Call for Proposals: Shaping an Inclusive and Sustainable Future of Work in Asia

Deadline: 19-Jul-24

LIRNEasia invites proposals for gender-responsive, policy-relevant applied research projects that contribute to a sustainable and inclusive future of work in the Asian region.

This call is supported with funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Through the FutureWORKS initiative, a Southern-led multidisciplinary research network will be built, dedicated to researching and addressing the challenges posed by the changing landscape of work across the Global South. Through shared research, network consolidation, knowledge sharing, and collaboration in public policy processes, FutureWORKS seeks to foster innovation that advances skills for the future of work and promotes decent work globally.

The work of the FutureWORKS Asia hub centres around creating new, actionable knowledge that contributes to changing policies and practices around skills development that help the workforce in low and lower-middle income (L-LMIC) Asian countries transition towards just and equitable work in light of the changes and disruptions to work ecosystems posed by increasing digitization (especially the rapid advancement of AI), climate change and climate transition to low-carbon economies, and demographic changes (declining birth rates, aging, and migration), through the lens of gender, equity and inclusion. An important dimension of this work will be that it does not seek to address each of these challenges in isolation, but it will explore their implications where the forces intersect. For example, how the adoption of AI-based green technologies might affect job displacement, job augmentation, skills requirements, etc., particularly among marginalised groups.

As the Asia Hub, LIRNEasia aims to achieve the following in order to achieve the global network objectives:

• Build and nurture an Asian research network focused on the future of work, which will together with similar networks in the other regions form a global research network.
• Facilitate high-quality, policy relevant, and gender-responsive research from the region, by establishing a regional research agenda and implementing it through the award and management of over 12 research grants through two or more competitive selection cycles.
• Build and enhance research and policy engagement capacity of research grant recipients (i.e., the network members), through:
  • Group capacity building/enhancing activities within the research network to enhance their work, share expertise and develop synergies between network members and their research.
  • Provide tailored support to network members based on capacity assessments conducted at early stages of the grant.
• Facilitate inter- as well as intra-network knowledge-sharing and peer learning opportunities among network members.
• Disseminate research to identified stakeholders to facilitate the translation of research to policy impact.

Objectives

• The objectives of this call are to:
  • Design and produce high quality, innovative, gender responsive and policy relevant research to address future work and skill challenges and opportunities to advance skills, strengthen social protection and promote decent work in light of the combined forces of mega changes that are disrupting work ecosystems across the globe, specifically: digital technology adoption, climate change and climate transition to low-carbon economies (including its intersection with digital technology changes), and demographic changes.
  • Contribute to the on-going policy dialogues, within the above-identified domain at national, regional and international level, with relevant stakeholders inside national innovation systems, education systems (state run and other), government policy makers, technology platforms, multi/bi-lateral agencies and funders.
  • Enable LIRNEasia (through 1.1 and 1.2) to establish and develop a network of research partners that work collaboratively on policies and skills required for a future of work in light of the above-identified challenges facing low- and lower middle income (L-LMIC) Asian nations

Priorities 

• The research gap is not case studies on the impact of technology or climate or demographic changes on jobs – many have been written on Uber drivers, care workers, and waste disposal workers, inter alia. The need is to understand how these three mega trends (technology change, climate change and the climate transition, and demographic changes) are, in combination, manifesting in labour markets, how these changes are impacting (positively or negatively) job creation and displacement, wage, and other labour outcomes. It is necessary to understand how these impacts are taking place either on the whole, or sector-wise or on a particular group of people. There is a need to document the inequalities of these impacts, on different sectors, job categories, population groups, etc.
• There is also a need to examine the implications of these mega changes (verticals) from the angle multiple perspectives/entry points (horizontals):
  • Education and skills gaps, needs, and policy
  • Inclusive access to labour protections and rights (including access to social insurance for those in non-standard forms of employment/ those informally employed)
  • Data challenges in understanding how these megatrends manifest in labour markets (including identification, acquisition, and utilisation of novel data sources to this end)
  • Care economy challenges and opportunities
• Successful proposals will address these issues and challenges through the lens of gender, equity and inclusion.

Grant Categories

• The following kinds of grants will be funded:
  • Single or multi-country research grants (USD50,000-100,000) 
    • Applicants can either apply for single country projects or multi-country projects. The grant period will be for 18 months. It is expected that grants over USD40,000 should have a multi-country or multi-sectoral dimension. Grants below USD40,000 may be used for research projects with a smaller scope (e.g., single country, single sector, etc).
  • Large dataset acquisition/data wrangling grants (USD10,000 (part 1) + up to USD 40,000 (part 2, conditional on successful outcome of part 1) 
    • Applicants can apply for two-part grants to enable them to negotiate and access large datasets which can help them to answer a research question which addresses a research priority detailed in this call for proposals. Subject to the data being successfully obtained, and the data being useable to answer the proposed research question within the project timeframe, a second part of the grant may be obtained to fulfil the proposed research.
      • The total grant size (i.e., including both parts) is a maximum of USD50,000, which will be issued in two stages: (1) USD 10,000 to negotiate and verify dataset(s); (2), subject to data being successfully obtained and the proposed research question being approved, a second stage of up to USD50,000. The grant period is 6 months for the first stage and a further 12 months for the second stage. Applicants should submit grants for the full proposal (two-parts) in response to this call. The kinds of datasets are eligible for this kind of grant are those that have previously not been in the public domain (from the public or private sector), and will ideally be the type of data that has to be analysed through machine learning techniques and can be combined with other datasets to yield new insights.
• All grants are subject to sufficient funds being made available to LIRNEasia via IDRC by the Parliament of Canada.

Expectations of Projects 

• High quality research 
  • The Asia Hub expects network research partners to uphold rigorous and high-quality standards in their work, ensuring that the policy insights they generate are based on sound evidence. They strongly encourage the adoption of multi-method and multi-disciplinary approaches whenever possible, enabling a comprehensive and diverse understanding of the issues under study. Research methods can include but are not limited to:
    • Surveys, qualitative research, case studies, data analytics, policy analyses, literature reviews, systematic reviews, impact assessments.
  • Furthermore, they encourage partners to make meaningful contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the field. This can involve employing novel methods, exploring innovative approaches, or adapting and testing existing frameworks in different contexts. Projects which are policy-relevant and solution-oriented, rather than simply descriptive, will be prioritised in the selection of projects.
• Ethical conduct 
  • Ethical conduct in research is also paramount, and they expect network research partners to surpass regulatory requirements, upholding the highest ethical standards throughout their activities. Projects must adhere to high ethical standards in line with IDRC’s Principles of Institutional Research Ethics. The IDRC standard grant agreement further outlines applicable ethics standards. Ideally, projects should include an institutional review board before data collection begins; details of such should be provided in proposals.
• Commitment to policy-relevant research and influencing policy 
  • The objective of the network is to bring about changes in policy and practice based on rigorous evidence. As such, all applicants must have a genuine commitment to going beyond production of research outputs. Applicants should have a demonstrated ability (capabilities and networks) to effectively translate research to policy. Proposals that demonstrate an understanding of policy priorities and a plan for engaging with national, sub-regional and regional decision makers and stakeholders will be favoured over those that do not.
  • Network research partners are encouraged to use opportunities that arise as they carry out work in other capacities (e.g., advisory boards, curriculum design consultants) disseminate this work. The Hub will also facilitate policy engagement at regional and international level where necessary.
• Gender, equity and inclusion 
  • A key requirement of the funding is that projects incorporate gender, equity and inclusion considerations into their research questions, study design and intended outcomes, to ensure positive outcomes for excluded or marginalised groups. Inequalities exist across multiple and intersecting categories of identity, including, but not limited to, the following: gender, sexuality, age, class, race, caste, ethnicity, citizenship status, religion, and ability.
  • Taking an intersectional approach to gender equality recognizes these differences and understands diversity as central to advancing equality. Given that gender inequality is a significant barrier across all dimensions of diversity, successful projects should place gender, equity and inclusion considerations at the centre of all activities and approaches. This includes, but is not limited to, the research questions prioritized, all aspects of research design, evaluation and roll out, team composition, and activities related to positioning for uptake, including strategic engagement and synthesis work. Having a gender/equity/inclusion expert as an integral part of the team is mandatory (rather than simple gender representation in team composition).
• Commitment to engagement with other grant recipients in the network 
  • A research network is being set up instead of individual/standalone research projects being funded because the sum is expected to be bigger than the parts. The network design includes ample opportunity for peer learning through exchange of learnings, challenges, expertise, etc. In the early stages, the hub will facilitate connections between research teams engaged in similar research. But over time, it is expected that organic relationships will form. Long term success could include research partners joining together to apply for further funding from other funders, or engaging in policy engagement using learnings from each other’s research and so on. The Hub will again facilitate policy engagement at regional and international level where necessary. The Hub will also facilitate periodic feedback from an Advisory Board, comprising of experts in fields relevant to the network, for the larger project, as needed.
• Open Access and data management plan 
  • Applicants funded through this program will be expected to comply with IDRCs Open Access Policy and IDRC Open Data Statement of Principles. Applicants are to submit a Stage 1 Data Management Plan, and to apply ensure network members have data management plans in place.
• Knowledge sharing 
  • A key objective of IDRC’s Strategy 2030 is to share knowledge for greater uptake and use – increasing the reach and impact that IDRC-supported research has in driving solutions, and in influencing national, regional, and global development agendas, including through synthesizing, and communicating results.

Eligibility Criteria 

• Only full proposals that meet the eligibility criteria will be considered.
  • Legal identity 
    • Applicants must have independent legal identity (or “legal personality”), be able to enter into a contract in their own right and name, have a bank account in their own name where they can receive funds from the Asia Hub (LIRNEasia), and administer funds from, and have the authority and ability to carry out the proposed project activities. If selected after the technical review process, applicants must be able to demonstrate their legal status through written documentation. In the case of consortia, the organization leading the application must have a legal identity as described above, with consortium member organizations also having a legal personality in any of the eligible countries of focus.
  • Eligible organisations 
    • Eligible applicants may include, research institutions, universities, think tanks, associations, civil society organizations, and non-profit organisations. Individuals are not eligible to apply.
    • Eligible applicants may have partners who fit into the above categories, but in addition may bring in partners that include private and public sector partners as implementing organisations. However, funds from successful projects may not flow to the following categories of organisations:
      • Private organisations
      • Government organisations and institutions (with the exception of public research and educational institutions)
      • UN agencies
    • In addition, funds may not flow to individuals who are part- or full-time employees of the public sector/government, with the exception of state-owned universities or public research institutions. All project CVS should include a signed declaration that the individual is not employed (on any basis, part- or full-time) by government (with the exception of state-owned universities or public research institutions), and is legally and contractually allowed to receive payments for work on research or other work outside of their current employment.
  • Country presence in an Asian L-LMIC 
    • The applicant (organisation that will enter into a contract with the Asia Hub, i.e., LIRNEasia as per 6.1.1.) must be an organization headquartered in an Asian L-LMIC. The proposed work must be conducted in one or more of the countries listed below (i.e., these countries/their populations should be the subject of the proposed research). The applicant may have partners and/or experts based in countries outside of the eligible country list, however, majority of the funding must be spent in the eligible country/countries.
    • Eligible countries include: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam.
    • Notes:
      • Afghanistan: Applicants based in Afghanistan or proposing research on Afghanistan may apply for funds from either the Asia hub (i.e., through this call) or from South West Asian and Northern African (i.e., MENA) hub based in the American University of Beirut which will issue a similar call in 2024. Applicants may not apply to both calls.
      • India and Myanmar: Given current challenges that restrict the ability of research institutions based in these two countries to receive foreign funds, the Asia hub is only able to support India-focused or Myanmar-focused research through:
        • Institutions based outside of the country (who are based in another Asian LLMIC); or
        • Multi-country projects run by institutions based in another Asian L-LMIC, with a local country expert (i.e., for India or Myanmar) on the project team.
      • Iran: Applicants based in/proposing research in Iran should apply to the FutureWORKS regional hub for the South West and Northern Africa (i.e., MENA) region, led by the American University of Beirut.
      • Proposals where funds are to be spent in countries classified as ‘high risk’ in IDRC’s categorisation at the time application will be subject to additional levels of screening. Regional balance will be considered in the selection of proposals, to enable the development of a regional narrative at the end of the five year period of the Hub’s activities.
  • Expertise/experience requirement 
    • Proposals must be submitted by an eligible organization, that has a demonstrated track record of producing rigorous research related to at least at least two of the following:
      • Labour force skills, technology adoption in labour, climate change and climate transition, gender responsive climate polices, technology policy, skills development, and innovation systems.
      • A demonstrated ability (capabilities and networks) to effectively translate research to policy.

For more information, visit LIRNEasia.