The International Growth Centre at the London School of Economics (IGC) invites researchers to submit proposals for high-calibre research projects relevant to growth policies in developing countries. The deadline is 11:59pm GMT, 30th November 2013.

The IGC is building on previous work and streamlining its research with a sharper focus on key research questions that are relevant for growth within the following four broad themes, where we have also received great interest from policymakers: (i) state effectiveness, (ii) firm capabilities, (iii) cities, and (iv) energy.

Please note that two of the attached documents provide further information on the IGC’s specific research and country areas of focus – ‘IGC Research Priorities’ provides further details of the priority areas within these four themes, while ‘IGC Countries Priorities’ highlights areas of policymaker demand and research opportunities in IGC’s partner countries (currently Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, India – Central and Bihar –  Liberia, Myanmar, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia). Included in this call is a special Call for Liberia and Sierra Leone. Please see the attached document ‘IGC Liberia and Sierra Leone Call’.

Please submit all central proposals (i.e. not including those for the special Call for Sierra Leone and Liberia) using the ‘IGC Proposal Form’ (recently revised and attached here). These proposals should be submitted to the Research Programme Committee at  with the following subject line: “Research theme (one of the four mentioned above), Project Title”. The final date for receiving research proposals is 11:59pm GMT, 30th November 2013. Funding decisions will be taken by a Commissioning Board by the end of January 2014. Researchers will be notified of the Boards’ decisions soon after this date, and we expect contracts to be finalized shortly thereafter. Please note that further opportunities to respond to calls for proposals will follow in 2014.

Please also find attached a set of guidelines – ‘IGC Notes for Applicants’ – which will be useful to researchers when drafting proposals for this funding round. The standard terms and conditions, which will form a part of conditions for a successful research award, are also attached (as ‘IGC Terms & Conditions’). Among other issues, this document covers how the IGC will treat requests for Principal Investigator remuneration, and also our procedures and requirements regarding institutional overheads.

The IGC will assess the submitted proposals against the following criteria, which are further discussed in the ‘IGC Notes for Applicants’ (although these are applicable for all IGC projects, special provisions may be in place for individual country calls):

(i) The extent to which the proposed research is innovative and contributes to substantive creation of knowledge, specifically helping to expand and strengthen the existing relevant literature on growth and development.

(ii) Whether and how the proposed research can be used to inform better and more evidence-based policymaking in developing countries.

(iii) The makeup of the research teams and contribution to local capacity.

(iv) Value for money.

This call for proposals encompasses both IGC Research and Country Programmes. While these two do overlap substantially in their remits, their focuses do differ to some extent. While there is some preference for proposals that respond to policy demands in the IGC’s partner countries, the IGC will continue to support frontier research proposals which have policy implications for growth in all developing countries. While funding decisions will be made centrally, projects can be sponsored under the umbrella of either the Country or the Research Programme, or potentially jointly.

Note: several IGC countries have recently issued separate calls for proposals. Applicants who submitted proposals under those country calls cannot resubmit them for consideration here.

Given the number of proposals expected, we are unlikely to be able to respond to individual enquiries regarding the submission process and commissioning processes.  However, we will be updating the ‘IGC Call for Proposals FAQ’ regularly, to ensure all commonly raised queries are addressed.

For further details view the original post.