OGP Research Agenda 2017-18: Call for Proposals
OGP received close to 60 proposals in response to this call. The selection committee has now notified four successful applicants. Thank you very much for your interest in this project and we hope you will continue to look out for future research opportunities in OGP.
OGP is seeking to commission a series of synthesis papers on the following topics for 2017. For the rationale and method behind prioritizing this topic, please click here.
State of the Evidence on the Impact of Open Government Reforms
OGP acknowledges that in order to convince high-level political leaders to support open government reform efforts, there is a need to shift from normative arguments and demonstrate the positive, instrumental value of open government reforms. We would like to invest in better understanding the existing empirical and theoretical literature which identifies what is known about the impact of transparency, accountability and participation reforms, and their return on investment in terms of public trust, government efficiency, public accountability and development outcomes. Most importantly, we need to understand ways to use the evidence more effectively and incentivize high level political leaders to champion open government. OGP invites researchers to investigate the following questions:
- Does involving citizens in policymaking and service delivery lead to improved trust and legitimacy between the state and society? How? Which OGP or non-OGP countries and subnational governments have demonstrated these outcomes?
- How does opening government lead to government efficiency and cost-savings? What evidence is there that government sectors and agencies which operate with the principles of open government perform better than those that don't?
- Does opening government lead to better investment climates and/or better economic growth? How have open government reforms helped the private sector to engage more effectively with government?
- What evidence is there that transparency, accountability and participation reforms have helped to identify, prevent or sanction corruption in government?
Process for submission of proposals
We invite individual researchers, Ph.D students, and/or research organizations to submit a proposal that should be no longer than 5 pages. The proposal should include:
- Selected research question, including secondary questions
- Target audience, including practical and policy relevance
- Methodology:
- Analytical framework; why it is particularly suited to doing a synthesis study; extent of generalizability
- Country or regional selection, if any
- Anticipated data sources
- Project Plan, including milestones
- Research team profile, including qualifications, track record and organizational capacities
Researchers are encouraged to use OGP data (OGP explorer, IRM reports etc) to supplement their own data sources. Proposals should seek to add value to existing research, not duplicate it. See Section 2 of OGP's research agenda for a stocktaking of existing research.
Please submit your proposals to munyema.hasan@opengovpartnership.org by 12 midnight EST by July 28, 2017.
Selection Criteria
| Criteria | Points |
| Practical and policy relevance | 10 |
| Clarity and rigor of methodology | 15 |
| Project plan | 5 |
| Research team profile | 10 |
Selection Process
A review committee will use the criteria above to make final selection of proposals. Please note that in making the final selection on the grants to be awarded, the review committee will take into account the diversity of methodological approaches, countries, regions and relevance to high-level political leaders as the main audience.
Grant details
Each paper will be awarded a maximum of $10,000.
Deliverables and timeline
Each paper should not exceed 20 pages with single spaced font.
| July 28, 2017 | Deadline for submission of proposals |
| Aug 1 , 2017 | Successful applicants notified |
| Aug 2-16, 2017 | The review committee works with selected applicants to fine tune the research approach and project plan, identify and plan outreach to relevant stakeholders |
| Aug 17 - Sep 29, 2017 | Research |
| Oct 2, 2017 | First draft of papers due |
| Oct 16, 2017 | Feedback provided on first draft |
| Nov 9, 2017 | Final draft of papers due |
| Nov 20-23, 2017 | OGP Regional Meeting in Argentina and possible launch of papers |
| Jan 2018 | Promotion and dissemination of Skeptics Guide |