Newton Fund Impact Evaluation
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What is the Newton Fund?
The Newton Fund, a £735m Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme managed by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), was launched in 2014 with the aim of enhancing the UK's global science and innovation presence. The Fund aims to bolster economic growth in partner countries by strengthening research capacity in science and innovation. Additionally, it seeks to generate benefits for the UK by fostering trade opportunities and collaborations with UK research and innovation institutions.
The Fund operates through bilateral partnerships with middle-income countries, where partner countries match UK funding to address national development priorities. Research themes encompass health, neglected diseases, low carbon energy and environmental resilience, aligning with three key pillars:
- People: Developing talent and enhancing institutional capacity.
- Research: Establishing collaborations and long-term institutional ties.
- Translation: Strengthening research and innovation collaboration to bridge academia and business for sustainable solutions.
By the time the last funding round was deployed, 18 bilateral partnerships with ODA-eligible countries were established, of which 16 partnerships are still active. No new program activities have been funded since 2021, and ongoing activities are set to conclude by 2025-2026.
How are we helping?
RAND Europe is working in partnership with Itad, IDR and Athena Infonomics to conduct an ex-post evaluation of the Newton Fund. This study presents the fifth evaluation of the Newton Fund and aims to build on the findings from the previous evaluations (2015-2020), as well as 10 years of evidence on the Newton Fund's effectiveness, particularly in establishing equitable partnerships, enhancing science and innovation capacity, and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By examining the Fund's outcomes 10 years after the Fund was established, this evaluation seeks to provide insight into the longer-term outcomes and impacts.
The evaluation utilises data science methods and outcome harvesting to assess longer-term outcomes of the Newton Fund, capturing both intended and unintended outcomes, as well as an impact evaluation and a value for money assessment.
