Deadline: 31-Jan-21
The Independent Evaluator of the Girls’ Education Challenge Phase II is inviting proposals for its Rapid Research and Learning Fund (RRLF) to examine issues pertaining to girls’ education in crisis situations including but not limited to COVID-19.
This also includes, but is not limited to, investigations into how interventions have responded to crises to develop resilience (of both the girls and the education systems in which they reside) and promote recovery efforts. The proposals are invited to explore the overarching theme of “Resilience and Girls’ Education in the face of crisis”.
The Independent Evaluation (IE) is being conducted by a consortium of partners: Tetra Tech International Development (Tetra Tech), the Research and Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre at the University of Cambridge, Fab Inc., and a number of academic and data collection partners across Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC) II countries.
Drawing on the experience of GEC projects, the RRLF aims to commission and deliver a demand-driven portfolio of research to enhance the evidence-base on girls’ education in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The evidence generated through the Rapid Research and Learning Fund (RRLF) aims to inform GEC project grantees, its Fund Manager, FCDO policymakers, as well as researchers.
Health, political, economic and environmental crises and emergencies place immense challenges on education systems. The effects on girls’ learning and well-being can be considerable, often disproportionately affecting the more disadvantaged. This has become even more apparent in the light of COVID-19.
Funding Modalities
The RRLF will support research projects under two modalities:
- Small research projects with a duration of up to 10 months and a budget between £50,000 and £100,000. These can include research projects that analyze secondary GEC data, other relevant data sources, or those undertaking small scale data collections.
- Medium research projects will provide funding to projects for duration between 10 and 16 months, and a budget between £100,000 and £300,000. Projects under this category must undertake new quantitative, qualitative and/or mixed methods data collection, and can include secondary data – notably GEC data – in their analysis, in order to answer the proposed research questions.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible countries:
- Research projects must be relevant to the research and learning objectives of the GEC, with a focus on countries where GEC II projects are being implemented: Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
- The choice of country /countries will depend on the research question that is being asked and the approach to responding to it.
- Eligible organisations:
- The RRLF encourages collaborative research, including through the participation of organisations with different disciplinary backgrounds, so long as they can provide evidence of a solid track record of delivering high-quality research.
- This includes academic institutions, research-focused think-tanks, NGOs and consulting companies, as well as independent researchers or teams of independent researchers collaborating with these different types of research institutions.
- Research institutions and researchers based in low and lower-middle income countries (LICs and LMICs) are strongly encouraged to apply, independently or in partnerships /collaboration with research institutions and researchers based in the UK and other upper middle- and high-income countries.
- Partnerships should consider the opportunities for reciprocal collaboration and capacity building.
- Research institutions /organisations that are or have been evaluating GEC II projects are eligible to apply. They will need to reveal their status and any potential conflicts of interests (CoI) in the proposal and must include a plan for how these will be mitigated and managed throughout the duration of the contract.
- While GEC II implementing partners and Independent Evaluation consortium members will not be able to apply for funding directly (as lead investigators), they may contribute to research being conducted by another organisation or as part of a consortium. In all of these cases, this must be clearly disclosed in the proposal.
- Research institutions can only lead on one proposal per round, although they can be part of a second application in the same round if the proposal is led by another organisation.
For more information, visit https://girlseducationchallenge.org/#/article/rapid-research-and-learning-fund-independent-evaluation-of-girls-education-challenge-phase-ii