Second call for the DFID-ESRC Growth Research Programme

18 February 2013

The Department for International Development (DFID) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) are collaborating in a programme on economic growth in developing countries. The DFID-ESRC Growth programme (DEGP) funds world class scientific research on issues relating to inclusive economic growth in Low Income Countries (LICs), with high potential for impact on policy and practice.

The four year project currently works under three major themes:

1. Agriculture and growth 
   This theme focuses on developing understanding of the relationship between agricultural development and broader economic growth, and on the impact of policies on agricultural productivity. 
2. Financial Sector Development and Growth 
   This theme focuses on macro issues in finance in LICs, including regulation and supervision of financial markets, the structure of the sector, and management of capital inflows.
3. Innovation, Diffusion and Economic Growth: Raising Productivity in Low Income Countries 
   This theme investigates issues around innovation, the spread of know-how, and the process of adapting know-how to meet local conditions in LICs.

The programme aims to generate high quality evidence on growth and help incorporate it into policy within developing countries, particularly low income countries (LICs), to reduce poverty.

Doing more on wealth creation and private sector development are two (of six) key policy priorities for the UK Government. Finance and agriculture are two critical sectors that can contribute to growth in LICs in ways that can have significant poverty reduction benefits. But there are significant gaps in the research, eg. limited knowledge on the role and importance of agriculture in the growth process, and limited understanding of how governance of financial markets can be improved in ways that benefit poor people in LICs.

Following the first call of the programme 18 grants were awarded. Now the ESRC and DFID are funding a second call of the DEGP.

Applications are sought from across the social sciences. The programme will allow academics from developing and developed countries to work together in any configuration of their choosing, and principal investigators can be from anywhere in the world. Projects with developing country partners are strongly encouraged.

The call for proposals will be announced on the 25th February 2013 and on the 28th February there will be an open meeting at Church House Conference Centre in London to allow prospective applicants the chance to learn more about the programme and network with potential partners and collaborators.

To book a place for the open meeting visit the ODI website here. Further details on this pre-call announcement can be found here. The deadline for Outline Proposals will be the 25th April 2013.