Enhancing Due Diligence for Award Management at Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute

Strengthening Responsible Research Funding through Rigorous Due Diligence

The Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute (RGHI) supports transformative scientific research and innovation to advance global hygiene and health. As part of its mission, RGHI manages competitive research award programmes that foster equitable, high-quality collaborations across diverse global partners, including institutions in low- and middle-income countries. To ensure the integrity, compliance, and ethical standards of its awards, RGHI sought to develop a robust due diligence process that would seamlessly integrate with its existing award management system. This due diligence needed to assess applicant institutions comprehensively to manage risks, uphold compliance with relevant regulatory frameworks, acknowledging local contexts and opportunities to strengthen capacity.

Our Approach

Formation partnered with RGHI to design and implement a new due diligence framework tailored to the specific needs and context of their award programmes. Key features of the approach included:

• Comprehensive Risk Assessment: We developed criteria and processes to evaluate applicant institutions against financial, ethical, regulatory, and reputational risks, aligned global best practices.

• Integration with Award Management: The due diligence process was designed to complement and enhance RGHI’s existing award management workflows, maintaining efficiency while adding necessary checks and balances.

• Equity and Inclusion Focus: Special emphasis was placed on preserving the Institute’s commitment to equitable partnerships, particularly supporting the capacity strengthening in low- and middle-income countries, ensuring fair and transparent assessments that established mechanisms to address gaps.

• Stakeholder Collaboration: Our team worked closely with RGHI’s leadership and grant management teams to ensure the due diligence complemented policy documents, award conditions, and operational guidelines.

• Ongoing Monitoring and Support: Recommendations were made to establish continual due diligence loops, including mechanisms for corrective action and re-assessment to uphold standards throughout the lifecycle of awarded grants.

The Impact

The new due diligence process has strengthened RGHI’s award governance, enabling more confident and transparent funding decisions. This has enhanced the credibility and integrity of the award programmes, supporting RGHI’s mission to promote responsible, ethical, and impactful hygiene research worldwide.

• The integration of due diligence has helped to identify and mitigate risks early, reducing potential compliance issues.

• The process supports equitable collaboration by balancing robust checks with sensitivity to partners’ contexts.

This development not only safeguards the integrity of RGHI funding but also exemplifies their leadership in ethical research funding.