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Frequently asked questions

If you have any questions about IGC research funding, please contact [email protected].

Applicants can come from anywhere in the world, but we strongly encourage research to be conducted in a country where the IGC has resident teams.

The Lead PI of a proposal must hold or be currently pursuing a PhD. Co-PIs generally should have the same qualifications, but exceptional candidates with a master’s degree can be considered.

Yes, IGC gives equal opportunity to researchers from all over the world, and proposals are assessed on the evaluation criteria outlined on the website: research quality, alignment of topic with IGC priorities, academic impact, policy impact, local stakeholder engagement, and value for money.

Typically, no. IGC has funded projects in the past where an NGO collaborates with an academic institution, but we have rarely funded projects purely with NGOs as the lead institution. We would strongly encourage you to collaborate with an academic or research centre partner. 

Yes, research assistants (RAs) are allowed to be added to a project budget. Rates for RAs and all others claiming fees must coincide with the IGC Pay Matrix.

No, the IGC follows the UK FCDO’s travel policies, and is unable to pay per diems. It does, however, fund expenses if they have been budgeted for in the proposal, and only if original receipts are presented. Please refer to the IGC Travel Policy for further details.

Yes. The IGC encourages applicants to indicate budget priorities in their proposals under the section regarding ‘financial information’. In the event that the IGC is unable to fund the entire project, it will then be easier to identify which modules are essential. Applicants who have secured or aim to secure other funding are also welcome to apply for only partial funding for their project from the IGC. In this scenario, applicants should make clear what proportion of overall funding for the project is being requested from the IGC. 

Prior engagement is not a requirement, but the proposal is more likely to be successful if it responds to policy demands in the country selected. However, for small grant applicants, they must contact the IGC country team as they develop their proposals. Researchers should contact the country teams for more information.

IGC rarely funds proposals that are purely theoretical. The majority of projects that IGC funds do not have mathematical models. Most funded projects are based on microeconomics, and it is rare for IGC to fund projects based on macroeconomic questions. Proposals based on purely empirical questions are welcomed.

Proposals must contain a clear description of how the researchers plan to execute the project. It cannot just be a research idea or a research question. It should have other substantial details on how to answer that research question through empirical research. If you only have a research question with some plan to execute the project but do not have the data, please get in touch with the country team and share your research question/idea with them and they can help guide you on how to get access to the required data and how to proceed with the proposal.

Yes, research design is important if you are using primary or secondary/administrative data. Your research design should explain how you are going to use the data and analyse the data.

If it is pure replication where you are taking the exact same project and taking it to another country, it has a low chance of going through funding as it won’t be very competitive. If it is pure replication but you have had an interaction with the policymaker who specifically asked for that work to be replicated in that country, then that has a much better chance of going through funding. If you add a small component of novelty to the design and you have a strong policymaker buy-in, then you have a high chance of acceptance.