Request for Proposals on CEGA-ILO Data Partnership

The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) seek proposals from teams of CEGA faculty and graduate students interested in using ILO data and working with ILO researchers to answer priority research questions.

Description

The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) is pleased to announce a new partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO) to generate evidence on labor markets and guide related decision-making by government, social partners, and civil society actors in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). CEGA and the ILO are particularly interested in mobilizing research activities that address questions related to 1) skills development and lifelong learning, 2)  job transitions.

The partnership will provide academic researchers access to novel datasets recently obtained and processed by the ILO Research Department, including the following (see additional detail here):

• High-frequency detailed information on job vacancies posted by firms, applicants searching for jobs, and the applications job seekers made to those vacancies in Uruguay (2010-2020), Brazil (2019–2021), and Colombia (2019–2021).
• Detailed job advert data from April 2016 to December 2021 for Russia (580,000 job posts per week and their characteristics representing 90% of the online job marketplace) and South Africa (20,000 adverts per week  representing 85% of the online jobs marketplace).
• Additional datasets could be pursued jointly.

Note that in order to be granted data access, researchers must co-author the proposed work with the ILO Research Department, as per data transfer agreements.

CEGA and the ILO seek short proposals from teams of faculty and/or graduate students across the CEGA network. Graduate students may apply independently with a CEGA affiliate sponsor. We encourage teams to suggest ways that ILO data could potentially be merged with other existing or planned datasets (primary or administrative) to generate more robust insights on the topics noted above. Note that teams submitting high-scoring proposals will be invited to a meeting with the ILO research team where they can ask questions and discuss the opportunity in more detail.

Ultimately, we intend to grant data access to 2-3 research teams through this RFP. Proposals at this stage should not include a funding request or propose research activities which depend on funding through this mechanism. However, successful proposals may receive funding in the future (pending collaborative fundraising efforts between CEGA and the ILO), and will serve as the foundation for a broader CEGA  research initiative on labor markets and inclusive growth.

Eligibility Criteria

Research teams must include CEGA affiliated faculty and/or affiliated graduate students, who will collaborate with ILO researchers. Graduate students serving as investigators must include a nomination from a CEGA faculty affiliate sponsor. The nomination should be emailed to Lauren Russell (laurenrussell@berkeley.edu) by the submission deadline, simply stating, “I have reviewed the proposed research and agree to serve as a faculty advisor for this project.”

Application Process

Please complete the Application Form. Applications must include a brief (no more than 2 pages) proposal describing the envisioned research. All materials should be submitted in a single PDF file through our online portal, Submittable.

Deadline: Sunday, January 22nd, 2023 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time