Associate Professor Nam Pham and Dr. Thong Ho, EfD Vietnam, have led a team of researchers and assistants to evaluate the impact of the Newton Fund program in Vietnam. Working with ITAD Ltd and the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, they have assessed how the program has strengthened research capacity and influenced innovation.
The evaluation examined three Newton-funded awards to understand their contribution to Vietnam’s national research capacity, for example, technical skills development, methodological expertise, and the ability of early- and mid-career researchers to secure future research and innovation funding.
The team combined country context analysis, structured reviews of award documentation, and interviews with principal investigators and early-career researchers. Findings were mapped against the fund’s goals to build sector-level impact pathways and assess value for money.
The evaluation found clear contributions to research capacity. Early- and mid-career researchers gained technical and analytical skills, proposal-writing and collaboration experience, and greater international visibility, with early signs of career advancement. The UK-Vietnam research collaborations also continued beyond the life of the grants.
However, translation into policy and commercial uptake was only partially realized due to structural barriers in Vietnam’s research and innovation system.
“We found a weak interface and sometimes different views between researchers and policymakers. This reduces the chances that the projects lead to a real change in policies, practices, and innovation,” says Thong Ho.
“Still, even if the Newton Fund’s policy impact is not always visible, it has contributed to progress in Vietnam. Vietnamese researchers are more confident. It has also opened doors to many new international partnerships and networks and helped bring researchers and policymakers closer together. Vietnamese universities are also gaining more global recognition,” he says.