The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has joined with several U.S. Government (USG) supported agencies to support Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER). Administered by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), PEER is a competitive grants program that invites scientists in developing countries, partnered with USG-supported collaborators, to apply for funds to support research and capacity-building activities on topics with strong potential development impacts. Through PEER, the Lab leverages investments by other USG-supported agencies and private sector companies in scientific research and training in order to enhance the development priorities of USAID. USG-funded partners must be investigators who will contribute to the scientific merit and impact of PEER projects through expertise, skills, methodologies, laboratory access, and synergies with ongoing projects. In this call, PEER aims to support research projects that focus on the impacts of COVID-19 and potential solutions that can emerge from this pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented global challenges and uncovered weaknesses in the ability of governments, the private sector, and local and international actors to deliver services and resources across many systems. Awards will be for a maximum of U.S. $70,000 regardless of the number of institutions involved.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants must;
- Hold a research or teaching position at a higher educational institution (university) in a PEER-eligible country;
- Be citizens or permanent residents of a PEER-eligible country in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Europe and
- Be living and working in the country from which they are applying.
- Women and behavioral and social scientists are strongly encouraged to apply.
- Applicants based at non-profit organizations (NGOs) or government-managed research laboratories, centers, or institutes are not eligible to serve as principal investigators on PEER projects but can serve as co-PIs.
- Potential sectors that might be studied include but are not limited to the following: Digital innovations (e.g., cashless transfers, geospatial and big data), Education (e.g., effects of school closure on learning, digital solutions for remote education), Agriculture and food (e.g., resilient value chains, effects of COVID-19 on food systems), Women and gender (e.g., the disproportionate impact of shocks, COVID-19 and gender-based violence) and Public health (e.g., novel approaches to contract to trace, mobile health, vaccine distribution)
Funder: United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
URL: https://sites.nationalacademies.org/cs/groups/pgasite/documents/webpage/pga_367633.pdf
Deadline: 22nd October 2021
