Deadline: 17-Dec-21
The Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Initiative invites proposals from researchers working on randomized trials for the fourth round of the research fund. The purpose of this research fund is to leverage existing research studies to advance the understanding of the underlying causes and influencing factors of intimate partner violence.
With this call for proposals, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) solicits proposals from research teams interested in expanding their existing studies to further investigate this important topic. In most cases, they expect to fund studies in which the intervention was not originally intended to target IPV, and the assessment of IPV outcomes were not part of the original study design.
However, they will consider funding for the expansion of studies already focused on IPV where there is a unique opportunity to add novel insights. Thematically, there is particular interest in women’s economic productivity and labor market engagement; the most effective “plus” programs for “cash plus” activities; couples counseling and mental health support from paraprofessionals; partner selection and “dating violence”; and adolescent mentorship and soft skills training programs.
Types of Funding
The IPV Initiative will consider proposals that fulfill one or more of the following criteria:
- Add IPV-focused survey modules to existing studies. These are smaller grants that would fund the cost of adding IPV-focused survey modules to upcoming data collection rounds for existing studies. They are intended for research studies that are not already focused on IPV reduction, but are likely to have notable impacts on IPV and related outcomes. Programs targeting mental health, alcohol use, women’s financial agency, family planning, soft skills, intra-household bargaining, and personal development could be examples of areas to explore. They anticipate funding between 4 to 6 additions to planned survey rounds, each award is expected to be between USD $25,000 and $50,000.
- Add IPV-focused survey rounds to current or past IPV studies. These are moderately sized grants, funding additional survey/data collection rounds focused on IPV. For example, this could include a supplemental household/spouse survey for a female entrepreneurship training program to see the effects on the intra-household dynamics, or a long-term follow-up survey of a life skills coaching program for adolescent girls to understand the effect on partner selection and IPV. They anticipate funding between 1 to 2 additions in this category, each award is expected to be between USD $50,000 and $125,000 each.
- Add an IPV targeted treatment arm to an existing study. These are large grants that will support expanding a study by adding a treatment arm focused on reducing IPV to a randomized evaluation. In cases where there is a truly innovative or extraordinary research opportunity, applicants can request funding for the costs of expanding the study sample and survey as well as the IPV focused intervention. In exceptional cases they will fund proposals to add a treatment arm to a study. Awards in this category can be up to USD $200,000.
- Improve IPV measurement and methods. These grants will support projects to develop and test IPV measurement tools and methods. They expect most of these grants will focus on comparing techniques for data collection, such as examining the different results between face-to-face surveying and self-administered tablet surveys. These grants are intended to provide insights that could improve how IPV research is conducted. For example, projects under this category could include studies that test ways to reduce surveyor bias or reduce respondent distress in field research. They anticipate funding 1 to 4 of these measurement-focused studies. The funding will be based on the breadth of the primary project and scope of the measurement comparison. Each award is expected to be between USD $15,000 to $35,000.
Note
- Proposals shall indicate the overall cost of the project as well as the funding requested of the IPV Initiative.
- Funding is for research costs.
- Implementation costs for the program are expected to be covered from other sources, except when adequate justification is provided for their inclusion in the study budget.
- Funding under the study budget for the salaries and/or time of researchers in developing countries will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the selection committee.
Eligibility Criteria
- Researchers must be affiliated with a research institution or a university and either hold a PhD or be currently pursuing a PhD in a relevant social science discipline. They must demonstrate experience in field research and randomized evaluations.
- IPA encourages proposals from diverse research teams. They welcome applications from researchers from multiple disciplines and historically underrepresented groups and they strongly encourage research teams to include researchers from the countries where the project will take place, with clearly defined contributions from all members of the research team.
- Rresearchers applying from institutions in lower- and middle income countries may submit for reasonable salary expenses. The selection committee will be blind to the salary request when considering the cost of the study.
- IPA strongly encourage current and upcoming IPA projects and/or affiliated researchers to apply, though they will also consider proposals from outside sources.
For more information, visit https://www.poverty-action.org/ipv-initiative/competitive-fund