Targeting Initiative: 2020 Request for Proposals

This RFP application is closed as of Friday, October 30, at 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

CEGA’s Targeting Aid Better (“Targeting”) initiative will competitively award grants of $25,000 – $100,000 to teams of researchers and government/NGO partners to deploy and test innovative approaches to targeting emergency aid and social protection in low- and middle-income countries, especially in the wake of COVID-19. CEGA will prioritize projects that leverage new types of data (e.g., mobile phone or satellite data); use existing data (e.g., administrative records) in novel ways; develop non-traditional targeting approaches (e.g., machine learning); or otherwise build on evidence about innovative and scalable approaches to targeting. Projects funded under this RFP should directly support a government or NGO partner in targeting emergency aid or social protections. Funded projects need not include an RCT-based impact evaluation, but we do expect projects to rigorously evaluate and document the effectiveness of the novel approach relative to more traditional methods.

Who is eligible: The Targeting Initiative invites proposals from qualified academic and non-academic researchers of any affiliation. PhD candidates and postdoctoral scholars may join a proposal as long as a faculty member or senior researcher serves as the lead principal investigator (PI). All applications must be submitted jointly with a government or NGO partner, with a Letter of Commitment provided as proof of partnership.

Responses to FAQ are now live!