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ESPA

New funds for Ecosystems Services for Poverty Alleviation research

4 December 2009

The Department for International Development (DFID), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) are pleased to announce £40·5m for the Ecosystems Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) research programme.

This partnership combines £27m of DFID's development research funding together with £13·5m of UK research council funding. This unique partnership will deliver research that is both developmentally relevant and scientifically excellent.

ESPA aims to deliver high quality and cutting-edge research that will improve our understanding of ecosystems in terms of the services they provide for poverty reduction and inclusive growth processes. It will provide the evidence and tools to enable decision makers and end users to manage ecosystems sustainably and in a way that contributes to poverty reduction.

DFID, NERC and ESRC have come together under the Living With Environmental Change partnership, and ESPA presents a unique opportunity to build a strong link between the natural, social and economic sciences and international development.

The two-year process to design the programme and strengthen research capacity is completed and full details of the ESPA scope and implementation plan have been ratified by all the partners in the below ESPA Programme Memorandum document.

ESPA Programme Memorandum (247KB)

ESPA will be governed by a Programme Executive Board consisting of the three funders (DFID, NERC and ESRC). ESPA will be supported by an ESPA Directorate that will manage the research portfolio and a cross-portfolio programme covering knowledge sharing, research into use, monitoring and evaluation and capacity building. Expressions of interest to supply the directorate function will be issued shortly.

ESPA will be delivered through a series of competitive calls for a range of research activities, including research into use and capacity building.