UKCDR

What UKCDR does

UKCDR (UK Collaborative on Development Research) is a UK-based membership and coordination organization headquartered at the Wellcome Trust's Gibbs Building in London. It brings together the principal UK funders of international development research — UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), and the Wellcome Trust — to promote coherence, collaboration, and joint action across the UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) research portfolio. Its core functional remit is fragmentation reduction: harmonizing safeguarding standards, tracking research impact across departments, and improving data transparency on ODA research spending.

UKCDR's product surface is centred on data tools and resource hubs delivered through its website (ukcdr.org.uk). The flagship asset is MODARI (Mapping ODA Research and Innovation), which provides two Tableau-based dashboards — a Project Dashboard covering UK ODA research and innovation projects active October 2021 to October 2025, and a Financial Dashboard covering actual spend, commitments, and annual disbursements over a seven-year window — sourced from International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) data and direct funder feeds. Complementary data tools include a Climate Change and International Development Research Project Tracker, a UK Research Impact Data Tool, and a COVID-19 Research Tracker delivered in partnership with GLoPID-R. Resource hubs cover safeguarding, equitable partnerships, research capacity strengthening, and a Case Studies Hub of 70+ impact stories. The platform functions as an information aggregation, reporting, and coordination tool rather than a software product with technical integrations; no public API, SDK, or MCP is offered.

UKCDR's business model is membership-funded coordination rather than commercial revenue generation. Resources are provided free of charge to the development research community; pricing is therefore absent as a commercial construct. Distribution is primarily via self-service access through the website, plus email newsletters, LinkedIn and Twitter/X organic social, publications, and participation in events and webinars. The 2024–2025 case studies surfaced on the website (e.g., peatland protection, modern slavery, speech and language therapy, alternative publishing in Latin America) underscore the editorial and impact-narrative emphasis of the platform rather than a monetized workflow product.

Name

UKCDR

Legal name

UK Collaborative on Development Research

Website

https://ukcdr.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

UKCDR is a London-based membership organization that coordinates UK funders of international development research, providing open-access data tools, case studies, and safeguarding guidance to government departments, researchers, universities, and NGOs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research Funding Coordination Services

NAICS

Public Administration (92), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

International Affairs (9721), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Official Development Assistance (ODA) Program Management (BPADAOAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Development & ICT4D / GovTech Technical Assistance (BPADAEAL), Climate Policy, Governance & NDC Support (BPADALAA)

Keywords

• Development research coordination
• ODA funding tracking
• Research impact analysis
• Equitable research partnerships
• International development research

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership/Coordination Funding: UKCDR is funded by its core members including UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and other UK government departments. The organization does not generate commercial revenue but operates as a coordination body for development research funding.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

UKCDR is a membership-based coordination body for UK funders of international development research. It provides open-access data tools (MODARI project and financial dashboards, COVID-19 Research Tracker, Climate Change Project Tracker, UK Research Impact Data Tool), funding opportunity listings, impact case studies, safeguarding and equitable partnerships guidance, and a publications repository. Its mission is to promote coherence, collaboration, and joint action among UK funders of Official Development Assistance (ODA) research, and to improve transparency and impact across the UK development research portfolio.

Product overview

UKCDR offers a suite of data tools and resource hubs focused on mapping, tracking, and analyzing UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) funded research. The core offerings include MODARI (Mapping ODA Research and Innovation) with two dashboard variants - a Project Dashboard for detailed project-level data and a Financial Dashboard for funding information. Additional data tools include the Climate Change Project Tracker, UK Research Impact Data Tool, and COVID-19 Research Tracker. Supporting these are resource hubs for Funding Calls, Case Studies (70+ research impact stories), Safeguarding, Equitable Partnerships, and Research Capacity Strengthening, along with a Publications repository of reports and analyses. The platform functions primarily as an information aggregator and reporting tool rather than a software product with technical integrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MODARI (Mapping ODA Research and Innovation) - Project Dashboard Interactive dashboard containing UK ODA research and innovation projects active between October 2021 and October 2025, showing projects by funder, theme, benefitting countries, and organisations. Data sourced from International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) and directly from ODA funders.
• MODARI Financial Dashboard Financial dashboard providing data on UK ODA research funding including actual spend, commitments, annual disbursements, and a 7-year timespan. More complete than the Project Dashboard with financial information.
• Climate Change and International Development Research Project Tracker Project tracker mapping UK-funded research on climate change and international development.
• UK Research Impact Data Tool Data tool for tracking and analyzing the impact of UK research on international development outcomes.
• COVID-19 Research Tracker Tracker monitoring COVID-19 research projects, developed jointly by UKCDR and GLoPID-R.
• Funding Calls Database Database of funding opportunities from UK ODA sources including opportunities from FCDO, UKRI, Defra, DHSC, and Wellcome for development research.
• Case Studies Hub Hub showcasing success stories and best practices from UK-funded research for global development, spanning multiple disciplines and geographies with over 70 case studies.
• Safeguarding Resource Hub Resource hub providing guidance and best practices on safeguarding in international development research.
• Equitable Partnerships Resources Hub Resource hub focused on promoting equitable partnerships in international development research.
• Research Capacity Strengthening Resource Hub Resource hub providing resources for building research capacity in low- and middle-income countries.
• Publications Collection of reports, policy briefings, and analyses on UK ODA-funded research including landscape analyses, regional summaries, and thematic reviews.

Quantifiable outcome

• UKCDR analyzed 891 international development research case studies from REF2021, demonstrating the wide reach of UK ODA-funded research.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2020DHSC worked with UKCDR to develop harmonized safeguarding guidance for international development research, adopting the principles and best practice guidance.
• Department for Science, Technology and Innovation (DSIT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2020DSIT (formerly BEIS) participated in the development of UKCDR's safeguarding guidance for international development research.
• Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2020FCDO is a key funder and member of UKCDR, working together on safeguarding guidance and ODA research coordination.
• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Lead institution for SHEFS (Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems) programme funded by Wellcome.
• University of Cape TownmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Lead institution for FRACTAL project on climate resilience in African cities, partnering with UKCDR member funders.
• African Academy of Sciences (AAS/AESA)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015African-led consortia model for DELTAS programme, fostering intra-African collaboration in research capacity strengthening.
• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUKRI is a core member and primary funder of UKCDR. UKCDR is accountable to UKRI and works to promote coherence among UK research funders. UKRI is the largest funder of academic research in the UK.
• Wellcome TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWellcome hosts UKCDR at its Gibbs Building facility in London and serves as a core member. Wellcome provides funding opportunities through UKCDR's funding database and participates in coordinated safeguarding initiatives.
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDefra channels ODA funding through UKCDR, including the Darwin Initiative, Darwin Plus, and Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund.
• GLoPID-R (Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUKCDR partners with GLoPID-R on the COVID-19 Research Project Tracker, a real-time monitoring tool for pandemic-related research.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UKCDR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ukcdr

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UKCDR