NOTE: THIS FORM FOR USE ONLY AFTER PROJECT CONCEPT OR IDEA HAS BEEN ACCEPTED BY IDRC
This form consists of seven sections. Please ensure that all sections are completed fully. Errors or omissions will delay the processing of your application. The terms and conditions that cover all IDRC grants (Attachment A) must be agreed to and are an integral part of this grant application.
Section A (page 1) is a checklist to ensure that you have included all necessary documents.
Section B (page 2) provides a summary of your proposed research project.
Section C (page 4) includes the actual research proposal.
Section D (page 5) is a breakdown of the budget for your research project.
Section E (page 17) provides the bank information for your institution.
Section F (page 18) details the qualifications and experience of your research team.
Standard terms and conditions of an IDRC Research grant (Attachment A) are available at:
SECTION A: CHECKLIST
PROPOSED RESEARCH
Completed application form / Abstract of research proposal (maximum 250 words) /
Research proposal (should not exceed 20 single-spaced pages, excluding appendices) /
PROPOSED BUDGET AND OFFICIAL REQUEST
Completed budget forms (one set for each collaborating institution) /
Consolidated budget (if applicable) /
Signatures of project leader and authorized signatory for each collaborating institution /
RESEARCH TEAM
Personal information for all members of research team / Curriculum vitae of project leader /
INSTITUTION
Institutional Profile Questionnaire (only required if this is first application for IDRC funding)
Questionnaire is available at /
GOVERNMENT APPROVAL
Letter of approval from government authority (if required) / PROP200204E
PROPOSAL NUMBER:(for IDRC use only)
Page 1 of 27
APPLICATION FOR AN IDRC RESEARCH GRANT
SECTION B: SUMMARY OF PROPOSED RESEARCH PROJECT
GENERAL INFORMATION
Project title: Developing and Implementing a Communication Strategy for the Global NTA ProjectProject duration (in months): Duration must include time necessary for all activities paid with grant funds to take place. 20 months
Countries in which research will take place: Based in the United States but in cooperation with proposed activities in Latin America and other research being conducted in Asia and Africa.
PROJECT LEADER
Name: Andrew MasonMailing address: / Building, Suite (optional):John A. Burns Hall, room 2016
Number and Street or PO Box:1601 East-West Road
District, City:Honolulu
Province/State:Hawaii
Country:USA
Postal Code:96848-1601
Telephone number (include country and area codes):+1-808-944-7455
Facsimile number (include country and area codes):+1-808-944-7490
E-mail address:
PROPOSING INSTITUTION
The proposing institution normally receives and administers the funds. If this institution has not received IDRC funds before, the Institutional Profile Questionnaire must be completed. If the funds are to be administered by a third party, please contact IDRC to discuss the arrangements.
Legal Name:Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange between East & West, Inc.
Mailing address: / Building, Suite (optional):John A. Burns Hall, room 1016
Number and Street or PO Box:1601 East-West Road
District, City:Honolulu
Province/State:Hawaii
Country:USA
Postal Code:96848-1601
Telephone number (include country and area codes):+1-808-944-7278
Facsimile number (include country and area codes):+1-808-944-7970
E-mail address:
COLLABORATING INSTITUTIONS (if applicable)
Collaborating institutions are those that are jointly proposing research to IDRC in collaboration with the proposing institution and will each receive funds directly from IDRC. In this case, each collaborating institution must complete a separate grant application (Section C need only be completed by the proposing institution that will coordinate the project). In addition, the institution coordinating the project must complete a consolidated budget form (see page 16).
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS (if applicable)
Participating institutions are those that will participate directly in the conduct of the research, but will not receive funds directly from IDRC. In this case, the proposing institution is responsible for disbursement of funds and for ensuring that all institutions abide by the standard terms and conditions that apply to the IDRC grant.
Center for the Economics and Demography of Aging, University of California at Berkeley
PARALLEL FUNDS (Summary)
Parallel funds are contributions that will be made by other international funding agencies (or foundations) to the project. Details must be provided in Section D, page 15.
Donor / Amount / Currency
United Nations Population Fund (requested) / $50,000 / US$
ABSTRACT OF RESEARCH PROJECT (should not exceed 250 words) (
First, the research grant is intended to improve all aspects of communication associated with the National Transfer Account (NTA) project on population aging and the generational economy. The NTA project is an international effort that is establishing stronger conceptual and empirical foundations for studying the implications of public policy and changing population age structure for macroeconomic performance, generational equity, and the sustainability of public and private systems for supporting children and the elderly. The NTA network consists of regional centers in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin and North America with national research teams in 30 countries.
The most important goal of this grantis to build the identity and credibility of the NTA network and to increase understanding of generational issues among of this grant will be to enhance the communication of results to policy makers, the media, and other opinion leaders including researchers. A second goal is to strengthen communication The project also will improve communication within the NTA research network as a means of enhancing the quality and effectiveness of our research.
The project will emphasize communication infrastructure that will support regional and national NTA groups and enhance communication by all project members. We anticipate working closely, but not exclusively, with Latin America during the next two years. The project will support the design, preparation, production, and distribution of policy briefs; web-based dissemination of results through an enhanced NTA website; the development of improved charts and graphs for more effectively conveying results; and other elements of an effective communication strategy. EWC will produce and disseminate policy briefs, but will also develop communication materials and provide support services, e.g., scientific writing, to ECLAC and other regional and national teams.
Second, the proposed research grant will support training of young developing country researchers through the two-week Summer Seminar workshop that is being held in June 2010. First priority will be given to researchers from new countries with strategic importance to the overall goals of the NTA project. If strong candidates from new countries are not available, funding will allow new researchers from important existing NTA countries to participate in the training. An announcement describing the workshop is attached.
The project will be based at the East-West Center (EWC) in Honolulu, Hawaii. EWC and the Center for the Economics and Demography of Aging at University of California at Berkeley co-founded and provide leadership for the Global NTA project.
SECTION C: DETAILS OF RESEARCH PROJECT
Please attach your proposal, which must be based on the following guidelines. Proposals should not exceed 20 single-spaced pages (excluding appendices). Additional details on how to prepare a research proposal are available on the IDRC website
RESEARCH PROBLEM AND JUSTIFICATION: archive.idrc.ca
Normally about one quarter to one half of your proposal, this section should describe the problem that is to be investigated and the questions that will guide the research process. It should also provide a brief overview of the body of research related to the problem and indicate the gaps that the proposed research will fill. To show the importance of the problem, this section should discuss: how the research relates to the development priorities of the country or countries concerned; the scientific importance of the problem; the magnitude of the problem and how the research results will contribute to its solution; the special importance of the project for vulnerable social groups; and the need to build up research capacity in the proposed area of research. If the proposal is for the second phase of a project or you have received IDRC funding in the past for similar work, please describe the results of the previous work and indicate why additional research is required.
The purpose of proposal is to improve all aspects of communication associated with the NTA project on population aging and the generational economy. The emphasis will be on improving the infrastructure for communicating results to policy makers, the media, and other opinion leaders including researchers. The project also will improve communication within the NTA research network. The project will be based at the East-West Center (EWC) in Honolulu, Hawaii. EWC and the Center for the Economics and Demography of Aging at University of California at Berkeley co-founded and provide leadership for the Global NTA project that currently involves research teams in 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and North America. The purpose is to establish a communication infrastructure that will provide support to regional and national NTA groups and enhance communication of all members of the project but with particular emphasis on Latin America during the next two years. EWC will produce and disseminate policy briefs, but will also develop communication materials and provide support services, e.g., scientific writing, to ECLAC and other regional and national teams.
The NTA project was established approximately five years ago and has grown very rapidly since that time. The project has a decentralized structure consisting of a global “headquarters” at UC-Berkeley and the East-WestCenter; regional centers in Asia, Latin America, Europe, and Africa; and national research teams active in 30 countries on six continents. We anticipate that perhaps an additional ten countries will join the project within the next two years. A comprehensive discussion of the NTA project is provided in the proposal from ECLAC to which this is a supplement.
Communication to this point has relied on a website for the public and a website reserved for members. The website contains the NTA database, methods, working papers, research results, information about meetings, training materials, etc. The NTA is “wiki site” that is open (with a few exceptions) to all NTA members. Members are encouraged to add their own content and sections of the website are reserved for regional and national meetings, research by NTA members, etc. The website has a fully developed set of tools for disseminating results, but the design and organization of the site reduce its effectiveness as a communication tool especially to those who are not NTA researchers. This has served our purpose during the development and initial research phase of the project, but our goal over the next two years is to reach a much broader audience.
The NTA wall chart will be published in conjunction with the publication of Population Aging and the Generational Economy. The wall chart will provide graphical and tabular summaries of NTA estimates for the 23 countries represented in the volume. It is intended to build awareness of the project and some of the most important findings to date. Edward Elgar will distribute the wall chart with the volume and the wall chart will be used as part of the book launch and sent independently to researchers and opinion leaders.
We have also relied on email, conferences and workshops, publications in journals, and other means to communicate. Improving our communication strategy is very important for two reasons. First, rapid growth in the NTA network requires a more systematic and effective approach to communication. Second, the project is beginning to yield important new research results that need to be communicated to policymakers, the media, and opinion leaders.
Much of the NTA research is carried out at the regional and national level. Effective communication requires that active involvement of regional and national research teams. It is anticipated that many publications will be generated in a decentralized fashion. The purpose of this activity will be to develop the infrastructure that will facilitate this process in a systematic and coherent framework.
Mastering NTA concepts and methods is a demanding process that requires extensive training. A number of training workshops have been held during the last five years organized by regional centers and by the East-WestCenter and UC-Berkeley. The East-WestCenter has organized three workshops in the past and is organizing a two-week workshop to be held in June of this year. The workshop will have two tracks. The first track addresses the fundamentals and methods of National Transfer Accounts and targets relatively new NTA researchers. The second track will consist of working groups who will focus on using NTA to conduct important policy-relevant research.
The research grant will be used to support new researchers who will learn fundamentals, methods, and will be expected to complete construction of accounts for their country during and following the workshop. Priority will be given to researchers who will form the nucleus for a new country research team. Candidates will be evaluated based on a variety of criteria: (a) basic skills required to construct and to apply NTA methods; (b) adequate support from a home institution that will facilitate a sustainable effort; (c) access to and influence on important public policy in their home country; and (d) strategic importance of the country.
NTA concepts and estimates are valuable for addressing important policy issues in any country irrespective of the institutional setting, the demographic circumstances, the economic structure, and so on. A key feature of all countries is a complex system for providing economic support to dependent populations. And all countries are experiencing substantial changes in their age structures. A long-term goal would be that accounts are NTA is constructed in all countries. If this were to happen, however, it would be appropriately carried out by national statistical agencies.
The purpose of the NTA project is to develop and introduce concepts, to demonstrate their value under a wide array of settings, and to improve our understanding of how generational economies adapt and contribute to important goals. As part of this strategy, we have targeted countries that are rich and poor, with very different economic structures and cultures, substantial differences in their histories, differences in the strength of their statistical systems, and so on. Our experience is that expanding the number of countries from the original 7 to 30 has greatly enhanced our ability to understand how countries differ, for what reasons, and with what effect. But at least as important has been the variety of countries to be included. One final point is that we place a high priority on countries, e.g., China and India, which have an important global impact.
Our goal for this year is to expand the project to countries in Asia (and Latin America) that have lower incomes and which have different economic systems than currently emphasized in the project. In Asia, we are targeting Indochina with the possibility of establishing research teams in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. We are considering including all three countries because we think there is a greater chance of success if there is a critical mass of activity in the region and because we believe that there are important economies in a regional approach. A key practical consideration is that a very experienced NTA researcher is based at TDRI in Bangkok who will play a key role in the Honolulu training and would play an important role in any follow-up.
We think it is likely that we will not identify six researchers from Indochina who will satisfy our criteria. We have excellent candidates who have applied to the training workshop and who do not have funding. Priority would be given to a PhD student from Peking University who become a member of the China research project; a PhD student from the International Institute of Population Sciences in Mumbai who would become a member of the India research project; a Chinese PhD student from the University of Ottawa who would help to establish a Canadian research team; and two researchers with PhDs in Economics and Demography who will form a research team for Colombia.
OBJECTIVES:
This short section (no more than half a page) should provide both the general and specific objectives of the research. The general objective should state the development goal being pursued by the research. The specific objectives should indicate the specific types of knowledge to be produced, the audiences to be reached, and forms of capacity to be reinforced. These are the objectives against which the success of the project will be judged. Use only active verbs (no passive).