Technology and innovation are central to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) approach to tackling complex development challenges.
The Concordat to Support Research Integrity is a UK-wide framework that sets out the responsibilities for research organisations to maintain the highest standard of integrity in research. It provides a shared commitment to honest, accountable, and ethical research practice.
Compliance with the Concordat is important because it ensures that publicly funded research is conducted responsibly, transparently, and to the highest ethical standards.
In December 2025, the FCDO published its Statement of Compliance with the Concordat to Support Research Integrity.
The statement sets out how the FCDO upholds research integrity across its research, evidence and technology innovation activities.
Research integrity is overseen by the Chief Scientific Adviser and the Research and Analysis Directorate (RAD). The Research Advisory Group provides independent scientific challenge to strengthen the quality of FCDO’s research portfolio.
All research aligns with internationally recognised standards, including OECD definitions, UK Government frameworks, and FCDO’s own Programme Operating Framework. FCDO is committed to Open Science, with outputs published openly following quality assurance.
FCDO maintains a zero-tolerance policy on research misconduct and provides clear mechanism for reporting concerns.
Read the full FCDO annual statement of compliance with the Concordat to Support Research Integrity 2024 to 2025.
Technology and innovation are central to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) approach to tackling complex development challenges.
Too often, research agendas and funding decisions are shaped in rooms far removed from the people closest to the development challenge.
In 2018, FCDO and Wellcome jointly launched a Joint Initiative on Research in Epidemic Preparedness and Response (JIREP), establishing a cholera research portfolio worth approximately £5.7 million. Nine projects were funded across Bangladesh, Cameroon, the DRC, Ghana, Kenya and USA.
FCDO has published its first Areas of Research Interest (ARI), setting out the key questions where new evidence can make the biggest difference to international development and diplomacy.