Small Research Grants

The Economy and Environment Partnership for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA) annually provides Small Research Grants up to US$ 8,000 for young researchers from Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar who are starting their career and looking for a chance to gain experience in the field of environmental economics, with close supervision by EEPSEA Senior Economists.

RESEARCH THEMES

Research topics that apply the tools of economics in the analysis of policy-relevant environmental challenges are invited. EEPSEA accepts research proposals on priority national environmental problems. In addition, it encourages research proposals dealing with:

  • Economics of climate change: Damage assessment and adaptation options
  • Designing behavioral economics tools for green growth strategy: Greening forestry sector, renewable energy, greening consumption.
  • Coastal and marine resources conservation for climate change resilience and poverty reduction
  • Urban poor and the environment: Industrial pollution, ecosystem and human health impact, resilience, policy instruments and institutional changes,

Research should also incorporate analysis of the gender dimension of the environmental crisis/problem. It must be conducted in Southeast Asia.

ELIGIBILITY

  • Applicants must be a nationality of Cambodia, Lao PDR, or Myanmar;
  • Currently working for a university or research institute;
  • Research projects with partial funding from other sources is acceptable.

PROPOSAL FORMAT

Proposals should be in MS Word format, following the Full Proposal Format strictly

PROCEDURE

The procedures as below: Submission of research proposal

  • Step 1: Screening and reject proposal that is
    1. The topic is not in environmental resource economics
    2. Quality is significant low. i.e. (1) research objectives are not clear and unachievable, (2) no literature review in the proposal, (3) research methodology (including availability of data) is not relevant for addressing the research objectives
  • Step 2: External review
    1. Director or Research Coordinator will send the proposals to relevant reviewers (member of research committee or senior economists in the region). The reviewer will also become mentor for the grantees. Expertise of the external reviewer should be relevant to the topics and their availability.
    2. Reviewers return comments
  • Step 3: Revision of proposal (If it is requested, sent back to the applicant for revision)
  • Step 4: Selection decision
    1. Revised proposal and comments from reviewers will be sent to executive committee members
    2. Executive committee members evaluate proposals. Criteria for evaluating a proposal: (1) research quality (50%); (2) researcher’s qualification (20%); (3) policy relevance (20%); (4) Career potential of the researcher (10%).
    3. Executive Committee Vote. Decision rules based on majority
    4. If equal vote, EEPSEA Director will decide.
  • Step 5: Release of funding (80%)
  • Step 6: Research implementation with EEPSEA mentor
  • Step 7: Submission of research report and policy brief
  • Step 8: Release of funding (20%)