The first research programme funded by DFID was led by Dr Gerard Clarke at Swansea University

This research was to look at DFID’s engagement with faith groups and how DFID could work more effectively with faith communities.  This was published in a number of refereed journals

Faith matters: faith-based organisations, civil society and international development / Gerard Clarke  Growing interest in faith-based organisations (FBOs) and development risks compounding conceptual and programmatic biases in recent donor discourse on civil society and development. This article develops this argument in two main respects. First, it argues, donors have traditionally focused on supporting organisations associated with the mainstream Christian Churches and current patterns of engagement risk compounding this trend. Second, different types of faith-based organisation play an active role in the lives of the poor and in the political contests that affect them. Improving the conceptual and programmatic rationale for donor engagement with FBOs depends in significant part on developing an appreciation of these organisational types and the resultant challenges

https://swansea.academia.edu/GerardClarke