You will need to prepare the following material for your application for a Small Research Grant. We suggest you prepare this material before beginning the online application and read our online application guide and SRG Frequently Asked Questions. However, you will be able to save a partially completed application and return to it at a later date.

• A project title
• A project abstract
• One or more keywords
• CVs for the principal investigator and the co-investigators (if any)
• A project proposal of three to five pages (References and Appendix not included), single spaced, in PDF format. The proposal template is below. Scoring criteria are described below. This is the main description of the project, and should include a discussion of each of the following elements:
  • The research question and approach, including links to existing literature; 
  • Methodology 
  • The policy relevance of the research to low-income countries, including specific (named) sub-Saharan countries; 
  • Links to the cross-cutting issues, if applicable; 
  • Cited literature; 
  • A list of expected outputs (papers, policy briefs, data sets, etc.), and a timeline for making these outputs available to other researchers; 
  • Budget narrative; 
• A detailed workplan for the project, showing expected activities, with their length and sequencing; this workplan should illustrate the feasibility of completing the project within the allotted time.
• A project budget. The budget template is below. You will need to download this template, complete it and upload it where requested in the application process.
• A Policy Impact Plan, describing any activities that might be undertaken as part of the project that would facilitate the take-up of the project’s research findings into policy in specific countries. 

Before submitting your proposal, you will need to you have read CEPR's Code of Conduct for Researchers and CEPR's Conflict of Interest Policy and Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy. All grantees will be required to adhere to these policies. 

Proposals (including all supporting documents) must be submitted in English. Where any required supporting document cannot be obtained in English, a translation verified and approved by an official authority must be submitted.  

All financial information contained in the proposed budget must be expressed in pounds sterling (GBP). Awards will be specified, and grant payments will be made in pounds sterling (GBP). 

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Doctoral Students

For all PhD students, we will require a letter of support from your PhD supervisor. Please ensure that we receive this letter from your supervisor no later than 2 weeks after the deadline. A PDF of the letter will need to be sent to the STEG processing team.

For the advisor: Please discuss the feasibility of the research proposal, the intellectual support which the student will receive from advisors and others, an assessment of the student’s ability to carry out the research and of the student’s longer-term potential as a researcher.

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COVID-19 Impacts

Researchers whose proposals rely on face-to-face surveys or interactions should clearly discuss the implications for the project of potential delays, and the alternatives to face-to-face fieldwork, in the event that the fieldwork is delayed by COVID-19. This can be included in the methodology section of the proposal template. Any fieldwork will need to be cleared by university and, where possible, in-country IRBs. Decisions on fieldwork should follow the advice of governments. Finally, any proposal that includes face-to-face interaction should also briefly make clear how the researchers intend to ensure the safety of researchers and any participants involved in the study.

SRG Evaluation and Selection

Proposals for submitted SRGs will be first checked for completeness by the Programme Implementation & Uptake Team and the STEG Research Officer. The STEG Research Officer will perform a first assessment of proposal quality and will pass all proposals and comments to the Chair of the Academic Steering Committee and Head of Commissioning (CASC) who will create a shortlist, based on the following scoring criteria: 

• Academic innovation 
• Methodological rigour  
• Fit with and importance to the research strategy 
• Policy relevance for low-income and Sub-Saharan countries 
• Cost effectiveness 

The CASC will then pass on the shortlisted proposals to external evaluators for referee reports. The CASC will then appoint a Grants Selection Panel (GSP), which will evaluate the shortlisted proposals. The CASC will serve as chair of the GSP. We aim to communicate funding decisions within three months of the deadline for receipt of proposals.

Researchers

Who can apply for a Small Research Grant?

Only individuals can apply for a STEG SRG. The grants will be issued through a contract between CEPR and the successful applicant directly. In exceptional circumstances, a contract with an institution can be issued, but the contract will be non-negotiable, and the institution cannot take any overheads. This also applies to doctoral students.

STEG invites applications from researchers located anywhere in the world.

Can I apply as a team?

Yes, you may apply as a team. Indeed, we encourage collaboration between academics and in-country specialists. However, only one researcher should submit the proposal as the representative of the team. That individual will be the named individual on the contract and will be responsible for the project implementation, should it be successful.

Do I need a senior collaborator?

Only if she or he will make a necessary and substantive contribution to the work. (Don’t include someone who will be nothing more than a silent partner.) We encourage and are eager to fund strong applications from less established researchers, including junior faculty, postdocs, and doctoral students. We also enthusiastically welcome submissions from less represented demographics and from those in low-income countries. We do not believe that the so-called top-tier departments have a monopoly on good research, and we consequently encourage applications from researchers across the entire profession.

Are there specific affiliation requirements?

There are no particular affiliation requirements for individuals applying for STEG Small Research Grants. Please note, however, that these grants are intended to fund research rather than supporting programs.

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Applications

How can I apply for a Small Research Grant?

Applications for a STEG SRG should be submitted through the website. Instructions on what to include in your proposal can be found here, and instructions on how to apply online can be found here.

Is there a deadline for the proposals submission?

Proposals can be submitted at any time. However, deadlines are usually placed once every quarter. This allows STEG to evaluate proposals in groups. The open and forthcoming calls can be found here.

Can I submit more than one proposal?

No person can be the Principal Investigator on two different proposals within the same SRG proposal round. However, it is permitted for a person to be Principal Investigator for one proposal while only being a team member for another.

Further, it is possible to be the Principal Investigator on two different but concurrent SRG proposal rounds.

Should STEG research proposals be based on a purely economic and quantitative approach, or is there scope for applications involving other disciplines to be considered?

The programme is open to mixed / multi-disciplinary approaches. However, the core of the approach should be related to the literature in economics and grounded primarily in economic issues.

Can I apply for funding to work on a theory paper?

It is possible, but you will need to very carefully justify why the project is relevant to policy in low- and middle-income countries.

Is the start date of the project negotiable? Is it possible to ask for a delayed start date?

Yes, with sufficient justification. However, consideration will be given to the extent of the delay, which may have a bearing on the decision.

When will applicants be notified of the call's results?

The aim is to notify applicants within 3 months from the proposal deadline.

Can a rejected proposal be resubmitted?

Only those who have been explicitly invited to do so may resubmit a previously unsuccessful proposal. The purpose of the “by invitation” policy is to allow for amendments and/or improvements of proposals that the Evaluation Committee considers to have the potential to be funded.

There is no guarantee that a resubmitted proposal will be successful.

Proposals must be resubmitted through the STEG online submission system and must be accompanied by a letter stating and describing the revisions that have been applied. Applications must be identified as resubmissions during this process.

What is the average contract length of a Small Research Grant?

SRGs typically run for 12 months. Formal requests for extension can be submitted with sufficient justification. Please see the diagram here for a typical grant timeline.

What are the preferred outputs for the Small Research Grants? Would it be in the form of a paper/report, policy briefing or academic journal article?

Projects are expected to produce high-quality academic papers as the primary output. However, a policy brief should also be produced, to highlight the policy-relevant results.

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Budgets

What criteria should the project budget comply with?

The STEG Budget Guidelines are available here.

What can be included under equipment?

It is expected that researchers and institutions provide their own IT equipment such as tablets, mobile phones, laptops, and computers for the duration of the project. In exceptional circumstances these can be included in the budget, but strong justification will be requirement, and a maximum of £500 for items of equipment will be applied.

Can I include a payment for myself in the budget?

Yes, but proposals will be judged on a 'value for money' criteria, therefore any payment should be adequately justified. Research Stipends are eligible costs under STEG to the extent that PIs and Co-PIs are directly involved in providing services to the project. Stipends for senior researchers working in upper-middle and high-income countries are not funded under the SRG program. Stipends for PhD students are capped at £12,000 for students in programs located in high-income countries. Stipends for up to 9 months of time are allowed for PhD students and researchers in LICs if these allow them to reduce teaching/administrative duties and therefore free up time for research. All research stipend costs will be evaluated for their value for money and may require further justification or amendments before being approved by CEPR.