Research grants for evidence generation to inform policy, practice and research

UPDATE (June 25, 2021): The CGIAR GENDER Platform Evidence Module is extending the deadline for submission of proposals by two weeks – to 17:00 PM EAT on July 14, 2021.

As a result of this delay, we will have to restrict the project duration to a maximum of 15 months between September 1, 2021 and November 30 2022. All committed outputs will have to be delivered at end of November 2022, with no possibility for extension.

The Evidence Module Research Grants are aimed at generating robust evidence using appropriate rigorous and cutting-edge quantitative and qualitative methods and tools to inform policy, practice, and research addressing gender equality in agriculture and food systems. 

The Evidence Module will fund research activities to generate evidence that addresses key evidence gaps in three priority gender research themes as described below:

Theme 1: Gendered dimensions of institutions and governance of sustainable land and water systems

We invite proposals from interdisciplinary research teams that seek to address a key evidence gap on ‘strategies, approaches and interventions related to institutions and governance of land and water systems that contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment’.  The proposals could focus on one or more of the following dimensions:

• Assess community-managed institutions, local natural resource management practices that enable women and men of different social groups to renegotiate access, rights and participation in the governance of land and water.  The research needs to explore how these initiatives and arrangements enable the reconfiguration of gender relations with respect to natural resources within the community and between communities.
• Assess how institutions and governance of land and water systems in specific contexts address the entrenched masculinities, femininities and intersectional inequalities.
• Critical analysis of issues of power, politics, and difference including participation and representation in institutions and policies governing land and water systems, and their implications for equitable and sustainable land and water systems.
• Environmental and economic outcomes of addressing gender inequalities in natural resource management through community-managed institutions, local natural resource management practices for sustainable food systems.
• Assess implications of political economy changes (legislations, reforms, changing trade regimes) on the shaping of the institutions and governance governing land and water systems and the consequent outcomes of gender equality, environmental sustainability, and efficient resource use.
• Innovations and investments in land and water institutions and governance that effectively address the gender gaps and contribute to gender equality.

• Please refer to Annex 1 in the call for proposals for further details on this theme.

Theme 2: Women’s empowerment through engagement in agricultural value chains.

We invite proposals from interdisciplinary research teams that seek to address a key evidence gap on ‘approaches, strategies or interventions focused on women’s engagement in agricultural/food systems value chains and markets that have led to gender equality women’s empowerment'. The proposals could focus on one or more of the following dimensions:

• Effects of value chain development on gender equality, heterogeneous outcomes for women and multiple, concurrent processes of empowerment and disempowerment, and resilience in the context of agriculture and food systems.
• Effects of engagement in commercial value chains on women’s various economic and non-economic activities and responsibilities, including time poverty and well-being, using integrated household livelihood approaches.
• Outcomes and impacts of women’s involvement in new, non-production nodes of the agricultural value chain, including processing, retail and marketing on gender equality and women’s empowerment in rural, urban and peri-urban contexts. 
• Impact of gender intentional approaches in value chain development on the reshaping of masculinities, femininities, and the roles of men and women in different social groups at different nodes of agricultural value chains, applying an intersectional approach.
• Critical analysis of ways in which economic, institutional, and environmental processes and transformations shaped by the expansion of commercial value chains influence the choices and options available to women and men.
• Good practices and approaches in value chain development for gender-transformative outcomes.
• Pathways from women’s participation to empowerment and the associated enablers and barriers in value chains.

• Please refer to Annex 2 in the call for proposals for further details on this theme.

  Theme 3: Enhancing gender equality and women’s empowerment through climate-smart agriculture

  We invite proposals from interdisciplinary research teams that seek to address a key evidence gap on ‘gender equality, women’s empowerment and resilience through climate-smart agriculture (CSA)’. The proposals could focus on one or more of the following dimensions:

• Assess gender equality gains in resilience through climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies; assess whether and how CSA technologies affect gender equality; and assess impact of CSA technologies on women’s resilience, work burden, and incomes. Analysis of intra-household dynamics in CSA adoption decisions and gendered distribution of the gains made in terms of household production, incomes and nutrition by using CSA technologies.
• Assess the extent to which various models, approaches, and strategies enhance women’s access to agro-climatic information, technologies, livelihoods, and credit/finance, and expand economic opportunities for women in a changing climate and rapidly evolving food systems.
• Identify and assess measures to enhance decision-making capacities of women involved in   CSA: this includes exploring what kind of climate and weather-related information and knowledge do women want and need? What are women’s priorities for information content and formats? What are the empowering effects of the use of climate information and capacity building of women? What partnerships and platforms, including women’s and community-based organizations, mobile service providers, and others, will support the generation, access, and use of climate information? 
• Assess pathways of women’s collective action around climate change and CSA for enhancing gender equality, agency, and resilience in changing food systems
• Assessment of scalability factors and/or pathways for scaling gender-responsive CSA.
• Impact of multiple and concurrent shocks including climate change and pandemics on women’s vulnerability and resilience.

Please refer to Annex 3 in the call for proposals for further details on this theme.

We are looking for robust  high-quality research  underpinned by theory-based impact pathways and research hypotheses, grounded in gender analytical frameworks, building on state-of-the-art literature and prior evidence, and using cutting-edge appropriate methods, and data collection tools.

Mixed methods that creatively combine qualitative and quantitative research will be encouraged to generate a deeper and more reliable and nuanced body of evidence. We encourage building on ongoing work to deepen understanding in some areas or address new questions that have emerged as a result of the ongoing analyses. We encourage multi-context studies and collaboration among centers. Research that generates cross-contextual and cross-commodity/systems understanding would be highly preferred. The use of an intersectionality lens would add much value to the research. Focus on vulnerable populations, such as poor female-headed households, rural households in geographically remote locations, indigenous farming communities, and elderly farming households, are welcomed.

We invite research proposals that demonstrate relevance to, and linkages across, the One CGIAR impact areas and the initiatives that are under development.

Each grant will be a maximum of  USD 150,000, and up to two (2) grants per theme will be awarded through a competitive selection process. The maximum duration for each awarded grant is 15 months with an estimated start date of September 1, 2021.

Funds will be allocated in 2021 and 2022 through GENDER Platform Program Participant Agreements (PPAs) with the respective Centers. Grant funds should be expended by 31 December 2022.

Eligibility

Applications must be led by a CGIAR Center, and satisfy the following eligibility criteria:

•  Demonstrate the ability to conduct research to international standards of excellence in the topic proposed.
• Demonstrate strong and equitable partnerships, across the CGIAR and especially with national agricultural research systems (NARS) and other low- and middle-income country partners. Concept notes must clearly show meaningful, collaborative relationships through management and scientific contributions, and capacity and learning exchange. The added value arising from bringing together complementary expertise and partnerships must be clearly described. All named researchers must have clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
• Demonstrate relevance to at least one of the key gender research themes and linkages to the One CGIAR impact areas namely: (i) Gender equality, youth, and social inclusion (ii) Nutrition, health, and food security; (iii) Poverty reduction, livelihoods, and jobs; (iv) Climate adaptation and mitigation; and (v) Environmental health and biodiversity.

• CGIAR Centers are eligible to lead or be included in multiple applications. Only one successful proposal per lead Center will be selected for funding.

• All CGIAR centers are eligible to submit applications (ICRISAT, CIFOR and ICRAF cannot be lead centers, but can be partners) 
• A center can submit applications to lead one or more grants
• A center will be selected to lead only ONE grant
• A center can contribute toward multiple grants 
• Centers can collaborate on a research project to generate cross-contextual evidence. This will be highly encouraged. In such cases, the grant amount can be up to USD 200,000. In such instances, the total number of awards granted would reduce to keep within the budget envelope.

There is no co-financing requirement for applications. Research activities that propose to add on to existing funded, ongoing, or soon-to-be-launched projects are preferred, although new projects are also eligible if they can be feasibly completed within 12-16 months.

Applications must also provide an indicative timeline and a budget summary, with estimates of each institution’s costs (see section 2.2 on eligible costs).

Submission of applications

Applications must be submitted by no later than 17:00 EAT on Wednesday, July 14. 2021 via email to Grecia Tibayrenc G.tibayrenc@cgiar.org.  Proposals submitted after the deadline will not be considered. 

Please review the call for proposals for further guidelines and requirements. 

Downloadable resources 
 
Call for Proposals

Application Form

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Questions?

If you have questions regarding the call and the application/selection process, please check our Frequently Asked Questions in the first instance. If you're unable to find the answer you're looking for, then please send an email to Ranjitha Puskur r.puskur[at]irri.org with cc to g.tibayrenc[at]cgiar.org.

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