CALL FOR RESEARCH PROPOSALS
LACEEP is the Latin American and Caribbean Environmental Economics Program. Supported by the Canadian International Development Research Center (IDRC) and the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), LACEEP is a capacity-building effort that provides research grants to Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) researchers. It provides not only financial support but also close advice and follow-up by specifically appointed scientists, meetings, access to literature, publication outlets and opportunities for comparative research.
LACEEP’s research program focuses in general on applied, policy relevant research. There is widespread interest in minimizing pollution and resource degradation by ensuring that economic agents face the full economic, social and environmental costs of their activities. But many questions remain to be answered, for example: What is the economic value of the environmental damage incurred by a given activity? What roles can sectorial, macroeconomic and trade policies play in achieving full-cost pricing? What roles do community management of resources, changes in property rights and other institutional factors play? Does full-cost pricing have negative effects on the poor and how might these be mitigated? What are the implications of full-cost pricing for economic growth and structural changes? Furthermore, work on the design and evaluation (ex-ante and ex-post) of environmental policy instruments for natural resource management and pollution control is also encouraged.
LACEEP’s research awards are granted through twice-yearly competitions. The assessment of proposals is done on a competitive basis. Interested researchers should first fill and submit the preliminary proposal form that includes the following information: title of the project, project leader, contact information (name, address, telephone, fax, email) and general description of the problem, including objectives and relevance for the region, and a brief outline of the research methodology (please name your file: “last name – preliminary”). The form is attached and can also be downloaded at www.laceep.org.
Proposals are first assessed on receipt; authors of the most promising entries are then encouraged to send a full research proposal (max 10 pages). Authors of the best proposals are invited to present them at LACEEP’s workshops.
LACEEP workshops also include short courses and presentations by international resource persons. At the workshops, authors will receive comments from a panel of resource persons. Authors whose proposals are approved in principle by the panel are then asked to make revisions as needed to finalize the proposals. Visit our webpage for information on previous activities (www.laceep.org).
Criteria for evaluating proposals: Proposals will be evaluated according to their quality and pertinence. The issues discussed should be relevant to the Latin American and Caribbean context and should include economic analysis of environmental problems or policies. Innovative research topics and methods are encouraged.
Who can apply? The grant program is aimed at junior researchers who are citizens of any country in Latin America or the Caribbean. Applicants should have prior training in economics, preferably at the master’s level or higher and be attached to an institution in the LAC region or be currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program. Ph.D. students and postdoctoral researchers working outside the region should convincingly demonstrate their willingness to work in Latin America after concluding their studies. Projects may be carried out by individuals or teams2. Grants may also be assigned to cover the cost of PhD fieldwork.3 The research budget should not exceed US$ 15.000. Projects should be one year in duration.
When ready to submit a full proposal, applicants should obtain a copy of the “Guidelines for the Presentation of Research Proposals” from the LACEEP Secretariat. The guidelines indicate the structure of the proposal and the kinds of costs that may be included in project budgets. Proposals should follow exactly the proposed structure provided in the Guidelines and should by no means exceed 10 pages (excluding attachments). In a cover letter, applicants should indicate what other research projects they are currently carrying out, and their funding source. If a proposal similar to the one submitted to LACEEP has been or will be submitted to another funding source, this should be clearly indicated. It is anticipated that most projects will be done on a part-time basis; proponents should be able to demonstrate that they have adequate time to carry out the project and that there is no duplication of other activities. Full proposals should be written in English to facilitate their external revision.
The relevant deadlines are as follows:
- Two-page preliminary proposal form | September 1, 2011
- Full 10 page proposal | November 10, 2011
- Deadline for revised proposal | January 15, 2012
- LACEEP’s XIII Workshop | March 19-22, 2012
- LACEEP’s XIII Short course | March 23-26, 2012
All documents should be sent by email to the LACEEP Secretariat at laceep@catie.ac.cr / Tel: (506) 2558-2624 / Fax: (506) 2558-2625
For complete documentation download …
- Call for research proposals
- Guidelines for proposals
- Preliminary proposal form
