This call is now closed.

The call for Expressions of Interest
(EOIs) for the Social Protection Thematic Window is now closed. We received a total of 220 EOIs. Of these, 84 have been invited to submit a full application.

In terms of geographical coverage, the 220 EOIs covered 70 countries. They mainly covered sub-Saharan Africa (39%) followed by South Asia (23%) and Latin America and the Caribbean (23%). Around 75% of the EOIs sought evidence on research questions that related to the overall impact of social protection programmes, 16% focused on design issues related to social protection programmes, and 9% related to analysis of the political and institutional conditions that determined the selection of the programmatic approach. 

Three clusters were identified during the review process: 1) public works programs (22 EOIs), 2) unconditional/social and conditional cash transfers (60 EOIs) and 3) youth training and labour insertion (22 EOIs). For more information on the review process of the expressions of interest, click here.

Background

3ie called for new and innovative impact evaluation proposals on social protection in September, 2011.The deadline for the submission of expressions of interest was November 7, 2011.

This grant window dedicated to social protection is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), with the potential for more funding from 3ie.

This is the first thematic window being launched by 3ie and is part of an ongoing drive to fund high quality research that helps us gather a body of evidence and understand what works, why and under what circumstances in particular sectors and sub-sectors. A strong shared agenda has been developed across 3ie and DFID based on a clear poverty focus, a commitment to building national capacity and to communicating findings so that new evidence makes a real difference to policy and practice in developing countries.

For the benefit of applicants, 3ie released a scoping report that provides an overview of the social protection sector and the thinking that went into the design of this grant programme.

Download the Request for Proposals

Grants

This window will fund 7 to12 impact evaluations of up to a total of US$5 million. There is no maximum size for individual grants, although best value for money will be explicitly assessed.

Application process

Only those who have passed the EOI stage are allowed to submit a full application. To submit a complete proposal, please visit : http://praxispts.com/3ieImpact/. Applicants can follow the status of their applications through the online system.

The complete proposal needs to be submitted by 8 pm GMT January 29, 2012. We anticipate announcing awards 8 to 10 weeks after the application deadline.

PLEASE NOTE: All proposals should be submitted using 3ie’s online grant application system. Applications submitted in any other way will not be considered.

Review process

All the expressions of interest were reviewed by an internal and external reviewer. After this quality assessment, 3ie and DFID selected the clusters based primarily on the under-researched questions as laid out in the scoping report.

For more information, please read the Frequently Asked Questions