Corporate report

Commonwealth Scholarship Commission Business Plan 2022 to 2023

Published 14 October 2022

1. Strategic Context

One of the Commonwealth’s finest innovations and UK’s best soft power icons, the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission stands out from HMG’s other scholarship platforms through its robust support for the UN Sustainable Development Goals - which align well with the FCDO’s international development priorities. Over its now 60-year history, this prestigious and much-respected global brand has supported over 28,600 individuals, or nearly 4 in 5 of the 36,000 funded under the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan. By empowering talented individuals across the modern Commonwealth to learn, innovate and co-create knowledge and solutions for tackling global development challenges, the CSC helps to transform societies and build a safer, healthier, more prosperous world for all.

Supporting talented individuals to catalyse sustainable development across the modern Commonwealth will remain a critical focus for the new plan period.

The CSC will continue to be highly collaborative. Our commitment to partnering with governments, universities and organisations with shared interests across the modern Commonwealth will be sustained and enhanced, with a view to extending life-transforming opportunities to talented individuals and enabling them to pursue sustainable development priorities pertinent to their respective countries.

Working together with governments, universities and other organisations to transform talent and societies will remain a key priority for the CSC during the new plan period.

The CSC also actively supports candidates of outstanding academic ability from disadvantaged backgrounds with scholarships and fellowships to gain the skills and knowledge required to innovate for and lead sustainable development. This priority supports key aspects of HMG’s Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy and the UK government’s strategy for international development..

Supporting candidates from disadvantaged backgrounds will continue to be a distinctive feature of CSC scholarships and fellowships during the new plan period.

In addition to the CSC’s distinctive contributions to the UK’s international development priorities, it plays an important role in attracting the best and brightest talent to UK universities in support of the UK’s International Education Strategy. The CSC promotes research excellence and innovation through international collaboration, enabling individuals and institutions across the Commonwealth to build sustainable partnerships. The CSC’s programmes are a unique and innovative contribution to the ambitions of UK’s Research and Development Roadmap.

Attracting outstanding Commonwealth talent to contribute to the UK’s research and innovation base and international networks will continue to be a key priority.

As demonstrated by our cutting-edge evaluation programme, the CSC delivers impact as well as value for money for the UK taxpayer – attracting over £5 million of partnership funding annually. Innovations such as Shared Scholarships (jointly funded by UK universities), Distance Learning Scholarships, and Split-site Scholarships have facilitated this cost effectiveness. The latter 2 pathways entail scholars studying for Master’s and PhDs from their home country on distance learning or split-site basis respectively.

Value-enhancing innovations, including scholarship schemes enabling awardees to study from their home country, will continue to be prioritised during the plan period.

The CSC is proud to reaffirm its commitment to development, equity, access, and relevance. This 2022-2025 plan sets out priorities and pathways to the CSC’s continuing delivery of impact and enhanced value to the UK taxpayer, the UK government and the modern Commonwealth.

2. Objectives and priorities for 2022 - 2023

Between 2022/23 – 2024/25, the CSC’s objectives are:

1. To provide a world-class scholarship scheme that contributes to sustainable development across the Commonwealth

2. To ensure that our programmes promote equity and inclusion, reward merit, and deliver widespread access, especially to those from disadvantaged backgrounds

3. To support and encourage cutting-edge research, innovation, and knowledge exchange across the Commonwealth

The CSC’s priorities during 2022-23 will be:

Strategic Priorities

1. To ensure that all scholarships and fellowships are focused on six development- related themes and to integrate further the themes into CSC programming and impact reporting.

2. To agree the balance of awards across programmes and countries based on the strategic priorities of the CSC and the UK government.

3. To embed the priority issues of climate change and female education and careers across the CSC’s communications, engagement, alumni, and evaluation programming.

4. To devise the mechanism for reviewing the scholarship and fellowship programmes based on evidence of impact, to include an analysis of overhead costs.

5. To deliver the CSC’s Time Limited Programme focussed on a specific theme which responds to current political or environmental challenges facing the Commonwealth. The theme in the current financial year is Green Energy, Air and Oceans.

6. To embed and promote the unique nature of the CSC offer – namely its focus in all its programming on Commonwealth needs in relation to research and development.

7. To sustain high level doctoral research opportunities and to scale up the number of Split-site Scholarships, recognising the unique opportunities this Programme provides in building collaboration and partnerships.

Organisational Priorities

1. To review operational efficiency across the Commission and the Secretariat.

3. Key performance indicators

The CSC has agreed 6 key performance indicators in 2022/23 which will be used to measure success against our objectives and priorities:

1. The gender of candidates selected for each CSC programme will be at least 45% female and 45% male.

2. Partnerships with UK universities will generate at least £4.5 million in matching contributions.

3. Fifteen alumni profiles of CSC Women Leading Change will be published demonstrating the CSC’s support of cutting-edge research, innovation, and knowledge exchange throughout the Commonwealth.

4. Fifteen profiles of CSC alumni impacting climate change will be published demonstrating the CSC’s support of cutting-edge research, innovation, and knowledge exchange throughout the Commonwealth.

5. Ten alumni profiles will be published demonstrating research which promotes equity and inclusion and supports those who have been left behind.

6. Ten in-depth Evaluation Case Studies will be produced to demonstrate the CSC as an innovative world-class scholarship and fellowship scheme that delivers impact on sustainable development across the Commonwealth.

4. Budget and resources 2022-23

A budget is illustrated, based upon the award of £28.224m by FCDO in July 2022. The CSC’s administration resource will be £424,000 in 2022/23 the same as in 2021/22. Table 1 below shows the full budget illustrated for 2022/23 as approved by the CSC Finance Committee in July 2022 and revised in September 2022.

Table 1: CSC Income and Expenditure 2022-23

CSC Income and Expenditure 202-23	22/23 Budget
Income	£000
FCDO Grant-in-aid programme	27,800
FCDO Grant-in-aid admin	424
Total Grant-in-aid to CSC	28,224
FCDO Programme Expenditure
Scholarships	Total
PhD research	8,646
Agency Master’s	3,671
Split-site PhD	2,291
Shared Scholarships	4,749
Distance Learning	3,087
Visas / Health Surcharges	588
Award Extensions	409
Award Hardship	50
Disability mainstreaming	50
Scholar support	580
Total	24,121
Other Programme Expenditure (FCDO)
Evaluation	306
Communications	549
Alumni	564
BC Management Fees	64
Recruitment and Outreach	268
Time Limited Programme	282
VAT	274
Total	2,307
FCDO Programme Expenditure	26,427
CSC Administrative Expenditure (FCDO)
Commission Costs via ACU	106
ACU Management Fees	265
VAT	53
Total	424
Programme Management Costs
Programme Management Costs FCDO	1,143
VAT	229
Total	1,372
Total CSC Expenditure	28,224
Surplus/(Deficit)	0

Table 2: FCDO programme (awards) allocation 2022/23, July 2022

	Deferred from 2021	Selected in 2022	Total Selected	Target take up
PhD Scholarships	3	91	94	78
Master’s Scholarships	5	141	146	105
Shared Scholarships		220	220	210
Split-Site Scholarships	4		4	58
Distance Learning Scholarships		220	220	215
Professional Fellowships (TLP)				20
Total	12	672	684	686

5. Membership

Under the terms of the Act, the CSC comprises up to 14 members, in addition to the Chair.

Membership of the CSC during 2022 - 2023 is:

Name	Appointed	Appointed to	Comments
Professor Robin Mason	Jan 2022	End Dec 2024	Chair – 1st term
Professor Paul Jackson	1 Oct 2018	End Sep 2024	2nd term
Ms Emma Judge	1 Oct 2018	End Sep 2024	2nd term
Professor Nuala McGrath	1 Jan 2017	14 April 2023	2nd term
Professor Madeleine Arnot	1 Oct 2018	End Sep 2024	2nd term
Dr Christine Thuranira-McKeever	11 May 2020	10 May 2023	1st term
Professor Sarah Hawkes	11 May 2020	10 May 2023	1st term
Professor John Wood	11 May 2020	10 May 2023	1st term
Dr Catherine MacKenzie	11 May 2020	10 May 2023	1st term
Professor Morag McDonald	11 May 2020	10 May 2023	1st term
Professor Kevin Ibeh	1 March 2021	29 Feb 2024	1st term
Professor Parmjit Jat	1 March 2021	29 Feb 2024	1st term
Professor James Smith	1 March 2021	29 Feb 2024	1st term

Members and the Chair are normally permitted to serve up to two three-year terms, depending on re-appointment by the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. All appointments to the CSC are publicly advertised, in accordance with the regulations of OCPA.

6. Published information

As laid out in its publication scheme,^{[footnote 1]} the CSC publishes the following information:

Class of information	Location
Who we are and what we do
List of all Commission members	www.gov.uk/cscuk
Location and contact details	www.gov.uk/cscuk
Annual Report: Governance statement	www.gov.uk/cscuk
What we spend and how we spend it
Financial memorandum	www.gov.uk/cscuk
Annual Report: Statement of income and expenditure	www.gov.uk/cscuk
How we make decisions
Award eligibility and selection criteria	https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/
Minutes of Commission meetings	Available for inspection on request
What our priorities are and how we are doing
Business plan	www.gov.uk/cscuk
Corporate plan	www.gov.uk/cscuk
Annual Report: Statement of income and expenditure	www.gov.uk/cscuk
Evaluation and monitoring programme results	https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/
Our policies and procedures
Award terms and conditions	https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/
Handbook for Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows	https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/
Guidance on how to apply	https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/
Information to be published
Commission code of conduct	www.gov.uk/cscuk
Rules on conflicts of interest	www.gov.uk/cscuk
Complaints procedure	www.gov.uk/cscuk
Anti-fraud policy and procedure	www.gov.uk/cscuk
Travel policy	www.gov.uk/cscuk
Safeguarding policy	www.gov.uk/cscuk
Lists and registers
Register of interests	Available for inspection on request
Risk register	Available for inspection on request
The services we offer
The awards we offer and how to apply	https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/
Information for current award holders	https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/
Information for alumni	https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/
Organisations that we work in partnership with
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office	www.gov.uk/fcdo
National nominating agencies	https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/
UK universities	https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/

1. www.gov.uk/government/organisations/commonwealth-scholarship-commission-in-the-uk/about/publication-scheme ↩