Deadline: 15-Sep-2025
The Eighth Call for the Competitive Grants Programme (CGP 8.0) seeks to support homegrown, evidence-based, and policy-oriented research that can provide practical solutions to Pakistan’s critical development challenges.
Economic Transformation, Productivity, and Competitiveness; Human Capital, Demographics, and Inclusive Development; Governance, Institutional Reforms, and Public Finance; Climate Resilience, Natural Resource Management, and Sustainable Agriculture; and Technology, Energy, and Infrastructure for Future Growth.
The RASTA Competitive Grants Programme’s mission is to build a large research network of academia and think tanks in Pakistan to produce high-quality, evidence-based policy research. The programme’s objectives are to reduce the research-policy gap, create a platform for knowledge sharing, revisit public policy agendas based on evidence, and improve policymaking and implementation by engaging various stakeholders.
The maximum grant available for a project is 6.0 million. The maximum duration to complete a project is 12 months, although shorter duration studies are encouraged. Remuneration for a member of the research team is a maximum of Rs. 180,000 per month. A maximum of 70% of the total grant, or Rs. 4.2 million, can be used for remuneration under the programme. A research team can have a maximum of four members, including the Principal Investigator, and co-principal investigators may not be paid more than the PI. Income tax on remuneration will be deducted at source. For field visits or data collection, TADA and accommodation costs can be included as per the Federal Government rules. A maximum of 3% contingency and 10% institutional overhead of the calculated budget are permissible and must be included within the upper limit of the grant.
All complete grant applications will be reviewed by a scholarly review panel. The selection process involves a multi-stage review by the Research Advisory Committee, which includes an initial review of research ideas, a training course for shortlisted applicants, and a final review workshop.
Research ideas and proposals will be evaluated based on the importance of the topic and its relevance to the given themes, the cohesion and creativity of the proposed research, the research design and technical feasibility of the approach, the value of the expected research outcomes for public policy, and the qualifications of the principal and co-principal investigator(s). Only top-ranked proposals will be invited to present at the RASTA Review Workshop. For Stage 1, applicants must download and complete the specified forms and submit them electronically. For Stage 2, shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit full technical and financial proposals. Applications will be acknowledged within 15 days of the deadline. Applicants must not mention their name or organization anywhere except on the cover sheet. The deadline for application submission is September 15, 2025, by midnight, Pakistan Standard Time.
For more information, visit PIDE.
