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UK Collaborative on Development Sciences (UKCDS)
About Us
UKCDS brings together 13 UK funders and stakeholders who provide support for international development research. We aim to maximise the impact of UK research on international development.
The UKCDS website brings together all the essential information about development sciences that researchers and funders need - in one place. The site showcases the impact UK science is having on developing countries, allows stakeholders to learn about each other’s work and highlights where there are opportunities for greater collaboration and coordination.
E-BOOK 
Science and Innovation for Development
A new book by two of the UK’s leading international development thinkers urges governments to listen to scientists to tackle poverty in poor countries.
Published in January by the UK Collaborative on Development Sciences (UKCDS), Science and Innovation for Development demonstrates how science and innovation can be harnessed to tackle today's biggest challenges in poor countries, including climate change, HIV/AIDS and illiteracy. Case studies are described, including the use of tissue culture to develop disease-resistant bananas in Kenya; the use of nanotechnology to develop cheaper and faster kits for diagnosing infectious diseases and the use of organic material to power a multi-purpose stove that can also function as a refrigerator and generator.
Written by Sir Gordon Conway, Professor of International Development at Imperial College London and Professor Jeff Waage, Director of the London International Development Centre (LIDC), Science and Innovation for Development demonstrates how even the most basic daily activities in developing country communities are based on science and innovation.
The authors make five key recommendations to policy makers and development practitioners:
- Train and empower scientists
- Strengthen science innovation systems in developing countries
- Ensure that new technologies are accessible to science for development
- Design and deliver research for impact
- Raise the profile of science in governments
The open-access book can be viewed here. Hard copies can be ordered for £20 by following the links on this page.
Contact Details:
Jessica Deery
Communications Officer
UK Collaborative on Development Sciences Gibbs Building
215 Euston Road
London NW1 2BE
Tel: +44 (0)207 611 8701 Fax: +44 (0)207 611 8416
Mob: +44 (0) 796 099 6278
Email: j.deery@ukcds.org.uk
Web: www.ukcds.org.uk
Further articles of interest
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Bangladesh and UK scientists team-up to tackle climate change
29 January 2010
UKCDS is building links between UK and Bangladeshi climate change scientists interested in the land, food and water interface and exchange visits are underway.
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Protecting biodiversity in South Africa with a healthy garden of medicinal plants
10 March 2010
South Africa’s Eastern Cape communities rely heavily on traditional healthcare but over exploitation of wild medicinal plants is threatening one of the planet’s most important biodiversity regions.
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Scotland and Malawi: partners in development
8 March 2010
The Scottish Government helps young girls attend primary school in rural Malawi where drop-out rates can reach 70%. It's just one of the projects supported through its Malawi Development Programme.
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Tackling wildebeest disease to save cattle
The annual wildebeest migration in Africa is a great spectacle, but for local farmers this natural wonder endangers their livelihood as the 400,000 wildebeest calves born each year harbour a viral disease deadly to livestock.
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Native plants could benefit African farmers
Research funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) reveals how native plant species can improve African farmland.
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Traditional rainmakers team up with meteorologists to share knowledge about tackling climate change
A project funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) combines traditional rainmakers with modern science to help build climate change knowledge in western Kenya.
