Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when the Strategic Coherence for ODA-funded Research Board first plans to meet and how often it will do so.

DFID led the development of the new HMG Strategic Coherence of ODA-funded Research (SCOR) Board within the UK Collaborative for Development Sciences UKCDS (DFID is the major funder of UKCDS). SCOR has been established as a cross-HMG mechanism to ensure that UK’s ODA-funded science and research is coherent across HMG departments and is having maximum impact on international development objectives and outcomes in developing countries.

The Board’s first meeting was held on the 17 Nov 2017. DFID is represented on by Board through the departmental Chief Scientific Adviser who is also responsible for DFID research budget. The SCOR Board is planning to meet four times in 2018, starting in January.