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Guidance

Newton Fund (closed): overview and resources

Updated 14 August 2019

© Crown copyright 2019

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/newton-fund-building-science-and-innovation-capacity-in-developing-countries/newton-fund-building-science-and-innovation-capacity-in-developing-countries

1. Overview

The Newton Fund was designed to build outstanding research and innovation partnerships with select countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The fund supported economic development and social welfare, tackled global challenges and developed talent and careers.

The Newton Fund launched in 2014 with a budget of £735 million between 2014-2021. UK investment was matched by investment and resources from partner countries. The fund was officially closed in 2022, with spending commitments running beyond this period continuing to be supported until their expected closure.

The fund formed part of the UK’s official development assistance (ODA) budget. It was delivered by UK and international partners and managed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (formerly the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)).

2. Activities

The fund covered 3 broad categories of activity:

  • people: improving science and innovation expertise (known as ‘capacity building’), student and researcher fellowships, mobility schemes and joint centres
  • research: research collaborations on development topics
  • translation: innovation partnerships and challenge funds to develop innovative solutions on development topics

3. Partner countries

The countries we worked with under the fund were:

4. Bidding for research funding

The Newton Fund has now closed. The International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) launched in 2022 as a new funding mechanism for ODA research and innovation. Visit the ISPF page for more information.

5. Partner organisations

 The Newton Fund was delivered through 7 UK Partner Organisations:

6. Impact evaluation

The Newton Fund Final Report – Assessing Progress Towards Impact – was published in 2026. The report evaluated whether and how the intended long-term outcomes and impacts of the Newton Fund have been achieved. Using a foundation of knowledge built from the previous external evaluation in 2015-2020, it looked at years seven to ten of the Fund’s Theory of Change, providing a unique opportunity to investigate significant progress towards longer-term outcomes. The learning from this evaluation will also inform the management and implementation of current and future R&I funds, such as the International Science Partnerships Fund.

7. Resources

More information, resources, case studies and transparency information.

Evaluations:

Annual reports:

ICAI review:

8. Further information

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