RCUK has launched a Call for Evidence to gather views on the high-level challenges that will form the basis of the funding calls from the GCRF collective fund, the information gathered will also be shared with the other delivery partners so that it may inform their own strategies. RCUK would also like views on the most effective ways of delivering GCRF. The survey closes at 16.00 on 22 August:
As part of the GCRF a recent RCUK Secondary Data Analysis Initiative (SDAI) highlight call had the objectives of:
utilising existing data resources to produce high-quality, impactful research on developing countries
improving the capacity and methods for secondary data research in and on developing countries
co-producing substantive and innovative data australia rcs data research in readiness for future GCRF calls
provide insight into existing data resources which can be used to conduct research on developing countries
In her blog post Dogs that don’t bark in the night and other ways to measure international development Celia Russell, the UK Data Service’s International Data Specialist focused on the development of the Sustainable Development Goals and an increased focus on community defined measures of development and the data that support them: “2015 sees the start of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a new blueprint for the international development agenda underpinned by measurable indicators. Low and middle-income countries are now actively driving the agenda, shaping what development means to them and how it will be pursued. Factors such as economic growth and job creation and improved access to finance and technology are supported. Poverty reduction strategies will be established collaboratively and universally applicable. Quantified targets and measurable indicators remain at the heart of this political process and the SDGs present an opportunity to increase national and international-level investment in data collection. report A World that Counts: Mobilising the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development which describes data as the lifeblood of decision-making.