On Monday, 18th May, 2026, Karla Cervantes Baron and Kane Alexander, of Imperial College London, represented CCG at the launch of Global Research and Technology Development (GRTD). GRTD is the UK government’s flagship research and innovation portfolio for international development, funded by the FCDO. GRTD is not a new programme; It brings together FCDO’s existing ODA and non-ODA research and development funding into a single, integrated portfolio, framed and presented as one coherent UK offer. It sets out clearly what FCDO research funding is for, how it is prioritised, and how it contributes to UK objectives overseas.
There are five key research areas within GRTD:
- Climate, Food and Nature
- Geopolitics and Humanitarian
- Growth, Energy and Infrastructure; (CCG sits within this group)
- Human and Development;
- Technology, Gender and Inclusion.
Karla and Kane staffed a stand for CCG within the research arcade, providing insights on CCG’s latest work and answering the questions of interested parties. It was apparent that there is potential for collaboration across the GRTD portfolio, with academics and policymakers working in similar environments.
It was great to meet several people from different but related organisations – including Prof Sir John Edmunds OBE FMedSci, FCDO Chief Scientific Adviser and Director for Research and Evidence; Clara Pochard, Global Research Platform; and many others. We look forward to developing these relationships in future.