Deadline: 5-Sep-22

The Structural Transformation and Economic Growth (STEG) invites applications to the fifth call for proposals for Small Research Grants (SRGs).

Focus Areas

• Research may focus on broad systemic patterns and processes of structural transformation and growth for low- and middle-income countries, in a comparative sense across time or space, or more narrowly defined topics related to one or more of the following six research themes:
  • Data, measurement, and conceptual framing;
  • Firms, frictions and spillovers, and industrial policy;
  • Labour, home production, and structural transformation at the level of households;
  • Agricultural productivity and sectoral gaps;
  • Trade and spatial frictions;
  • Political economy and public investment.
• Other areas of interest may not fit cleanly into any of the themes but are centrally relevant to STEG and are also encouraged.
• STEG is also focused around three cross-cutting issues that are simultaneously relevant to many areas of structural transformation, including the six research themes:
  • Gender;
  • Climate change and the environment;
  • Inequality and inclusion.

Funding Information

SRGs of between £10,000 and £25,000 can fund research assistance, data collection and/or purchase, and potentially research stipends/teaching buyouts.

Country and Policy Relevance

Please note that an important criterion for funding of proposals is the relevance to policy in low-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Proposals focused on middle- and/or high-income countries need to make a clear case for the relevance of the research to policy in specific low-income countries. Proposals are also evaluated on the extent to which the research findings (including those from comparative work or from studies in other geographies) might be relevant to policy in specific sub-Saharan countries.

Eligibility Criteria

• They welcome applications to their SRG calls from researchers all over the world. There are currently no restrictions based upon nationality or where researchers are employed.
• Principal investigators applying to SRG calls should currently have a PhD or be enrolled in a PhD programme. In exceptional circumstances, they will consider applications submitted by principal investigators who do not fit these criteria, however, they must be able to demonstrate a history of high-quality academic and/or policy-relevant research. Although there are no formal qualification requirements for co-investigators, co-investigators on STEG-funded projects usually have a PhD or are enrolled in a PhD programme. The knowledge, expertise, and qualifications of the entire research team will be taken into account when evaluating the proposal.

For more information, visit https://steg.cepr.org/call-for-proposals/fifth-call-proposals-steg-small-research-grants