Corporate report

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK: Business Plan 2021 to 2022

Published 14 March 2022

Foreword

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (CSC) provides the UK government scholarship scheme led by international development objectives. It operates within the framework of the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) and offers a vivid demonstration of the UK’s enduring commitment to the Commonwealth. By attracting individuals with outstanding talent and identifiable potential from all backgrounds and supporting them to become leaders and innovators on returning to their home countries, the CSC’s work combines sustainable development with the UK national interest and provides opportunities for international partnerships and collaboration.

The CSC uses rigorous procedures to ensure that its programmes promote equity and inclusion, reward merit, and deliver widespread access, especially to those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

In everything we do, we aim to be:

Development-focused: by placing the international development agenda at the heart of our activities.

Collaborative: by working with a range of stakeholders.

Inclusive and accessible: by ensuring that our portfolio of awards offers opportunities to all who are capable of benefiting from them and qualified to do so.

Relevant: by providing opportunities that address the evolving development needs of Commonwealth countries while at the same time supporting the UK’s national interest and the knowledge economy.

Efficient and accountable: by ensuring that our work delivers value for money, is effectively and proportionately reviewed, and that emerging findings are used in our future planning.

The CSC is a non-departmental public body, for which the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the lead department and main sponsor. FCDO funding supports awards exclusively for candidates from low and middle-income countries. Scholarships funded by FCDO are offered under 6 development-related themes:

• Science and technology for development
• Strengthening health systems and capacity
• Promoting global prosperity
• Strengthening global peace, security and governance
• Strengthening resilience and response to crises
• Access, inclusion and opportunity

Other financial contributions are received from the Department for Education (DfE) for scholarships for candidates from high income countries, along with at least £5 million in matching contributions generated through partnerships with UK universities.

This Business Plan sets out the objectives and priorities for the Commission during the 2021 to 2022 financial year, and its budget for the year. It has been agreed with the FCDO that due to the unprecedented impact of Covid-19 on the work of the Commission during 2020 to 2021, the financial year 2021 to 2022 would be treated as a one-year extension of the CSC’s current 3-year strategy which runs from 2018 to 2019.

The next 3-year Strategy for 2022 to 2025 is currently being developed by the Commission.

Objectives and priorities for 2021 to 2022

Between 2018/19 to 2021/22, the CSC’s objectives are:

• to provide a world-class scholarship scheme that contributes to sustainable development across the Commonwealth

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

• to support and encourage cutting-edge research, innovation, and knowledge exchange across the Commonwealth

The CSC’s priorities during 2021 to 2022 will be:

• to continue to monitor the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on Scholars and Fellows; to assign necessary financial resources where necessary; to adapt our approach as needs require; and to offer an enhanced wellbeing and welfare service to Scholars and Fellows throughout this unprecedented time

• to ensure that all FCDO-funded scholarships are focused on 6 development-related themes, and that prominence is given to ‘Science and technology for development’ and ‘Strengthening health systems and capacity’, awarded against the background of continuing global efforts to address and mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic

• to maintain selection procedures that ensure that FCDO-funded scholarships are awarded to candidates who would not otherwise be able to undertake the programme of study, and that, all other things being equal, candidates demonstrating social or economic disadvantage receive preference during selection

• to maintain the target that 90 to 95% of new FCDO-funded awards will be for citizens of least developed and lower middle-income countries and fragile states

• to deliver a comprehensive Evaluation and Monitoring Programme that reports Impact against the CSCs Evaluation Framework and Theory of Change

• to deliver a time limited-programme of Professional Fellowships in Equity and Access in Girls’ Education

• to continue to strengthen our relationship with nominating bodies, to ensure that processes are robust and transparent, and that the programme continues to attract the best candidates, whose work is relevant to national needs as well as attracting candidates in line with the Commission’s Equity and Inclusion Strategy

• to deliver a comprehensive Engagement Strategy which ensures that the newly developed virtual activities are embedded alongside face to face activities (should it be possible to hold these) to maximise engagement opportunities for our Scholars and wider stakeholders

• to deliver the CSC’s Alumni Strategy, integrating new virtual activities, in order to demonstrate the impact of CSC’s awards and to further develop measures to demonstrate its outputs and outcomes

• to deliver a workplan of activities to showcase the impact of the work of CSC Alumni on climate change and to maximise networking opportunities for Scholars and Alumni around COP26

• to agree the Commission’s Strategy for 2022/23 to 2024/25

Key performance indicators

The CSC has agreed 7 key performance indicators which will be used to measure success against our objectives and priorities:

1. The highest number of FCDO-funded scholarships will be awarded under the ‘Science and technology for development’ and ‘Strengthening health systems and capacity’ themes, with all FCDO-funded scholarships awarded under 6 development-related themes.

2. 90 to 95% of new FCDO-funded awards will be made to citizens of least developed and lower middle-income countries and fragile states as recognised by FCDO.

3. Selection committees will ensure that, all other things being equal, excellent candidates demonstrating social or economic disadvantage or who are from marginalised or underrepresented communities receive preference, with an increased proportion of candidates from a disadvantaged background being selected year on year.

4. Priority for awards will be Commonwealth Split-Site, Master’s, Shared, and Distance Learning Scholarships, with the balance of funding allocated to FCDO-funded Commonwealth PhD Scholarships held at or below 2018 and 2019 levels.

5. That the gender balance of candidates selected for a FCDO-funded Scholarships will be at least 45% female and 45% male.

6. At least £5 million in 20201 to 2022 in matching contributions will be generated through partnerships with UK universities.

7. The Alumni Strategy will ensure alumni are engaged in activities designed to demonstrate their impact at a local, national, and international level as well as the contribution of their Commonwealth Scholarship or Fellowship in achieving positive change for the intended communities and end users.

Budget and resources 2021 to 2022

A budget is illustrated, based upon the award of £28.224m by FCDO in June 2021 and an anticipated Grant-in-aid of £250K from DfE. Confirmation of a DfE grant is still forthcoming. The CSC’s administration resource will be £424,000 in 2021 to 2022 the same as in 2020 to 2021. Table 1 below shows the full budget illustrated for 2021 to 2022 as approved by the CSC Finance Committee in July 2021. £342k remained unallocated at the July 2021 Finance Committee meeting to be allocated once the cost of quarantine for the 2021 cohort of scholars is known.

Table 1: CSC Income and Expenditure 2021 to 2022

CSC Income and Expenditure 2021 to 2022	21/22 Budget
	£000
	Jul-21
FCDO Grant-in-aid programme	27,800
FCDO Grant-in-aid admin	424
DFE Grant-in-aid programme	250
Total Grant-in-aid to CSC	28,474
FCDO Programme Expenditure Scholarships	Total
PhD research	8,107
Agency Master’s	3,917
Split-site PhD	1,827
Shared Scholarships	4,604
Distance Learning	3,138
Visas / Health Surcharges	655
Award Extensions	500
Travel /Quarantine costs	500
Award Hardship	50
Disability mainstreaming	50
Scholar support	525
Total	23,873
Other Programme Expenditure (FCDO)
Evaluation	304
Engagement	1,164
Recruitment and Outreach	265
Time Limited Programme	282
VAT	256
Total	2,271
FCDO Programme Expenditure	26,144
OGD Programme Expenditure
DFE Grant-in-aid (PhD research)	210
BEIS Grant-in-aid (Postdoc research)
OGD Programme Expenditure (Total)	210
CSC Administrative Expenditure (FCDO)
Commission Costs via ACU	116
ACU Management Fees	193
BC Management Fees	64
VAT	51
Total	424
Programme Management Costs
Programme Management Costs FCDO	1,095
Programme Management Costs BEIS
Programme Management Costs DFE	33
VAT	226
Total	1,354
FCDO Programme Expenditure	26,144
OGD Programme Expenditure	210
CSC Administrative Expenditure (FCDO)	424
Programme Management Costs	1,354
Total CSC Expenditure	28,132

Membership

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

Membership of the CSC during 2021 to 2022 is:

Name	Appointed	Appointed to	Comments
Mr Richard Middleton	Jan 2015	End Dec 2020	Chair – 2nd term
Professor Paul Jackson	1 Oct 2018	End Sep 2021	1st term
Ms Emma Judge	1 Oct 2018	End Sep 2021	1st term
Professor Nuala McGrath	1 Jan 2017	14 April 2023	2nd term
Professor Madeleine Arnot	1 Oct 2018	End Sep 2021	1st term
Professor Alfredo Saad-Filho	1 Oct 2018	End Sep 2021	1st 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.

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	www.gov.uk/cscuk
Our policies and procedures
Award terms and conditions	www.gov.uk/cscuk
Handbook for Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows	www.gov.uk/cscuk
Guidance on how to apply	www.gov.uk/cscuk
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	www.gov.uk/cscuk
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
Department for Education	www.gov.uk/dfe
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy	www.gov.uk/beis
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 ↩