs had to be amended. The commitment and adaptability of research teams meant that many were able to alter their plans to prioritise the most important elements of their research and continue making progress towards their intended objectives, although with some delays. Working within LMIC’s also presented additional challenges.

Some examples highlighted are cultural and ethical considerations, in-country political tensions and challenges working with some governments when seeking to influence policy change.

At the time of the announcement of the reduction to the ODA budget by the UK government in February 2021, all projects were well underway. Many had been working to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the reduced funding further impacted the intended outcomes for several awards.

It was reported by some grant holders that the reduced budget limited project scope and required the use of extra resources to amend project plans and timelines which caused further delays. UKRI granted several no cost extensions to allow additional time for grant holders to work on their projects. Although the ODA reductions impacted awards, the resilience and commitment of project teams meant that many were able to continue working towards and meeting their intended objectives and outcomes.

Researchfish data shows that over 900 outputs and outcomes have been generated by the projects funded through the programme. This includes a variety of engagement activities with stakeholders, the continuation of existing and development of new partnerships, influence on policy and instances of further funding. Grant holders have shared a variety of success stories within their final reporting which highlight the positive outcomes generated by several projects.

Overall, despite uncertainty caused by the pandemic and budget reductions, the GCRF Agile Response to COVID-19 programme and projects have made good progress in meeting their objectives. Alongside recorded outputs and outcomes there have also been many examples of project success and continuation and sustainability beyond the end of this programme, which should lead to further outcomes and impact into the future.

The programme provided valuable learning in relation to the agile approach to funding both internally within UKRI through the development of new processes and externally for researchers who had to find new ways of working to enable research during a global pandemic.

Programme summary

The GCRF Agile Response to COVID-19 programme awarded £14.5 million across 40 awards over 18 months. The COVID-19 pandemic was a global crisis which presented an unprecedented challenge, threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions of people around the world.

Some of the poorest societies in the world were the least prepared and most vulnerable to the effects of the virus. Other LMICs have previous experiences of responding to epidemics, such as HIV, Ebola and Tuberculosis, from which they and the rest of the world could learn from.

The UKRI International Team (formerly the International Development Team at UKRI) commissioned the Agile Response to COVID-19 funding opportunity at this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim was to provide funding for short-term projects that could address and mitigate the health, social, economic, cultural and environmental impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak in LMICs eligible for ODA funding.

Programme objectives

The opportunity was funded through the GCRF and the Newton Fund. It formed part of the UK’s ODA commitment and UKRI was a significant delivery partner. These funds sought to address global challenges through research and strengthen capability for research and innovation within the UK and developing countries. They provide an agile response to emergencies where there is an urgent research need.

Researchers holding existing UKRI GCRF grants were encouraged to consider whether they could repurpose that funding to address the objectives of this opportunity, as the quickest way to start the research. Applicants applying for new projects had to demonstrate in their application that they could start work within four weeks of funding being confirmed, and show why it was not possible to repurpose existing funds that they may have had available.

Proposals to the GCRF Agile Response to COVID-19 funding opportunity were required to meet the following criteria:

describe the unmet need developing countries are facing with COVID-19, and how the primary benefit of your research will be realised in these countries
focus on working in close partnership with LMICs to enable the best researchers and innovators in the UK and developing countries to jointly contribute to recovery from this global crisis
clearly demonstrate how the proposed research meets the criteria for ODA compliance and gender equality
explain the level of urgency, and why the activity is important now
demonstrate that the proposal has the necessary critical mass to make a difference, including the global partnerships that will be necessary to realise impact in LMIC countries
demonstrate their commitment to minimising the burden their project will place on others. Given the urgency and the demands the development of the proposal and carrying out of the project will place on others, applicants should be mindful of the burden they place on individuals and organisations, both in the UK and overseas. This includes consideration of how to conduct fieldwork and other activities
demonstrate a clear route to impact within the timescale of the project. Where relevant, this should include demonstration of links to relevant decision makers both in the UK and overseas
give an estimate of the resources required (within 10%)
name the team that will run this and describe their ability and capacity to deliver including details of how research would be conducted under current restrictions (travel, social distancing) and highlight any requirements for personal protective equipment
provide evidence that the host institutions support the proposal and that the research can be carried out under present institutional restriction

Applicants were also required to provide approval and confirmation from their organisation that the work they were proposing was achievable under any constraints that were in place within their organisation at the time of submission during the pandemic.

Intended outcomes and impacts

This funding opportunity focused upon mitigating both short and longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, wellbeing, community cohesion, and economic prosperity. As well as a health emergency, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of understanding underlying determinants of risk in LMICs, including:

the quality of public messaging and community engagement
the vulnerabilities of those living in refugee and internally displaced persons (IDP) camps and informal settlements
higher incidences of domestic violence resulting from social isolation
remittances from overseas
impacts upon global food systems and supply chains
severely restricted access to education

UKRI supported proposals which met at least one of the following:

new research or innovation with a clear pathway to impact on policy or practice that has the potential (within the period of the award) to deliver a significant contribution to the understanding of, response to, and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in a developing country context
supports the manufacture or wide scale adoption of an intervention with significant potential for impact in developing countries
gathers critical data and resources quickly for future research use

This funding opportunity was launched alongside several other UK funding opportunities aiming to address COVID-19 knowledge gaps. Applications for funding that did not benefit the welfare of LMICs as their primary objective were encouraged to apply to the other funding opportunities which included:

UKRI Open funding opportunity for research and innovation ideas to address COVID-19
UKRI and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) COVID-19 Rapid Response rolling funding opportunity
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) GCRFs Urgency Grants pilot

Summary of UKRI programme delivery

The application process for the GCRF Agile Response funding opened in May 2020. Applications for UKRI Funding would usually go through the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system. Due to the urgency of the opportunity, this process was replaced with an online application form which applicants downloaded, completed and submitted by email to a dedicated mailbox.

Funding opportunities would usually have a closing date that all applications must be submitted by before they move on to the next stage of the application process. This was changed to a rolling deadline meaning that applicants could submit as soon as their applications were ready and then be moved straight on to the next stage.

The total number of applications submitted was 477 of which 40 went on to be successfully funded.

The UKRI International Funds Team developed a brand new four-stage process with a coordinator acting as lead for each stage.

Stage 1

Applications were received, filed and assigned a unique reference number. The team at this stage were also the first point of contact for applicants: monitoring the mailbox, answering queries and providing guidance on the necessary requirements for applications to progress to Stage 2.

Stage 2

The team reviewed the received proposals against eligibility criteria to determine whether they fit the scope of the opportunity. To assist with this process, and to make it fair, checklists were provided for staff to use when assessing the eligibility of applications.

Stage 3

The proposals that passed Stage 2 went through a more intensive peer review which involved a rapid panel process, these were initially held weekly and later changed to a two-week rolling panel which concluded with an agreed ranking determining whether the application would receive funding or not.

Stage 4

Successful applicants were invited to submit via Je-S and funded grants were created and pushed to activation on Siebel. This was a fast-track process where peer review had already been completed so a lot of standard grant processing could be skipped. The target turnaround time was for all applications to be active within four weeks of the post panel confirmation email being sent to the applicant.

After completing the application process

Upon completion of this process the team dedicated to this process were replaced with a standard programme management team that provided post-award support and oversaw reporting in collaboration with the UKRI International Teams.

In February 2023 the UKRI International Funds Team completed a programme overview and outcomes paper which included lessons learned, highlighting the positive and negatives for each stage of the process. This is valuable information and evidence which could be used in the future should a similar programme be required.

Reporting requirements

UKRI aimed to keep the reporting requirements for the GCRF Agile Response to COVID-19 as light touch as possible.

Three different forms of reporting were requested from the grant holders:

an inception report
a progress report
a final report

These narrative reports allowed the grant holders to identify whether their projects were on track as per their original plans or not and provide information about the produced outputs and outcomes in relation to the original project design. To effectively monitor the progress of the projects, grant holders are also required to update information on Researchfish on an annual basis.

Inception report

The inception report allowed grant holders to design a detailed implementation plan for their project with the help of a theory of change, logic model and a risk mitigation plan. This report also included a monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) plan and a communication and visibility strategy, to help the project team track project’s progress as it is being implemented.

Progress reports and final report

Grant holders were required to submit a project report that provided information on the success and difficulties in achieving project targets and the underlying factors behind them. This allowed tracking progress of the project, identifying risks to the project and drivers of positive results which is essential to ensure successful implementation of the project. Grant holders were also given the option to submit success stories, pictures or any communication material produced along with the reports. The information generated by these reports can also be used in better designing or implementation of future projects of similar nature.

Researchfish submissions

It is mandatory for all principal investigators on UKRI funded grants to submit their research outcomes each year between February and March starting from early on in their project until at least five years after it ends. Researchfish gathers information on the outputs or outcomes that are the result of the project such as publications, collaborations, partnerships and further funding. They reflect on the success of the project by measuring the outputs and outcomes produced and use of those outputs by other individuals, organisations or projects.

Background and context to the programme

There was no specific budget for the programme, UKRI were interested in funding research of any scale that could demonstrate it would deliver impact during the lifetime of the project. The average funding total for funded projects was approximately £363,280. The first projects began in July 2020, and the last active project finished in November 2022.

Remit of successful projects

Projects funded through this programme contributed to the strategic aims of the following six portfolio areas:

resilience
cities and sustainable infrastructure
global health
food systems
education and security
protracted conflict, refugee crisis and forced displacement

Primary and secondary challenge areas for the 40 successful projects
Portfolio challenge area	Primary	Secondary
Resilience	3	7
Cities and sustainable infrastructure	3	4
Global health	4	4
Food systems	14	13
Education and security	20	10
Protracted conflict, refugee crisis and forced displacement	20	10

Successful funded projects covered the remit of the Economic and Social research Council (ESRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Medical Research Council (MRC), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

Primary and secondary council remits for the 40 successful projects
Research council remit	Primary	Secondary
ESRC	25	8
EPSRC	5	4
STFC	1	0
AHRC	1	4
MRC	9	7
BBSRC	1	3
NERC	3	2

Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget reductions by UK government

In February 2021, the UK government reduced its Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget from 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national income (GNI). The ODA Review resulted in an overall reduction of around 70% in all planned UKRI ODA expenditure for the financial year 2021 to 2022. The GCRF and Newton Fund portfolio of awards were subsequently affected. In total, this resulted in a reduction of £3.8 million from the programme. Projects funded by the GCRF Agile Response to COVID-19 opportunity were affected by these budget reductions, bringing the total funding value down to £10.7 million.

The internal UKRI ODA Review completed in July 2022 highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the consequences of the ODA budget reductions and reduced the ability of projects to adapt to them. It was evident from the review that there was a collective endeavour of grant holders and partners to ensure ODA research continued.

The evidence provided by the Agile Response to COVID-19 grant holders through reporting aligns with this finding. The majority reported that their projects were affected by the ODA budget reduction. Many were able to mitigate these impacts by re-designing project plans to prioritise the most critical elements of research, staff adapting their working patterns and putting in additional hours and in some cases funding gaps being filled by research organisations.

International context

Working closely in partnership with LMICs, the GCRF and Newton Fund were well placed to enable the best researchers in the UK and internationally to collaborate to respond and recover from this global crisis.

The programme enabled the GCRF and Newton Fund to build on their current portfolios addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while focusing on mitigating the short-term and long-term negative impacts of the pandemic on health (mental health, health economics and malnutrition), wellbeing, community cohesion and economic prosperity in the developing countries.

The 40 funded awards spanned 30 Development Assistance Committee (DAC) recipient list beneficiary countries. These include Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ecuador, Fifi, India, Jordan, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Pakistan, Philippines, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Syria, Thailand, Vietnam and Zambia. Many projects had more than one beneficiary country with several providing a global benefit.

The programme encouraged international collaboration and all 40 projects included partner organisations from 40 countries. There were also international co-investigators included from Nigeria, Uganda, Brazil, Chana, Jordan, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Africa, Sri Lanka, Australia, Cambodia, Malaysia and Namibia.

Project level findings

Findings captured throughout this section are those highlighted to UKRI through project reporting from grant holders.

Challenges, barriers or significant changes at project level

The COVID-19 pandemic presented many significant challenges as reported by grant holders, that had not previously been encountered by research teams. There was a level of uncertainty for projects and project staff meaning that flexibility and adaptability was required from the beginning to ensure that objectives and planned outcomes could be achieved. 30 out of 40 grant holders referenced the COVID-19 pandemic in their reports and identified it as having an impact on project delivery.

Due to the international and collaborative nature of the programme, all projects included overseas partners and activities that were planned to be completed in-country by international partners. The implementation of lockdowns and travel restrictions meant that many of these planned activities, such as data collection and in-person engagement, could not take place. Alternative approaches were quickly developed to enable project teams to make progress.

Many projects amended their plans so that research could be conducted virtually, utilising software such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams to hold meetings and webinars in order for work to continue, in some cases at a slower pace. Conducting work remotely was crucial to many projects. This reliance on technology presented other challenges such as limited internet access and low digital literacy in LMICs, which had the potential to exclude certain groups.

For projects where the main objectives depended on the collation of data for future research use, reporting suggests that some grant holders felt that doing this virtually could have attributed towards lower participation rates and potentially affected the quality of data collected. One report recognised that online surveys and data collection are not always inclusive or accessible for everyone, potentially leading to a less diverse data set.

Despite this, many projects were able to work effectively to mitigate the impacts by amending project plans and activities. In some cases, grant holders chose to delay certain activities until they could be conducted face-to-face, so that the richness of the qualitative data would be more advantageous to the outcomes of the project. Others redirected travel budgets towards other activities so that other work could continue until travel was allowed again.

For projects focusing on the manufacture of an innovation, two grant holders reported that lockdowns caused supply chain delays which meant that raw materials, goods and consumables were harder to obtain, in turn affecting operational capacity of teams. This is reported to have had an adverse effect on building prototypes and potentially the influence the innovations had, as they took longer to develop before they were ready to be used in developing countries.

Some examples of other barriers include challenges working with government organisations and departments in partner countries to be able to influence policy. One report referenced government departments in Zimbabwe having specific priorities which the project team had to align with to achieve buy-in. Other factors reported include elections followed by change of government in Zambia, social movement protests leading to curfews in Nigeria, armed conflict before elections in Central African Republic and the denial of the existence of COVID-19 in Tanzania. These are all external factors that project teams had to overcome to enable them to reach their objectives.

Significant changes and risks faced at project level

A strong theme that emerged was the influence that the reduction of the UK ODA budget by the UK government had on the programme. In total, 32 out of 40 grant holders specified that the reduction to the ODA budget had directly impacted their project.

Projects were already underway when the news was announced, when many grant holders were already working to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic, and the reductions led to further uncertainty for grant holders. Many reported that their projects had to be reprofiled to meet the amended budget, activities and objectives needed to be changed, scaled back or in some cases removed completely. Some reports stated that this resulted in delays and wasted time and resource, which impacted project progress particularly due to the urgent nature of the programme.

Some grant holders were required to obtain or raise additional funds from other sources or from their host organisations to enable them to continue with their work. Others reported having to rely on the willingness of staff to continue working on the project without funding. Several awards were granted no cost extensions at the end of their projects to allow them extra time to make up for the delays caused. Although the ODA budget reductions caused these challenges, most grant holders managed to attain the majority of their original objectives or were able to amend them in line with the scope of the programme.

Some grant holders reported that they were able to change or add to their original objectives over the duration of the project as the context continued to change. Due to the agile nature of the programme, it was essential for grant holders to interpret their objectives in a wide context and recognise opportunities that would let them develop the scope of their projects further, to achieve a broader range of outcomes.

Project continuation and sustainability (beyond completion date)

Training and knowledge transfer

Elements of training and knowledge transfer to communities in LMIC’s as part of projects, provided immediate skills to respond to the pandemic locally. For example, to manufacture urgently needed items such as face masks and PPE. These practical skills, such as sewing and soap making, are transferable and since the pandemic have supported local people to set up businesses utilising their expertise further and selling products that they continue to manufacture.

An example of this is work completed as part of a project which focused on collaborating with IDPs in Zimbabwe during the pandemic, to develop and build innovations to protect against COVID-19. The project focused on empowering the IDP community to manage the installation of hand and full body washing stations. The project team formed positive relationships with the community who created committees to lead discussions with the wider community. Committees were then able to make informed decisions and oversee projects, taking ownership of the installation. Alongside this, entrepreneurship training took place for 20 people (the majority of whom were female) who have now been able to set up small businesses manufacturing items such as school uniforms and overalls for local companies.

Legacy value

Other projects also provided local people with skills that will have legacy value. One project based in Peru focused on the effects of COVID-19 on artisanal fisheries which provide employment and nutrition for some of the poorest local communities. The project aimed to collate data on the impacts of COVID-19 to use alongside government data to ensure they responded with the appropriate social welfare measures. As part of this project, 12 local female monitors were trained in interview and survey techniques to collect information on how the pandemic was affecting the community. The information gathered was then used to inform communities on trends for example, number of COVID-19 cases, landing of fish and for use as evidence for policy changes. These skills and the programmes used to collate and display the data will have value for the communities going forward, in continuing to monitor the impacts of other major events that have the potential to impact the fishing communities.

Influencing policy

17 projects have produced outputs that have influenced policy. Another project based in Peru focused on how the response to COVID-19 in two major cities has impacted infant nutrition. Evidence gathered through surveys and interviews and shared through workshops with government health providers, has contributed towards improving nutritional counselling programmes. A mobile application has been trialled at government health clinics to provide increased engagement of caregivers. The project team have also continued to liaise with stakeholders in central and regional government so that they can follow the impact of the pandemic on the nutrition of mothers and infants.

A further example of this is a project which sought to manage the short and long-term effects of COVID-19 in Zambia. Nurses are the only professional group to be present at all stages of the patient pathway and the team identified their need to have increased capacity in leadership, management and clinical decision making. The data gained to identify key issues within nursing has been used to develop a national nurse education and training programme accepted by the Ministry of Health. Alongside this an infectious disease prevention template has been developed to facilitate the use of materials for education and training for future infectious disease outbreak (Cholera, Ebola), increasing the reach of the project.

Another project focused on the impacts of the pandemic on street vendors following the implementation of a ban on street vending by the Nigerian government. The results from the earlier phases of the project identified critical policy areas for government action and evidence from the project contributed to the development and implementation of new policies and practice.

A further project aimed to support the development and implementation of emergency plans to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 in care homes. The team developed a simple policy tool to inform emergency support for care facilities. Aspects of this research influenced the World Health Organisations guidance for managing COVID-19 in care homes which has been the main reference document for all residential care facilities and health ministries, including those in LMICs.

Data gathering for future use

For the projects that aimed to gather data and resources for future use, 15 data sets have been collected which can be used as evidence for influencing policy change. One has collected unique data relating to the impact of COVID-19 on people with disabilities which can be used as evidence in advocacy and lobbying the South African government, to improve their disability inclusive policies and practices.

Research conducted in Indonesia provided new insight on the socioeconomic and health impacts of COVID-19 on Indonesian female migrants and their families remaining at home. These findings were then used by the local authority to develop new policies and programmes to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on female migrants, including a food assistance programme for female migrants’ families.

Another positive example of project continuation is work conducted to develop parenting resources for child wellbeing and harm prevention, which have already reached over 210 million people globally, including all DAC countries. The impact and engagement of these resources will extend beyond the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and have already been expanded and customised to cover additional high-vulnerability contexts, for example to the context of the recent invasion of Ukraine.

Overall, this section provides a small selection of examples and many other projects have also reported instances of project continuation and sustainability. More detailed information on some of these examples can also be found under Case studies and stories of impact.

Analysis of research outcomes reporting (from Researchfish)

The online Researchfish system gathers information on project outcomes that that have been generated as a result of funding provided by UKRI. This allows us to reflect on the success of each project by measuring the number of various outputs and outcomes produced and use of those outputs by other individuals, organisations or projects.

The narrative around these outcomes and outputs is a useful source of information which allows us to understand how, and to what extent, projects are progressing towards achieving their initial aims. It also provides us with wider knowledge on how successful UKRI’s programmes have been, enables analysis of the outcomes and impacts of research across the wider community and supports us to identify stories of impact to promote our achievements.

The short-term nature of the GCRF Agile Response to COVID-19 funding opportunity means that there are currently only three years’ worth of output data however, this still gives us a good understanding of the progress that has been made to date. Grant holders will also continue to report over the full five year period which will give us a continuing insight into any further progress.

Researchfish requires UKRI grant holders to record common outcome types which cover outputs (such as publications, exhibitions, new research tools or method) and outcomes (such as new or improved products, processes or public policies).

Current total of outcomes reported from 2020 until March 2023
Outcome type	Number of outcomes	Number of awards
Publications	198	31
Research datasets, databases and models	15	10
Further funding	51	20
Collaborations and partnerships	265	26
Engagement activities	393	34
Influence on policy, practice, patients and the public	29	17
Medical products, interventions and clinical trials	7	4

The total number of outcomes was 958 across 40 awards.

Data shows that 17 projects have reported a total of 29 outcomes relating to ‘Influence on policy’ with a wide geographical reach across multiple continents including Africa, Asia and South America. The types and methods of influence reported against include:

training of practitioners or researchers
participation in a guidance or advisory committee
contribution to a national consultation or review
contribution to new or improved professional practice and implementation circular, rapid advice or letter

The programme aimed to create clear pathways to impact on policy or practice with the potential to deliver a significant contribution to the understanding of, in response to, and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. It is positive to be able to see the progress that has been made. This data alongside the information provided through project reporting is a good indication that these projects have made progress towards their objectives.

The second aim of the programme was to support the manufacture or wide scale adoption of an intervention with significant potential for impact in developing countries. Researchfish reporting shows that four projects have generated product interventions which have now either been adopted at small or wide scale or are at varying levels of development. This includes two activities which were completed in 2022 showing that progress has continued to be made following the completion of the projects. The achievements of these outputs include improvements in public health activity, improved delivery of clinical service and improved diagnosis and treatment. These are positive outcomes which will continue to have a legacy impact following on from the pandemic.

The final aim of the programme was to gather critical data and resources quickly for future research use. Researchfish shows that 15 databases have been produced under 10 of the funded projects, and for many there are visible links to publications that have been produced in different journals. It may still be too early to analyse the full impact of the data collected at this stage however, it reflects good progress to see that the datasets have already produced several outputs and will hopefully continue to provide useful information for future use.

A total of 247 collaborations and partnerships have been formed since 2020 under 24 projects. The projects have been successful in bringing together a variety of different organisations internationally. There are also 18 collaborations listed as being pre-existing partnerships, demonstrating the importance of utilising established partnerships, especially when there is an urgent need and therefore less time to develop new partnerships and networks.

It is also interesting to see the new collaborations that have been recorded, particularly those that have developed since the grants ended demonstrating that progress is still being made.

Twenty projects have recorded ‘further funding’ and the funds leveraged fall under the following funding types:

research grant
fellowship
travel and small personal

The funds that started and ended when the grants were active were likely to have provided additional funding that allowed projects to continue following the ODA reduction. There are also several instances of newer funding with end dates up to 2029, which is another example of potential project continuation and sustainability.

Almost all projects had some form of engagement outcomes. This includes talks, presentations, broadcast, articles in magazines, newspapers or online publications, talks, workshops, working groups, expert panel, dialogue, press release, press conference, engagement focused website blog or social media channel. The primary audiences for these engagement activities include professional practitioners, policymakers and politicians, professional practitioners, study participants, industry and business and schools.

Overall, Researchfish data shows that many positive outcomes and outputs have been generated by the projects funded by the GCRF Agile Response to COVID-19 programme and it will be interesting to analyse further progress and intended impacts reported in future submissions.

Case studies and stories of impact

High Performance Low Cost Ventilator (HPLV)

The HPLV project received lots of online press in its early stages. An initial press release was published on the UKRI website which led to parallel announcements from project partners in Birmingham, Liverpool and Rio de Janeiro and many other online reports. Alongside this, one of the project partners included on the project was appointed an MBE in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours in recognition of his work developing rapid testing of ventilators during the pandemic.

Uptake of Public Health Practices for Prevention of COVID-19 among Refugees, Pastoralist Communities, Truck Drivers, Slum Dwellers: Uganda

In addition to generating knowledge, attitudes and practices and trusts in the health institutions in Uganda about COVID-19 prevention, a quasi-experimental component of this project trained sixty women in the skills for making liquid soap with the objective of ensuring its availability and affordability in the refugee, pastoral, truck driver and urban slum dweller communities. This knowledge provided to the women allowed them to manufacture soap to help with the prevention of COVID-19 which later led to them working alongside the local police authority border enforcement to ensure that all soap carried over the border from Kenya met the required pH and chemical levels to prevent the selling of fake liquid soap.

Co-surveillance of Wastewater and Environmental Water Samples for SARS-CoV-2 and Pathogenic Viruses in South Africa and Nigeria: Incidence and risks

Funding for this project contributed to the training of 23 students selected from under-resourced institutions, in peri-urban districts of South Africa. As part of the wastewater sampling project the students were training in sampling and scarce water skills as well as one MSc and postdoctoral fellow receiving training in genomic sequencing. This capacity development has allowed more rural areas of Zimbabwe to have access to a water surveillance system that is an affordable alternative to clinical surveillance.

The project also strived to promote equality, diversity and inclusion in research with 75% of trainees being Black African and 50% being female.

Emergency strategies for mitigating the effects of COVID-19 in care homes in low and middle-income countries

Aspects of the research conducted as part of this project influenced the WHO’s Technical guidance for Managing COVID-19 in care homes which was the main reference document for residential care facilities and health ministries including those in LMIC’s.

The principal investigator on this project was on the expert committee and was responsible for ensuring that the guidance was scientifically robust and that it drew on the research in several ways, including acknowledging the importance of LMIC settings and contexts, more realistic regulatory engagement between state agencies and care homes and a need to balance the requirements of infection control with the rights, dignity and wellbeing of residents.

Socioeconomic and health impact of COVID-19 on international female migrants and their left-behind families in Indonesia

Research findings from this project were used by the local authority in Malang to inform the development of a food assistance program during the pandemic. Before the research findings were presented the authority had not included female migrant workers and their left behind family members as a target group of the programme. The research findings showed that the majority of left behind family members were unable to buy food during the pandemic due to them being unable to receive money from their female relatives who had lost their income due to the pandemic.

Through this project, the team were able to provide robust evidence to the Malang authority highlighting the condition of female migrants and their left behind families which led to the authority amending its policy and including them as one of target groups of the programme.

Recommendations and learning

As part of final reporting, grant holders were asked (as an optional question) to provide recommendations to UKRI in relation to any aspect of the programme. For example, to highlight challenges, areas for improvement and share ideas as to how these could be mitigated for future funding opportunities.

Many grant holders used this opportunity to provide feedback in relation to the effects of the ODA budget reductions. Some refer to how the reductions were communicated to partners, with responses from grant holders indicating that this had worsened the impacts on their projects and could have been handled better. One grant holder highlighted that the availability of additional funds for GCRF grant holders via the GCRF and Newton Fund Consolidation Accounts (GNCAs) at a later date, indicated that there had been poor financial planning throughout the process. Other reporting referred to internal processes at UKRI, for example, if grant holders had been notified more quickly when being awarded funding, this may have helped mitigate delays to project start dates.

Several grant holders referenced a loss of trust in the UK government and its ability to deliver against its financial promises to support science and innovation research. There was also a shared concern that the reduction of funding for projects involving international partners could be harmful to partnerships and networks, and lead to decreased trust when working with UKRI as a funder in the future. The development and strengthening of global partnerships are a crucial part of international funding so this feedback is extremely important for UKRI to receive and take into consideration for future international programmes, should a similar situation occur.

Some suggestions for mitigating these issues include introducing mechanisms to ensure that project funding cannot be retrospectively cut without warning after contracts have been signed and a proportion of the work already delivered. Another suggestion was for UKRI to offer no cost extensions to directly match the timeframe of delays caused, to allow grant holders to complete projects in line with original plans and objectives. In conclusion, these recommendations and feedback provide useful learning for UKRI to embed when developing future programmes.

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