The Global Innovation Initiative (GII) was a shared commitment between the United Kingdom and the United States to strengthen research collaboration between universities in the UK and US through partnership with institutions in Brazil, China, India and Indonesia.
Announced in June 2013 by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and US Secretary of State John Kerry, the Global Innovation Initiative was consistent at the time with Prime Minister David Cameron’s and President Barack Obama’s broader commitment to strengthen higher education collaborations between the UK, the US, and countries with emerging economies. GII was formally launched in the UK in October 2013 by the Rt. Hon David Willetts MP and the two-year grants awarded in 2014 and 2016. The Initiative was funded by the British Council and the former Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills in the UK and by the Department of State in the US.
GII awarded grants to university consortia focusing on STEM-related issues of topical global importance. The research partnerships aimed to bring mutual benefit to higher education institutions in the UK, US, and selected countries through the enhancement of institutional ties, the sharing of expertise, and relationship-building through faculty and student mobility.
THEMATIC AREAS
GII grants of up to £150,000 were awarded under one of the following thematic areas:
- Energy, environment and climate change
- Urban development
- Agriculture, food security, and water
- Global health
UK-led partnerships were managed by the British Council in the USA, working closely with the Institute of International Education in the USA which managed US-led collaborations.