[liberationtech] Open Funding Call for RCTs on Institutions and Economic Development

[Yosem Companys]

Request for Applications – Randomized Control Trials

Posted on 20/11/2016
By Yasmina Yusuf

Randomized Controlled Trials to Evaluate Strategies to Enhance the
Effectiveness of Public Institutions in Developing Countries

For more information, please see:
https://edi.opml.co.uk/news/request_for_applications/

Brief Pre-Proposal Form Due: January 10, 2017

Application Materials Due: February 21, 2017 (5pm USA Pacific Time)

The pressing need to improve the responsiveness and functionality of
public sector has motivated numerous governments and donors to
actively support institutional reforms. These investments may be
producing gains for citizens in need of effective state services and
economic opportunities, yet far too few have been rigorously
evaluated. This funding opportunity will support randomized controlled
trials that allow stakeholders to learn which approaches are
effective, and how these models might be replicated in other contexts.

The Economic Development and Institutions (EDI) initiative is publicly
calling for proposals for pilot studies (up to £22,000) and full-scale
randomized controlled trials (no funding limit, but most awards up to
£600,000) to rigorously test interventions or government programs that
implement one or more of the following strategies to improve the
performance of political or legal institutions and ultimately support
economic development:

Financial or non-financial incentives (e.g. to enhance performance or
compliance, to encourage citizen engagement, etc.)
Access, sharing or distribution of information (e.g. to increase
transparency, monitor performance, etc.)
Public official or employee selection (e.g. to improve recruitment,
appointment, or election of bureaucrats, political leaders, and/or
judicial officials)

To identify and inform these focus areas, EDI partner the Center for
Effective Global Action (CEGA) at UC-Berkeley  reviewed the current
state of knowledge on institutions and economic development to
identify a series of open research questions in this “EDI Review
Paper” co-authored by CEGA Scientific Directors Ernesto Dal Bó and
Fred Finan. All applicants are strongly encouraged to review the
portions of this document relevant to their proposed research prior to
submitting proposals.

See all relevant documentation and guidelines below:

Request for Applications
Proposal Cover Sheet
Budget Guidelines and Template
EDI Review Paper

EDI is led by Oxford Policy Management in collaboration with the Paris
School of Economics, University of Namur, and Aide a la Decision
Economique. The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) at
UC-Berkeley is leading efforts related to EDI’s RCT portfolio. The UK
Department of International Development provides generous support for
the program.

You may direct questions to edi at berkeley.edu.

For more more information, please see
https://edi.opml.co.uk/news/request_for_applications/.