Department of State Grant: Supporting International Research on Women in Public Service

The Women in Public Service Project (WPSP) aims to build a generation of women leaders who will invest in their countries and communities, provide leadership in governments, and change the way global solutions are forged.

Evidence based research is one key to improving policy decisions in order to increase the presence of women in public service. The first funded research component of WPSP will provide grants for research within a total amount of 60,000 dollars.

This research is intended to be used for practical applications: informing policy makers and providing input for the design of effective programs to attract, retain and advance women in public service. Applications will only be accepted from international teams that include a member from at least one ESF eligible country (see list at end of announcement.) That is, the research proposals must involve researchers in a minimum of two countries. Interdisciplinary applications are encouraged.

Background on WPSP:

On March 11, 2011, Secretary Clinton announced the establishment of the Women in Public Service Project (WPSP). Founded through a partnership between the Department of State and the Seven Sisters women?s colleges, WPSP creates training, mentoring and networking opportunities for aspiring women leaders. The partnership is also growing to include other academic institutions, individuals, and related organizations worldwide. As a first call to action, the State Department and the founding colleges partnered to host a Colloquium on December 15, 2011 at the Department of State, convening policy makers, public officials, academic experts, and innovative thinkers to: form a global network of women in public service; draw attention to the need to train and uplift a new generation of female political leaders; and advance partnerships, including an annual summer institute on public service and political leadership for young women.
Background on the research component of WPSP:
Solid, evidence-based research is one key to building support for the increased participation of women in public service and more broadly for women in political leadership. Yet there is currently a shortage of such research including research based on rigorous statistical analysis in this field.

Therefore, as a further step, the State Department is now calling for research proposals and will fund a total of $60,000 of research projects related to Women in Public Service. Areas of interest include but are not limited to: the impact of women?s participation in public service; obstacles that prevent women from rising in public service and the effectiveness of various means to address these obstacles; measuring the success of various means for attracting young women to participate in public service; identifying keys to retention and advancement of women in public service. For example, more research is needed on the impact of women?s participation in public service, ie what happens in the process of government and governance when women participate, and what happens when they do not participate in government and governance?

This research is intended to be used for practical purposes in providing evidence to policy makers, and designing programs that work to attract, retain and advance women in public service. Information about how the research will be shared ? including social media plans and linking to the new Women in Public Service Project Website (http://womeninpublicservice.org) ? should be included in the proposal.

Details for proposal submission:
Program Officer: Lora Berg, BergLJ@state.gov 202-736-7884

Eligibility requirements: a track record of successfully completed, peer evaluated research is required.

Proposals should include the following information:
Names and institutions of the researchers
Project description (this section should include a description of the research plan, the investigators? professional vision for the project, possible project outcomes and intended audiences)
Timeline
Biographical sketches (not to exceed two pages each). Include biographical sketches for the researchers.
Budget: the maximum award size sought, including direct and indirect costs. Cost sharing is encouraged, and if cost-sharing is envisioned, partners should be introduced here
Project evaluation: All projects must have a brief evaluation plan.
Proposals should be submitted via grants.gov
Before using grants.gov for the first time, each organization/researcher must register to create a profile. Once registered, the applicant?s organization can then apply for any federal grant on the grants.gov website. The grants.gov?s grant community user guide is a comprehensive reference document that provides technical information about grants.gov Once all documents have been complete, the authorized organizational representative (AOR) must submit the application to grants.gov and verify the desired funding opportunity to which the application is submitted. The AOR must then sign and submit the application to grants.gov.
Merit review: Proposals will be vetted by an ad hoc panel of at least five qualified individuals drawn from the Department of State, non-competing academic institutions and NGOs with proven interest in promoting women in public service. The program officer assigned to manage the proposal?s review will consider the advice of reviewers and formulate a recommendation; final decisions will be made at the Special Representative level within the Department of State.

The panel will ask the following questions:
1) What is the intellectual merit of the proposed research? (How important is the proposed research to advancing knowledge and understanding of women in public service? How well qualified is the proposed team to conduct the project? To what extent does the proposed research suggest and explore creative, original or potentially transformative concepts? How well conceived, realistic and organized is the proposed research? Is there sufficient access to resources?)

2) What are the broader impacts of the proposed research? (How well does this research advance discovery and understanding of women in public service while promoting progress in areas such as teaching, training, and learning? How well does the proposed activity broaden the participation of underrepresented groups not only in terms of gender but also ethnicity, disability, faith, geographic diversity, etc? Is there a mentoring aspect to the work ? ie will graduate students or others be drawn into the project? To what extent might the research enhance networks and partnerships? Will the results be disseminated broadly enough to enhance not only scientific understanding but also public policy and institutional decisions? What may be the benefits of the proposed research to society?

ESF eligible countries: all countries in Africa; Burma, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam in East Asia and the Pacific; Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine in Europe and Eurasia; Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen in the Near East; Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan in South and Central Asia; and Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela in the Western Hemisphere.

The Women in Public Service Project (WPSP) aims to build a generation of women leaders who will invest in their countries and communities, provide leadership in governments, and change the way global solutions are forged.

Evidence based research is one key to improving policy decisions in order to increase the presence of women in public service. The first funded research component of WPSP will provide grants for research within a total amount of 60,000 dollars.

This research is intended to be used for practical applications: informing policy makers and providing input for the design of effective programs to attract, retain and advance women in public service. Applications will only be accepted from international teams that include a member from at least one ESF eligible country (see list at end of announcement.) That is, the research proposals must involve researchers in a minimum of two countries. Interdisciplinary applications are encouraged.

Background on WPSP:

On March 11, 2011, Secretary Clinton announced the establishment of the Women in Public Service Project (WPSP). Founded through a partnership between the Department of State and the Seven Sisters women?s colleges, WPSP creates training, mentoring and networking opportunities for aspiring women leaders. The partnership is also growing to include other academic institutions, individuals, and related organizations worldwide. As a first call to action, the State Department and the founding colleges partnered to host a Colloquium on December 15, 2011 at the Department of State, convening policy makers, public officials, academic experts, and innovative thinkers to: form a global network of women in public service; draw attention to the need to train and uplift a new generation of female political leaders; and advance partnerships, including an annual summer institute on public service and political leadership for young women.
Background on the research component of WPSP:
Solid, evidence-based research is one key to building support for the increased participation of women in public service and more broadly for women in political leadership. Yet there is currently a shortage of such research including research based on rigorous statistical analysis in this field.

Therefore, as a further step, the State Department is now calling for research proposals and will fund a total of $60,000 of research projects related to Women in Public Service. Areas of interest include but are not limited to: the impact of women?s participation in public service; obstacles that prevent women from rising in public service and the effectiveness of various means to address these obstacles; measuring the success of various means for attracting young women to participate in public service; identifying keys to retention and advancement of women in public service. For example, more research is needed on the impact of women?s participation in public service, ie what happens in the process of government and governance when women participate, and what happens when they do not participate in government and governance?

This research is intended to be used for practical purposes in providing evidence to policy makers, and designing programs that work to attract, retain and advance women in public service. Information about how the research will be shared ? including social media plans and linking to the new Women in Public Service Project Website (http://womeninpublicservice.org) ? should be included in the proposal.

Details for proposal submission:
Program Officer: Lora Berg, BergLJ@state.gov 202-736-7884

Eligibility requirements: a track record of successfully completed, peer evaluated research is required.

Proposals should include the following information:
Names and institutions of the researchers
Project description (this section should include a description of the research plan, the investigators? professional vision for the project, possible project outcomes and intended audiences)
Timeline
Biographical sketches (not to exceed two pages each). Include biographical sketches for the researchers.
Budget: the maximum award size sought, including direct and indirect costs. Cost sharing is encouraged, and if cost-sharing is envisioned, partners should be introduced here
Project evaluation: All projects must have a brief evaluation plan.
Proposals should be submitted via grants.gov
Before using grants.gov for the first time, each organization/researcher must register to create a profile. Once registered, the applicant?s organization can then apply for any federal grant on the grants.gov website. The grants.gov?s grant community user guide is a comprehensive reference document that provides technical information about grants.gov Once all documents have been complete, the authorized organizational representative (AOR) must submit the application to grants.gov and verify the desired funding opportunity to which the application is submitted. The AOR must then sign and submit the application to grants.gov.
Merit review: Proposals will be vetted by an ad hoc panel of at least five qualified individuals drawn from the Department of State, non-competing academic institutions and NGOs with proven interest in promoting women in public service. The program officer assigned to manage the proposal?s review will consider the advice of reviewers and formulate a recommendation; final decisions will be made at the Special Representative level within the Department of State.

The panel will ask the following questions:
1) What is the intellectual merit of the proposed research? (How important is the proposed research to advancing knowledge and understanding of women in public service? How well qualified is the proposed team to conduct the project? To what extent does the proposed research suggest and explore creative, original or potentially transformative concepts? How well conceived, realistic and organized is the proposed research? Is there sufficient access to resources?)

2) What are the broader impacts of the proposed research? (How well does this research advance discovery and understanding of women in public service while promoting progress in areas such as teaching, training, and learning? How well does the proposed activity broaden the participation of underrepresented groups not only in terms of gender but also ethnicity, disability, faith, geographic diversity, etc? Is there a mentoring aspect to the work ? ie will graduate students or others be drawn into the project? To what extent might the research enhance networks and partnerships? Will the results be disseminated broadly enough to enhance not only scientific understanding but also public policy and institutional decisions? What may be the benefits of the proposed research to society?

ESF eligible countries: all countries in Africa; Burma, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam in East Asia and the Pacific; Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine in Europe and Eurasia; Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen in the Near East; Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan in South and Central Asia; and Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela in the Western Hemisphere.