Deadline: 31 July 2019
The USAID/Food for Peace-funded SCALE Award (Strengthening Capacity in Agriculture, Livelihoods & Environment) is seeking research proposals from implementing partners, with the aim of building the evidence base for interventions at the intersection of agriculture and the management of water resources.
The objective of SCALE’s Evidence of Impact Technical Support is to enable implementing organizations to build the evidence base for practices and approaches that have the potential to enhance the impact, sustainability and scalability of FFP-funded emergency or development activities related to agriculture, natural resource management (NRM) and off‐farm livelihoods.
Funding Information
SCALE plans to cover the costs of research support (up to $50,000) for one Evidence of Impact study under this call.
Duration of Research Support
The duration of this support may be up to 1 year from the date of award.
Technical Focus
This request for proposals focuses on interventions at the intersection of agriculture and the management of water resources. Illustrative Evidence of Impact subject areas could include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Water harvesting and use in agriculture
- Permagarden or kitchen garden approaches designed for efficient water use
- Semi-arid or arid farm/NRM management
- Agricultural extension services related to efficient water use in agriculture
- Social & behavior change communications (SBCC) related to water management for agriculture
- Resource governance and peacebuilding around shared water use as it relates to agriculture/NRM
- Impact measurement of water retention and/or quality
- Gender integration in resilient agriculture programming
Illustrative research might include, for example:
- A comparison study of multiple crop production systems to determine their relative impact on soil health and water retention.
- Piloting of an SBCC strategy to encourage uptake of water harvesting techniques in a refugee camp or dryland area.
- Evaluation of a governance approach to manage water conflict between agriculturalists or pastoralists and other users
- Testing the most effective means of encouraging uptake of water management approaches in semiarid areas.
What is the funding for?
This research support can include technical guidance from a research consultant or institution that can assist the successful applicant with research design, data collection, tool development and/or analysis. Such support may be remote, in-country or a combination of both, depending on award needs. The final funding level will depend on context, relevance, quality, needs, and availability of funding and competing priorities.
Note: No direct funding will be awarded to the successful applicant, SCALE will cover the costs of the consultant and/or research organization with the skills necessary to assist with conducting the chosen study.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must be organizations that are currently implementing a development or emergency program, regardless of the funder.
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted electronically at the address given on the website.
For more information, please visit https://www.fsnnetwork.org/request-research-proposals-scale-evidence-impact-technical-support
