Local questions
Research set by the people affected.
Focus — Education, Knowledge & Human Capability — Research and knowledge exchange
RESEARCH AND KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE
IDEAS WE SUPPORT.
World Seed Fund supports people whose ideas improve how research is set, done, and returned for the communities and researchers involved.
Why this area
RESEARCH AND KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE
IN CONTEXT.
Research earns its place when the question came from the place and the answer goes back to it. Ideas qualify when both ends are visible.
Scope of the area
WHAT THIS AREA
INCLUDES.
Illustrations of scope, not a fixed list. If your idea belongs here but is not described below, introduce it anyway.
Collaboration
Partnerships between institutions and communities.
Return of findings
Results shared in usable form.
Open access
Data and findings others can build on.
Criteria to qualify
WHAT A RESEARCH AND KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE
IDEA MUST SHOW.
All five criteria apply. An idea does not need to be complete or proven — it needs to be specific enough that we can judge it, and grounded enough that a next step is possible.
A defined problem, in a defined place
We need to understand exactly who is affected, where, and how they cope today. General statements about a global challenge are not enough to qualify.
- Names the place, community, or system where how research is set, done, and returned fall short.
- States the situation today in plain terms — questions answered, findings used, or partnerships sustained.
- Explains what the communities and researchers involved do now, and what it costs them.
Human insight behind the idea
The idea should come from knowledge of the situation — technical, scientific, operational, cultural, or lived — rather than from an assumption about it.
- Draws on direct knowledge of how research is set, done, and returned in that place.
- Accounts for why earlier research collaborations did not hold here.
- Was shaped with the communities and researchers involved, not only for them.
A credible next step
There must be a specific thing that can be attempted next, at a scale that can be observed honestly, with a stated way of judging whether it worked.
- A defined pilot with a stated size — studies, sites, or partnerships.
- A stated measure of success — questions answered, findings used, or partnerships sustained.
- A timeframe within which the result can be judged honestly.
Value for people and place
The benefit should be meaningful to the community or system the idea serves, and describable in terms they would recognise.
- Improves decisions made better, and capability retained for the communities and researchers involved.
- The benefit is described in words the community itself would use.
- Does not shift cost, risk, or harm onto neighbouring people or systems.
A path to keep working
Ideas qualify when someone can plausibly own, operate, fund, and repair the result after the first phase of support ends.
- A named university, research institute, or community partner able to carry the work after the first phase.
- Running costs, materials, and skills obtainable near the work.
- Ownership, permission, or agreement that lets the work continue.
Evidence & boundaries
WHAT HELPS,
AND WHAT DOES NOT.
Evidence can be modest. A careful account of a small trial is worth more than a projection.
Evidence we look for
- Any observation, record, or measurement of how research is set, done, and returned in that place.
- Costs, materials, or time recorded from a small trial, however modest.
- Notes, letters, or agreements from the communities and researchers involved or the university, research institute, or community partner.
Usually outside this area
- Broad proposals about research and knowledge exchange with no named place and no named people.
- Equipment or funding requests with no operator and no running cost.
- Work that transfers cost, risk, or harm to neighbouring people or systems.
Submit an idea
INTRODUCE YOUR
RESEARCH AND KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE IDEA.
There is no application window and no required format. Answer these four questions in your own words and we will read them.
Who is affected, where, and how do they manage today?
What do you know about how research is set, done, and returned that others working on it may not?
What could you attempt next, and how would you judge whether it worked?
Who continues the work afterwards, and what keeps it running?
Human potential is everywhere. Opportunity should be too.