Deadline: 14 May 2015
The Department for International Development (DFID) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in UK are currently accepting applications from researchers based in developing countries for “Raising Learning Outcomes in Education Systems Programme 2015.”
ESRC-DFID Raising Learning Outcomes in Education Systems Programme aims to build the evidence on critical policy areas which are currently constraining education systems in developing countries from translating resources into better learning for all, and ultimately positive social and economic change.
Focus Countries
Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, India, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Thematic Areas
The thematic focus for the 2015 call is on ‘challenging contexts’ – where education systems face particular challenges, what enables or inhibits the raising of learning outcomes. These include:
- Remote rural: rural settlements which are geographically remote or isolated, for example due to distance from major cities, infrastructure, economic markets or political institutions, or whose terrain or ecology creates physical barriers to access.
- Urban slums: urban settlements with inadequate access to safe water, sanitation and infrastructure, poor structural quality of housing, overcrowding and insecure residential status.
- Border cities: cities near the boundary between two or more nation states.
Grants & Duration
Proposals are invited for projects with a full economic cost (fEC) value between £200,000 and £700,000. The duration of grants should range from a minimum of one year up to a maximum of four years.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicant can be researchers based in developing countries, as well developing country co-investigators. The applicant organisation should not necessarily be based in UK.
- Both an individual and their institution must be registered with the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system to submit a proposal.
- Applicants can also participate in consortium. Any form of partnership is acceptable: co-investigators, collaborating partnerships, research fellows etc.
- Applicant/Researchers must show how the research is relevant to one or more low-income countries.
- The research must be focused on at least one of the challenging contexts mentioned above.
Application Process
Documents required to send via email:
- CV of the main applicant
- Two letters of support :
- Letters confirming factors essential to the successful conduct of the research (eg confirming access to datasets, or confirming access to or use of facilities provided by named organisations). These must be dated within the last six months.
- Letters confirming the level of support (cash or in-kind) being provided to this specific proposal from another funding body or partner organisation.
- If the research involves collaborating partners (eg business/ government/ third sector organisations), applicant should describe and explain their role and involvement in the research.
All applicants will be informed of the outcome of their proposals by end of November 2015.
For more information, please visit ESRC Education Funds.
