Deadline: 7 June 2019
The South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) is seeking research concept notes in any area of environmental and resource economics relating to the development of South Asia and the HKH.
SANDEE is an initiative of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) under the regional programme on Mountain Knowledge and Action Networks (MKAN).
ICIMOD is a regional intergovernmental learning and knowledge-sharing centre serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan – that is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. It aims to understand these changes, adapt to them, and make the most of new opportunities while addressing upstream–downstream issues.
Examples of research previously supported by SANDEE include the following:
- An evaluation of a REDD+ pilot programme in Nepal on carbon sequestration and socioeconomic changes, and of a livelihood intervention programme in India on farmers’ adaptive capacity.
- Country-wide assessments of the linkages between climate change and agriculture and its effect on migration in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan and a case study of incentives for recycling lead acid batteries under India’s Deposit-Refund Scheme.
- An analysis of possible payments to farmers for ecosystem services in Bhutan and an examination of biodiversity and economic indicators under different forest management strategies in Bangladesh.
Grant Information
- Grants are likely to be in the range of USD 20,000–30,000 over a two-year period.
- Larger grants are more likely if teams are multidisciplinary, involve two or more countries in the region, or focus on a transboundary issue.
Eligibility Criteria
- They encourage research on issues of interest to national, provincial, and local policymakers in the region, including environmental issues faced by people living in the plains, hills, and mountains.
- Researchers working in the region (South Asia plus the HKH region) who are affiliated with member universities of the Himalayan University Consortium (HUC), an initiative within ICIMOD, are encouraged to apply.
- Concept notes that demonstrate a clear demand from policymakers for their underlying research, although any research idea within the scope of SANDEE that has scientific merit will be considered.
- They will consider proposals that critically examine the implementation of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that each country has submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) under the Paris Agreement. Other areas of interest are urban environmental issues and sustainability, energy access and efficiency, and disaster resilience.
Selection Criteria
- While SANDEE focuses on environmental management, proposals must include a strong economics component and at least one member of the research team should be an economist.
- Proposals related to action research that intends to produce consulting-type reports will not be considered.
- Concept notes are evaluated on their academic merit, originality, and policy significance. Multi-disciplinary projects, cross-border collaborations, and transboundary topics with a mountain and gender focus will be prioritized.
- Other areas of interest include estimating costs of non-cooperation among countries in the region in different areas (e.g. energy and water resource management), evaluating the impact of national programmes and policies on the mountain environment and people, and valuation of the cryosphere’s ecosystem services.
- Institutional affiliation is required to receive a research grant.
- They encourage women researchers and junior to mid-career professionals to apply as the principal investigator (PI). Senior researchers (e.g. professors and directors) may be included in the team as co-PIs or mentors, but not as the PI.
How to Apply
Applicants can submit the application form online via given website.
For more information, please visit http://www.icimod.org/sandee/researchgrant