Research and Innovation for Development in ASEAN (RIDA)
RIDA funds research and development in new technologies, and new approaches to existing technologies, that support Sustainable Development Goals in south-east Asia.
About Research and Innovation for Development in ASEAN (RIDA)
Research and Innovation for Development in ASEAN (RIDA) is a research and development (R&D) initiative which started in 2023. It aims to support partnerships to:
- encourage the use of innovation to address United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and
- support low-income and vulnerable people in south-east Asia
Our working definition of ‘innovation’ is:
an intervention which improves the potential of new technologies, or new approaches to existing technologies, which can also to accelerate development impact.
In the first phase of RIDA, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Research and Evidence Directorate allocates up to £1 million. This is for support to new and existing academia-industry partnerships in south-east Asia.
The focus of RIDA phase 1 is the science, technology and innovation (STI) priorities within the ASEAN-UK Plan of Action:
- health
- climate adaptation and resilience
- energy transition
- agriculture
Funded projects should clearly demonstrate a proof of concept that demonstrates pathway to impact and relevance to SDGs. This includes evidence on the feasibility of new technologies, or scalability of existing technologies.
Funded projects in RIDA phase 1
The call for proposals for RIDA phase 1 was announced in August 2023.
Projects funded under RIDA phase 1 include:
Revolutionising tuberculosis care among low-income patients in Southeast Asia through a multi-lingual asynchronous video observed therapy integrated health application
The existing Direct Observed Treatment strategy for Tuberculosis results in high nonadherence and mortality rates. The projects aims to address this through a multi-lingual mobile health application featuring asynchronous video observed therapy (VOT) integrated with other features. The current prototype, developed and tested by 12 domain experts in Malaysia, will be expanded to become a functional mobile health application in multiple languages.
- project locations: Malaysia, Indonesia
- lead institutions: Universiti Malaya, Malaysia
- partner institutions:
- Malaysian Association for Prevention of Tuberculosis
- Sunway Group
- Monash University
- Provincial Health Office Jakarta
- University of Leeds
Feasibility study for a high resolution Southeast Asian air pollution forecasting system
This project uses openly available coarse resolution global air pollution forecasts and data sources to generate street-scale resolution forecasts over large regions. It aims to empower citizens in south-east Asia to take action before air pollution episodes, and to provide easily accessible, high resolution air quality forecasts.
- project locations: Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia
- lead institutions: Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants
- partner institutions:
- Institute for Environment and Resources, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City
- Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
An integrated decision support system for strategic flood mitigation planning towards sustainable agricultural waste management at the Mekong Delta
This project explores a smart decision support system to address the challenge of climate change on agriculture at the Mekong Delta covering Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. It aims to mitigate economic, environmental, and social impact of flooding on sustainable agricultural waste management.
- project locations: Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia
- lead institutions: Cranfield University
- partner institutions:
- University of Bedfordshire
- University of Loraine
- Vietnam National University of Agriculture
- Asian Management and Development Institute
- Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change
- National University of Laos
- Mekong River Commission Secretariat
Pigmented rice varieties for ASEAN farmers
This project uses new sequencing technologies to identify pigmented rice varieties. These are better adapted to climate change, have higher nutritional quality and better suitability for farmers in south-east Asia.
- project locations: Indonesia, Thailand
- lead institutions: University of Warwick
- partner institutions:
- Universitas Gadjah Mada
- Rajanagarindra University
- collaborators:
- Max-Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology
- Diversity Arrays Technology
- Oxford Nanopore Technologies
- Jogja Benih
- Indonesia Assessment Institute of Agriculture Technology
Solar conduction dryer assessment within smallholder farmer communities in Cambodia and Laos
This project assesses the performance and supply chain capacity of solar conduction dryer (SCD) in south-east Asia to create viable market strategies and a return-on-investment for the technology. This expected to be a useful post-harvest processing technology for smallholder farmers in the region to increase revenues, reduce waste, increase climate resilience, and improve food quality and safety.
- project locations: Cambodia, Laos
- lead institutions: People in Need Cambodia
- partner institutions:
- Agri House
- Sustainable Agriculture and Environment Development Association
- Covestro
Seaweed social business
This project develops and tests a controlled system seaweed cultivation kit and social franchise model, in collaboration with women entrepreneurs in low-income communities. It enables all-year round cultivation, food safety and security, enhanced income generation and resilience.
- project locations: Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines
- lead institutions: Yunus Thailand
- partner institutions:
- Scottish Association for Marine Science
- Kasetsart University
- Prince of Songkla University
- Albukhary International University
- Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation
Temporal-based burnt scar profiling for modelling risk of forest fires in ASEAN countries
This project aims to aggregate the detections of burnt scar from satellite images over time. It covers mainland south-east Asia, to improve forest fires risk assessment by compiling the levels of area-specific risks and visualisation.
- project locations: Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam
- lead institutions: Aberystwyth University
- partner institutions: Mae Fah Luang University
Supporting ASEAN energy decarbonisation through bespoke decision-support software
This project develops an integrated optimisation model tailored for energy market planning in south-east Asia. It aims to achieve regional energy transition, sustainable development goals, and net zero targets by sustaining economic growth.
- project locations: Malaysia, Philippines
- lead institutions: University of Surrey
- partner institutions:
- University of Nottingham Malaysia
- De La Salle University
Elucidating the antimalarial efficacy of curcumin derivatives on immunomodulatory proteins using in silico quantum computational studies, synthesis and in vitro assessment
This project addresses the critical problem of parasite resistance against antimalarial drugs. It provides solutions by developing curcumin derivatives with enhanced efficacy, bridging the gap in targeting inflammatory-related proteins associated with severe infections.
- project locations: Malaysia, Indonesia
- lead institutions: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
- partner institutions: Universitas Padjadjaran
BREATHE-Cities: bolstering resilience and environmental air-quality through transformative healthy emission transport in cities
The project will use sensor technology to analyse transport patterns and air-quality in real-time. It will enable the development of innovative, data-driven, city-specific policy frameworks and spatiotemporal models to address transport-related air pollution in diverse hot-spots in south-east Asian cities.
- project locations: Thailand, Myanmar
- lead institutions: University of Huddersfield
- partner institutions:
- Asian Institute of Technology
- Doh Eain
Unlocking the commercial pathway for technical breakthrough in climate-smart, highly productive rice cultivation by smallholder farmers across ASEAN
This project develops a proof of concept exploring the market opportunity and commercial pathway in south-east Asia of the world-first gene-editing solution that enhances nitrogen use efficiency in rice. It has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in smallholder rice production.
- project locations: Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines
- lead institutions: Beanstalk AgTech Pty Ltd
- partner institutions: International Rice Research Institute
Hepatitis Elimination Alliance – HEA model: cost-effectiveness, stakeholder perspectives, and steps for scaling up in Cambodia, Laos and beyond
The project explores developing a public-private partnership to fast-track the implementation of viral hepatitis elimination strategy in south-east Asia through evidence-guided advocacy. It will expand a proven pilot to national scale and build alliances between governments, civil society organisations (CSOs), and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
- project locations: Cambodia, Laos
- lead institutions: Health Poverty Action
Sustainable PCM (phase change materials) refrigerator using weak/off peak grid power (SustFridge)
The project addresses the critical gap of sustainable refrigeration in off-grid and weak-grid settings in south-east Asia. It aims to reduce food and medicine spoilage, promote energy efficiency, and enhance climate resilience in vulnerable communities. The project uses innovative technology to maximise solar energy use, improve cooling efficiency, and enhance the sustainability of refrigeration systems in off-grid and weak-grid environments.
- project locations: Malaysia
- lead institutions: University of Nottingham
- partner institutions:
- Solar Energy Research Institute
- Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
- PCM Products Ltd, UK
Intelligence green material for better resilience (IGNITE)
This project aims to enhance monitoring and assessment for structure components built from non-cementitious materials derived from agricultural by-products found locally. The project will enable farmers to earn additional income by converting agriculture waste into geopolymer binder materials, and will help provide safer infrastructure to the public.
- project locations: Indonesia, Malaysia
- lead institutions: University of Warwick
- partner institutions:
- Institut Teknologi Sepuluh November
- Institut Teknologi Bandung
- Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia
- National Institute of Technology, Wakayama College
- PT Petrokimia Gresik
- PT Wijaya Karya
- East Java Provincial Agency for Industry and Trade
- City of Pekanbaru’s Environment and Forestry Agency
RIDA contacts
Rizky Januar, ASEAN Science and Technology Adviser, British Embassy Jakarta, Rizky.Januar@fcdo.gov.uk