Call for Proposals: IGC March Research Funding Round

STATE CAPABILITIES RESEARCH PROGRAMME

INTERNATIONAL GROWTH CENTRE.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

The State Capabilities programme of the International Growth Centre
(<http://www.theigc.org) invites application for funding of top-quality
research of relevance to the public sector in developing countries.

Applicants should make precise how the proposal relates to one or more of
the three core areas of the programme:

(i) Incentives for public sector workers and the delivery
of public services

(ii) Taxation

(iii) Procurement

A more detailed description can be found at
http://www.theigc.org/index.php?q=node/265

Timing

Proposals should be emailed using the attached form (no other attachments
please) to the programme directors o.bandiera_at_lse.ac.uk and
h.j.kleven_at_lse.ac.uk by FEBRUARY 15, 2010.

The ultimate decision rests with the IGC executive group and will be
announced by end March

Criteria for Assessment

The executive group will assess proposals on the following four criteria.

(i) The extent to which the proposed research is innovative and contributes
to substantive, relevant knowledge. This criterion captures general
academic rigour and quality, and rewards proposals which are able to
effectively define their contribution with respect to the existing literature.

(ii) Whether and how the proposed research responds to the emerging growth
policy problems faced by the world's poorest countries. Researchers should
make the case that the proposed study will have the potential to inform
policy which relates to economic growth in developing countries. A direct
way (but not the only way) to establish relevance is to respond to a demand
for knowledge from one of the IGC focus countries listed on the IGC website
(http://www.theigc.org)

(iii) Value for money.

(iv) Whether the proposed research team includes named academics based in
developing countries. The IGC wishes to build the capacity of researchers
based at institutions in developing countries. It would count positively if
a proposal originates from a team which includes researchers based in a
developing country on a co-PI (co-author) basis. Research assistants and
field investigators will not be taken into account under this criterion.

Budgeting Issues

Applicants are encouraged to provide some guidance on the order of priority
of the items requested in the proposal budget. In the event that the IGC is
unable to provide full funding for your proposal, this would make it easier
for us to identify which modules are scalable or optional, and which are
essential. For projects with more than one applicant (Principal
Investigator) the preference is for one applicant or institution to act as
the lead party, and if the proposal is successful disbursements will be
made to the lead party. Where separate contracts are required, separate
budgets should be provided for each required contract. Please provide the
name(s) and full contact details of the lead party/parties in the budget
section of the proposal form.

PI Remuneration

Proposals can include Principal Investigator remuneration where this is not
covered from other sources. These should be costed at fixed daily rate of
no more than GBP 500 per day. The IGC does not prescribe norms for the
recovery of Principal Investigator remuneration or indirect and estates
costs where these apply. But applicants should bear in mind when preparing
the budget that 'value for money' is one of the evaluation criteria, and
projects where these costs are a modest proportion of total budget costs
would be at an advantage in this respect.

Please access the attached hyperlink for an important electronic
communications disclaimer:
http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/planningAndCorporatePolicy/legalandComplianceTeam/legal/disclaimer.htm