2020 Development Economics Challenge – Special Support in Response to COVID-19

Submit via Submittable here

Description: 

The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) is pleased to announce the Spring 2020 Development Economic Challenge. In this special funding round, CEGA invites late-stage PhD students to apply for support between $5,000 – $10,000. Awards must be used to sustain active research projects affected by the current Covid-19 pandemic and led by UC Berkeley PhD students, with priority given to projects that seek to understand the social and economic impacts of the pandemic.  

Projects must be active, original research involving rigorous evaluation of strategies for poverty alleviation in low- and middle- income countries. Grants may be used to support field teams, data collection activities that adhere to social distancing guidelines (i.e. phone surveys), or additional data analysis. Grant funds may not be used for student stipends. 

Deadline: April 15, 2020 

Eligibility Criteria: 

The bulk of available funding is restricted to late-stage doctoral students in the Economics Department at UC Berkeley, though late-stage doctoral students in other departments at UC Berkeley are still encouraged to apply.  

Priority will be given to students who (a) plan to go on the job market next year, (b) integrate new data collection, particularly around Covid-19, into ongoing studies. 

Each application must include a nomination from a UC Berkeley faculty sponsor. The nomination should be emailed to corey.murray@berkeley.edu by the submission deadline (simply stating “I have reviewed the proposed research and agree to nominate the applicant for this award”).   

Application Process: 

To apply, please submit the following in a single PDF via Submittable here:

1. Application Form with Budget Template
2. Short proposal (2 pages or less, 12 point font, single-spaced).  Please make sure to include how your project has been affected by COVID-19 and how these funds would support the research.
3. Resume/CV
4. Email nomination from faculty sponsor (emailed directly to corey.murray@berkeley.edu)

Please email Corey Murray (corey.murray@berkeley.edu) with any inquiries.