PEDL Launches Special Exploratory Research Grant Call on the Economic Impacts of Coronavirus

PEDL Launches Special Exploratory Research Grant Call on the Economic Impacts of Coronavirus

PEDL has launched a Special Exploratory Research Grant call for projects addressing the economic impacts of coronavirus in low-income countries. These impacts are already being severely felt across the world and for many developing regions the worst is still to come. PEDL, alongside its new partner CDC Group (the UK’s development finance institution), is looking to fund research that can inform policymakers and other stakeholders on the economic impacts of coronavirus in developing countries so that the costs can be mitigated as much as possible.

Topics of particular interest to PEDL include:

Income transfers to labour and firms (of all sizes, both formal and informal)

Disruption to markets

Disruption to supply chains, especially those of critical sectors (e.g. food, export sectors with continued demand, etc.)

Areas of particular interest to CDC include:

The provision of finance to large firms and the effectiveness of current financing models to deal with the impacts of coronavirus

How firms will maintain employment relations and what are the most likely consequences for skilled and unskilled labour

Disruption to supply chains

PEDL and CDC will also consider other relevant areas. Given the urgency of the situation, PEDL and CDC are following a different evaluation procedure for this particular call. Initially expressions of interest should be submitted via email. These will solely cover discussion of the research question and the data sample to be used and should not exceed 500 words.

These will be reviewed as soon as possible, and those most aligned with the PEDL and CDC programmes will be asked to submit a formal proposal. Formal evaluations of the proposals will take place on a rolling basis so as to commence research as soon as possible. Ordinarily, contracts should be signed within one month of the outcome notification, which is also the expected start date for the projects. Given the current situation, however, ideally this should be shorter.

There is no set target for how many projects will be funded. Funding for this call is available between £10,000 and £40,000. These grants will cover expenditures related to research assistance, field work, travel and other expenditures directly related to the research. Grants are contracted directly with individual researchers.

It should be noted that an important criterion for funding of proposals is the relevance to policy in low-income countries and other eligible countries as defined by the PEDL and CDC Programmes. Proposals for projects outside the focus countries should make a clear case for the relevance of the research to policy in lower-income countries, and also justify why the research is feasible only in non-target countries. For proposals of especial relevance to CDC, those in countries with higher investment from CDC are more likely to receive funding.

The call closes to applications on 1 June 2020 (23:59 BST).

More information about this research funding opportunity and the application process is available on the RESEARCHconnect funding information platform. RESEARCHconnect provides up-to-the minute content, insight and analysis on research funding news and policy. To find out more about how RESEARCHconnect can keep you in the know, and subscription fees, contact us today.