Humanitarian Protection Initiative Request for Proposals

The Humanitarian Protection Initiative (HPI) is pleased to announce its second Request for Proposals (RFP). HPI funds research to design, pilot, and evaluate solutions to effectively improve protection outcomes by keeping those who are affected by armed conflict safe from violence, coercion and deliberate deprivation while ensuring their dignity and rights. More detail on the initiative’s scope and research and learning priorities is provided in the RFP document.

Please carefully review the RFP as well as the information below to gain a full understanding of scope, grant types, eligibility criteria, the application process, and the application instructions.

Scope

HPI aims to generate rigorous evidence to inform policies and programs that shield conflict-affected populations from physical, psychological, social, and legal harm and mitigate the effects of conflict where harm has occurred. As such, HPI will provide funding to develop context-sensitive research on the impact of interventions that seek to ensure the safety, dignity and rights of people affected by armed conflict and keeping people safe from violence, coercion and deliberate deprivation.

Eligibility

Research Team Eligibility

One researcher per project must be a J-PAL affiliate, an invited researcher to HPI or the J-PAL Europe office, or a J-PAL postdoc. PhD candidates supervised by J-PAL affiliates or eligible invited researchers are also eligible.

In addition, HPI is invested in creating more opportunities for researchers based in or from low- or middle- income countries (LMIC). Please refer to the website on the HPI Scholars Program for more information about eligibility and resources to support proposal development if you are interested in this funding opportunity, are based in or from an LMIC, but don’t meet the conditions outlined above.

Research teams that do not fit the J-PAL-specific eligibility criteria are encouraged to fill in this researcher interest form and send it to [email protected] in order to discuss possible options, including the possibility of being connected to eligible researchers.

All applicants (including affiliates and invited researchers) are limited to submitting three proposals, inclusive of all proposal types, per 12-month period per initiative either as main PIs or co-PIs. If an applicant is submitting a fourth proposal in a 12-month period, the proposal is ineligible for funding.

Geographic Eligibility and Focus

HPI can fund projects in ODA-eligible countries. In line with the initiative’s scope, HPI expects research projects to take place in fragile contexts, with a focus on acute conflict settings. While in principle ODA-eligible, the initiative’s strategic focus does not lie on Latin America and the Caribbean. Projects from that region will have to score particularly high on policy relevance and the potential to generate generalizable insights.

Grant Types

Competitive research funding will be available for travel/proposal development grants (up to US$10,000), pilot studies (up to US$75,000), and randomized impact evaluations ("full studies"; up to US$350,000). PhD candidates supervised by an eligible J-PAL affiliate or invited researcher can apply for funding of up to US$50,000.

Please carefully consult HPI’s RFP and the relevant application instructions linked below for more detail on the purpose of each of these grant types and choose the type that best fits the current stage of your research.

Application Steps and Deadlines

Accessing the Application Portal

J-PAL initiatives is now using a new online portal (WizeHive) for all proposal submissions. WizeHive is an online grant management portal that J-PAL Initiative RFPs are transitioning into. You will submit your application, including relevant attachments, through WizeHive. It will, however, require a new login. Please use the Application Instructions and follow the prompts in the links below to create a new login.

• For travel/proposal development grants: Please click here to apply.
• For pilot studies: Please click here to apply.
• For full randomized evaluation research projects: Please click here to apply.

Step 1: Submitting a Letter of Interest (LOI) 

Letters of Interest will help us determine research team eligibility, whether your proposed project fits HPI’s scope and addresses its research priorities, and whether the proposed project fits the selected grant type. We aim to respond to LOI submissions within two weeks to let applicants know whether they are invited to submit a full proposal.

Please note that the new application portal is now OPEN for submissions.

Step 2: Submitting a Proposal

If you receive an invitation to submit a full proposal following the LOI stage, please follow the next steps outlined in the relevant application instructions linked below. We aim to share the outcomes from our review within the timelines outlined below.

Timeline

HPI’s second round of funding opens in October 2024. Letters of Interest (LOIs) are due Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at 12 p.m (noon) ET. Full proposals are due Monday, December 09, 2024 at 12 p.m (noon) ET. Funding decisions will be announced in February 2025. 

We encourage you to reach out to [email protected] with any questions. We look forward to receiving your proposals to this Fall 2024 RFP.

Off-cycle Proposals

HPI welcomes off-cycle proposals to better align with the fast-paced nature of humanitarian programming. Off-cycle proposals must be submitted through the same application portal as regular proposals and motivate how following current or upcoming RFP cycles will undermine the project’s feasibility. Research teams interested in submitting an off-cycle proposal should reach out to [email protected] to discuss their proposal and a suitable timeline before starting their application.

3. Submission Material Templates

Total Project Budget (overview over all costs required to complete the project)

Initiative Budget (budget requested from HPI)

Timeline: Project, Policy and Practice Influence Milestones