The Department for International Development is launching a major research project into how water security for poor people in developing countries can be improved.

DFID is looking to appoint a Consortium to establish a new £7 million research programme which aims to address key issues by breaking down silos in water research with integrative and innovative approaches.

The seven year programme will fund research spanning the full range of relevant disciplines – social, physical, natural and economic. The programme will test what works, what doesn't work and why, to address the question: ‘how can sustainable water security be achieved at different scales and how can the poor and marginalised be part of the process?'.

DFID wants the research to take a holistic approach which recognises how decisions in one part of the water system can have major consequences for downstream users. It will also address questions of equity, sustainability and scale – what scale is appropriate, in what circumstances, and how water security can be achieved at different scales.

The successful supplier will be required to competitively and transparently commission research on water security across a range of themes, including initially fragile states and urban settings.

DFID says that a key challenge will be ensuring coherence across themes to develop a body of research evidence, tools and capacity that helps shape high level investment and policy choices.

The seven year research programme could be worth up to £15 million, with a possible further four year contract extension option.

Click here to access the contract document