Deadline: 30-Sep-21
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is pleased to announce a call for proposals to establish research chairs working on issues of forced displacement in two regions: South and Southeast Asia, and Central and South America.
Aims
- The aim is to:
- empower institutions in these regions to define research agendas;
- lead on practical, gender-transformative solutions that promote the social, economic, political, and health rights of forcibly displaced persons and host communities;
- amplify the voices and perspectives of forcibly displaced persons and host communities in local, national, regional, and global arenas.
- The newly established research chairs will:
- conduct research;
- mentor and supervise early-career scholars;
- work with relevant stakeholders to conduct outreach with communities, refugee-led initiatives, and civil society;
- advocate with policy stakeholders at the local, national, regional, and global levels to promote sustainable and workable solutions.
- More specifically, research chairs are intended to:
- commit to excellence in research and teaching on forced displacement, including mentoring and supervising early-career scholars;
- be demand-driven and responsive and reflect specific thematic and sectoral as well as sub-national, national, and regional priorities and capacities;
- complement IDRC strategic priorities;
- ensure an interdisciplinary, multi-sectoral, and gender-transformative approach to studying forced displacement;
- ensure a strong linkage with community research, policy influence, and programming initiatives, including refugee-led responses;
- ensure that the research conducted has a strong connection to policy processes — from the local level to national, regional, and global debates to promote sustainable and workable solutions.
- collaborate with research chairs in other regions, including those supported by IDRC in the Middle East and East Africa, to reinforce the collective impact of localized knowledge production on forced displacement.
Funding Information
- IDRC plans to support the establishment of up to four research chairs for a period of four to five years. Two chairs will be established at universities in South and Southeast Asia, and two chairs at universities in Central and South America. Grants of up to CA$500,000 will be issued per university. The project duration will be an estimated 60 months, including all research activities and final reporting.
Eligiibility Criteria
- The primary considerations in selecting projects will be the scientific merit of the research proposal and its potential for development impact, including capacity building. However, the selection of projects may also be influenced by operational considerations — e.g., Canadian law; knowledge of research settings; ability to monitor research activities; and conditions that may make it difficult, costly, dangerous, or onerous for IDRC to carry out its objectives or exercise proper stewardship of its resources.
- For the purposes of this call, eligible countries in Central and South America are: Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, and Peru. Eligible countries in South and Southeast Asia are: Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Timor Leste.
- Applicant organizations are considered to be those that have:
- legal corporate registration in an eligible country — IDRC enters into agreements with legal entities only
- demonstrated institutional capacity to host a research chair on forced displacement
- demonstrated institutional expertise and commitment to advancing knowledge on forced displacement
- commitment to gender equality, inclusion, and equity.
Roles
- Applicants will need to detail the following:
- the thematic area of focus and research priorities, and how this links to institutional, local, national, and regional research and policy priorities
- the process of designing the research chair position and information about the hosting department within the host university
- initial ideas about activities to be carried out, including research, mentoring, outreach to communities, amplifying local perspectives, promoting policy dialogues, and connecting to local, national, regional, and global policy processes
- the process for selecting and appointing the research chair — including the required profile for a research chair, any promising candidates that have been identified, and evidence that an adequate pool of qualified candidates can be identified — to be conducted in close coordination with IDRC
- strategies for ensuring sustainability of the research chair beyond the granting period
- The university
- The selected university will be required to revise its proposal and budget to take into account the comments of the IDRC Selection Committee and to respond to an IDRC budget review.
- Following the finalization of the budget and proposal, and leading up to the appointment of the chair, the university will launch a selection process for the research chair position in close coordination with IDRC.
- The university will also facilitate the work of the research chair to ensure interdisciplinary and cross-departmental work is promoted.
- It will support the research chair in efforts to ensure sustainability of the position beyond the IDRC funding. It will prepare regular financial reports to IDRC.
For more information, visit https://www.idrc.ca/en/funding/call-proposals-establishing-research-chairs-forced-displacement-south-and-southeast-asia