Welcome to the Frontier Tech Helpdesk

The Helpdesk can help you learn and explore how frontier technologies can be applied to your work and development challenges

Curious about how frontier tech can help solve development challenges or help you in your work? Have you got a tech-related idea you want to explore? Or hunch that maybe a tech could overcome some key challenges in development and your work and want to learn more?

We help FCDO staff and eligible strategic partners explore or further ideas for cutting-edge technology and innovation that meet FCDO objectives.

The FT Hub Helpdesk is a free service that provides tailored, short-term research, resources, and advisory support. Our team will help you learn about frontier tech and explore questions you have about how to apply it in your work.

Programme or Policy Evaluation

Synthesis, analysis, and recommendations on applying or advancing tech in FCDO policy or programming.

We offer the following options of support

Topic Brief

Research and resources on high-priority frontier tech topics.

Document Review

Review of business case, implementation plans, TORs, Concept Notes.

Something else

Other support for frontier and emerging tech that would help you.

All you need is an idea or learning questions to get started!

  • Anyone working at the FCDO and strategic partners.

    *Conditions for strategic partners to submit a Helpdesk request:

    The strategic partner must be eligible as a ‘strategic partner’ - this includes government officials, CSOs, university partners, NGOs, or anyone collaborating directly with FCDO or is contracted by FCDO (including downstream partners).

    The strategic partner must receive formal approval from an FCDO staff to submit the helpdesk request. The FCDO contact must approve the subject and the content of the helpdesk request. A name and email of an FCDO member of staff must be provided in the helpdesk request.

    The helpdesk request must align to FCDO work and objectives. For example, the priorities in FCDO programmes, policy and/or strategic objectives.

    Strategic partners include government officials, CSOs, university partners, NGOs, or anyone collaborating on strategic objectives with FCDO or that has a contract or a downstream contract with FCDO.

    1. The helpdesk receives and reviews your request. We evaluate if we are best placed to support your request and let you know if we are taking it forward.

    2. If we are able to help, we will set up a scoping call to understand your needs, context, and timeline.

    3. We will share a Terms of Reference with you outlining our proposed support, deliverables, next steps and what we need from you.

    4. The Helpdesk team will prepare the agreed output and share the deliverables with you and make any revisions or edits as needed.

    5. We will ask you for feedback, and explore any further support needed.

  • We encourage any request about frontier technology and innovation that contributes to an FCDO objective. We accept requests that are at any stage of conception; all you need to get started is an idea or learning question. If needed, we can work with you to narrow down your learning questions. Requests might seek to explore:

    • The impacts and considerations of specific technologies.

    • Trends relating to tech and innovation in a certain geographic area or sector.

    • Opportunities surrounding particular development or diplomacy challenges.

  • As the helpdesk is an FCDO-funded programme requests must align with FCDO work and objectives

    Examples of objectives are:

    • Priorities in FCDO programmes.

    • Policy Objectives.

    • FCDO strategic objectives.

Still unsure if your request is a fit for the helpdesk? Have questions not answered by the Q&A?