Regional growth
Request for research proposals

Regional growth and development for southern Africa’s prosperity

Submission deadline: 25 May 2018

UNU-WIDER, the National Treasury of the Republic of South Africa (NT), and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) invite proposals from qualified researchers for high quality economic and/or political economy analysis in any of the five focus areas set out in the Background section. Submission deadline is 25 May 2018 23:59 UTC+3.

Background

United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) is implementing together with its partners over the period 2017–20 a research programme entitled Southern Africa – Toward Inclusive Economic Development (SA-TIED), with the aim of enhancing economic research, capacity-building, and policy dialogue. This request is for research proposals relevant to South Africa’s role in the larger regional economy of southern Africa.

As southern Africa’s largest economy, South Africa’s national economic policy decisions often have regional repercussions. This area of research is designed to enhance our understanding of the South African economy within the larger southern Africa regional context. It consists of five focus areas:

  1. South Africa, SADC and Beyond
  2. South Africa as a Regional Investor
  3. the Spatial Economy of southern Africa
  4. the Political Economy of Regional Growth
  5. Strengthening Regional Value-chains.

An important aspect of the research design is to encourage systematic integration of political economy perspectives under each focus area.

Offer

UNU-WIDER, the National Treasury of the Republic of South Africa (NT), and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) invite proposals from qualified researchers for high quality economic and/or political economy analysis in any of the five focus areas set out in the Background section. Key research and policy questions in each of the five focus areas are given in Annex A to this request for research proposals (RFRP).

The objectives of this RFRP are to:

  1. Provide an opportunity to researchers to conduct policy-relevant research on topics of relevance to South Africa’s role in the larger southern African regional economy.
  2. Facilitate policy dialogue through engaging with researchers on policy-relevant issues and ensuring that the research findings are communicated effectively to stakeholders – including the academic community, policy makers and civil society via policy summaries and dialogue.

Proposals from individuals, groups of individuals, as well as non-profit organizations are welcome. Researchers can be based in South Africa or internationally and can combine researchers from different countries and institutions. Special consideration will be given to southern African research teams that include junior and early-career researchers as well as researchers from previously disadvantaged groups.

Dates

2 May 2018Final opportunity for questions on the request for research proposals.
25 May 2018Proposals due.
15 June 2018Target date for informing on funding decisions.
30 June 2018Target date for completion of necessary administrative procedures.
31 January 2019Target window for submission of first draft of papers and work-in progress workshop.
31 March 2019Submission of final paper.


Proposal submission

Submission of proposals is done electronically using appropriate form on the right column of this page. There are three forms to select from; one for individuals, another for groups of individuals and a third one for NGOs. The deadline for submitting proposals is 25 May 2018 23:59 UTC+3. See full request for research proposals for detailed proposal submission details.

Any questions on the proposal process should be sent to researchproposal@wider.unu.edu by 2 May 2018. All queries and responses will be published on the RFRP announcement page after this date.

See full request for research proposals