Call for research proposals on assumptions underlying Dialogue & Dissent

The Hague, 13 June 2017

Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research

1. Introduction

1.1. Background

The Dutch policy framework for civil society development: Dialogue and Dissent’ 1 https://www.government.nl/documents/regulations/2014/05/13/policy-framework-dialogue-and-dissent

Civil society is the space between government, the market (businesses) and private life (family and friends), where citizens can organise themselves to pursue goals unrelated to personal or financial gain, which concern a wider group of people and are not necessarily taken care of by government. Civil societies are usually formed by countless different types of (networks of) civil society organisations (CSOs), from small to large, from professional to amateur, from formal to informal, and from democratic membership organisations to closed organisations without members2“Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) include non-governmental and not-for-profit organisations that have a presence in public life, expressing the interests and values of their members or others, based on ethical, cultural, political, scientific, religious or philanthropic considerations. A wide of array of organisations can be CSO: community groups, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), labor unions, indigenous groups, charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations, and foundations”. From: http://web.worldbank.org.

The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has a long tradition of supporting CSOs operating in low- and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs) for their developmental roles. The policy in this area is based on the principle that a diverse and pluralist civil society is crucial for sustainable and inclusive development. CSOs can contribute to this in various related ways:

Over the past years, CSOs in LLMICs have grown steadily stronger. Organisations which previously focused exclusively on providing services to the poor are increasingly making themselves heard, in their own country and internationally, to expose the problems they are addressing. The issues they raise, such as inequality, environmental problems and extreme poverty, are increasingly recognised as being interconnected and demand coherence between local and global policy agendas. This creates a growing need for a different type of cooperation between Northern and Southern CSOs, thereby redefining their complementary roles.

In light of these developments the MFA of the Netherlands has made a decision in the new civil society policy framework, Dialogue and Dissent, to shift the focus from poverty alleviation (economic role) to support aimed at tackling the root causes of poverty and inequality (political role), combined with a greater focus on the interconnectedness between issues in developing countries and in the Netherlands. Dialogue and Dissentenvisages that Dutch development organisations will increasingly take on this new role, both in the Netherlands and abroad. On the one hand, they will concentrate on enhancing the lobbying and advocacy capacity of CSOs in LLMICs, helping them raise their voice to be heard by government, businesses and societal actors in their country. On the other hand, they are expected to ensure that their partners’ voice is heard more clearly in the Netherlands and in various regional and international forums.

The overall goal of Dialogue and Dissentis to strengthen the lobby and advocacy capacities of CSOs in LLMICs, enabling them to contribute to sustainable, inclusive development for all by fighting against poverty and injustice with their national and international partners, and through their local, national and international networks. The framework was implemented in 2016 and will run up to 2020. It has five main support instruments:

Oldekop et all3Oldekop, Johan A.; Fontana, Lorenza B.; Grugel, Jean; Roughton, Nicole; Adu-Ampong, et all (2016). 100 key research questions for the post-2015 development agenda. Development Policy Review, 34(1) pp. 55-82. highlight a critical need for a deeper reflection on paradigms underpinning international development practices, the long-debated reform of global institutions and the significance of contemporary economic and political scenarios for the development agenda.

They raise issues that require scrutiny of the theoretical assumptions of current development paradigms, and their underlying systems of beliefs and values. Asking such fundamental questions could lead to innovative problem framings and solutions. Addressing these will be critical for the

success of any credible, long-term strategies aiming to promote sustainable and socially just development.

The scientific community with its knowledge, curiosity, creativity, scientific methods and independence, is well equipped to scrutinize paradigms. Scientists thus are key partners in identifying the causes of poverty and inequalities, and in developing innovative approaches and solutions that can be replicated, shared or scaled up. Science can make a difference by providing policies and politics with evidence, viable options and recommendations for tackling challenges in development policies in a more systemic and integrated manner.

However, generating new knowledge alone is not sufficient to bring about change in policies and practices. Knowledge must be made available and accessible to their possible end-users. Therefore, in 2012 the MFA has installed (among other platforms) the Knowledge Platform INCLUDE on inclusive development policies in Africa. This platform operates as a knowledge broker between researchers, government, non-governmental organisations and private organisations.

In 2016, the MFA and the WOTRO Science for Global Developmentdivision of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) joined forces to formulate the current call for research proposals. This call is aimed at scrutinizing the Theory of Change (see annex 1) – and especially its underlying assumptions (see Section 2.1: Research foci) – of the MFA’s policy framework Dialogue and Dissent. Research proposals responding to this call therefore must be demonstrably linked to projects/programmes implemented in LLMICs by CSOs supported by the framework ‘Dialogue and Dissent’ of the MFA.

Research projects should consist of two parts:

Next to these parts, research teams have to actively participate in knowledge brokering activities (see Section 2.3).

The call is open for consortia consisting of a main applicant from a Dutch university (holding a PhD), and co-applicant from a research organisation4For this Call, research organisations include any organisation:–of which one of its main tasks is to carry out independent research;–that has no profit motive other than that for the purpose of further research;–whose researchers enjoy freedom of publication in the international (academic) literature.For example, universities and higher education institutions, think-tanks, planning offices, centers for international scientific education that meet these criteria are included. However, in order to prevent any conflict of interest, organisations supported by D&D are excluded. based in one of the LLMICs5http://www.oecd.org/dac/stats/documentupload/DAC%20List%20of%20ODA%20Recipients%202014%20final.pdf. LLMIC include only ‘Least Developed Countries’, ‘Other Low Income Countries’ and ‘Lower Middle Income Countries and Territories’.” where the empirical part must be executed. Optionally, a third research organisation (based in any country) can be added as partner to the consortium.

For effective knowledge brokering, the main applicant and the co-applicant must participate in knowledge sharing activities organised by the Knowledge platform INCLUDE for this programme.

1.2. Available budget

This call is initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands and administered by NWO- WOTRO Science for Global Development.

A total call budget of 3 million euros is available. The maximum budget for a single research project consisting of a review study (max. 3 months) and empirical research (max 15 months) is 0.5 million euros for a maximum project duration of 18 months.

This call for proposals is valid until the closing date August 8th 2017, 14.00 noon CET.

In case adjustments to the call are deemed necessary, NWO-WOTRO reserves the right to publish these on the website of the research programme: www.nwo.nl/assumptions

2. Aim

The call aims to fund research projects that strengthen the evidence-base of the policy framework Dialogue and Dissent. It calls on scientists to submit research proposals that scrutinise specific articulated assumptions of the Theory of Change (ToC) underlying the policy framework (see annex 1) using primarily qualitative scientific methodologies.

In this call, evaluation research of the projects/programmes of the Dialogue and Dissentframework of the MFA is excluded. The call is specifically meant for research which addresses the underlying assumptions of this framework.

Each research project should contribute to two objectives:

2.1. Research foci

To be of relevance for this call, research proposals must

At the same time, this does not mean that research proposals should use the same theoretical lenses as used in the ToC, nor that all the fieldwork should be limited to programmes/projects financed by the MFA. In order to get different perspectives, different theoretical lenses maybe used as long as the proposal shows the added value of those lenses compared to the ones used in the ToC. For the empirical part it is obligatoryto alsoinclude actors, projects and/or cases which have no connection to the programmes/projects financed within the ‘Dialogue and Dissent’ framework of the MFA. By taking such a broader view, the MFA aims at getting a more comprehensive view, for instance on the influence of donor funding (from different donors) on the political role of (different) CSOs.

The general research focus of this call are the assumptions underlying the Theory of Change (ToC) of the policy framework Dialogue and Dissent. The Theory of Change flowchart is depicted below (Figure 1). Annex 1 contains the full ToC document which elaborates the assumptions and positions them in two competing development paradigms.

Within the context of the general research focus, research projects should focus on assumptions underlying one of the three specific themes depicted below. Annex 2 provides a more elaborate description of these three themes, covering the core assumptions of the Dialogue and DissentTheory of Change, and providing research and policy questions. Research proposals must relate to the analysis and research questions in this document, and contribute to answering the formulated policy questions. While the research questions in annex 2 provide the overall direction and should therefore be the starting point for each research proposal, applicants are invited to refine and tailor them to specific subjects and/or cases.

2.2. Project conditions

Each project proposal should consist of two parts: a literature review and empirical research. In addition to these parts, research teams have to actively participate in knowledge brokering activities (see Section 2.3).

Literature review is defined here as a study that provides an overview of existing, peer-reviewed published scientific research insights and/or methodologies, complemented with grey literature where relevant and feasible. The review should identify, select, synthesise and appraise all high- quality research evidence relevant for the research project (part two). In doing so, it should use multiple theoretical perspectives, connecting the insights of multiple scientific traditions. The literature review should not duplicate the extensive literature review in the ToC (Annex 1), but should build on and/or relate to it.

As the research projects concentrate on understanding complex processes and phenomena related to the assumptions behind the Dialogue and DissentToC, researchers mustuse qualitativeresearch methods. A mixed methods approach may beused, where quantitative methods complement the main qualitative part, if researchers can show the added value of such an approach. Using these methodologies, evidence based results concerning the (validity of) the assumptions underlying the Dialogue and Dissentframework should be delivered.

As explained above, the empirical part of the research proposal, must be demonstrablylinked to projects/programmes implemented in LLMICs by CSOs supported by the framework Dialogue and Dissentof the MFA. At the same time the project must not be limited to projects/programmes supported by Dialogue and Dissent.

2.3. Timing and expected output

Projects should provide two types of output.

First, projects should provide input and lessons for the design of the next civil society policy framework of the MFA. As this design process will already start in 2019, research results should be available by then. This has consequences for the timing of output: the whole project (literature review and empirical research) has to be finalised in max. 18 months after the starting date.

Second, knowledge generated by the researches should be accessible, available and applicable for the MFA as input for a learning agenda with its partners in the Dialogue and Dissentframework. As this is an ongoing process, frequent interaction between researchers and the MFA on both intermediate results and final reports is a prerequisite. The Knowledge Platform INCLUDE will facilitate knowledge brokering activities. Main and co-applicant of awarded projects are obliged to actively participate in and contribute to knowledge brokering activities, e.g. workshop participation and timely delivery of interim- results.

In order to facilitate outcome and impact, the Knowledge Platform INCLUDE will regularly organize workshops and other knowledge brokering activities that bring together researchers of different projects with relevant practitioners6Practitioners include any type of organisation other than research or higher education organisations that represent a group of people actively engaged in policy design for and/or implementation of those policies (programming), including public organisations (governmental departments of line ministries, local or international governments, extension services, et cetera), as well as private organisations (including for-profit enterprises (such as SME’s and MNE’s) and related support organisations and private non-profit organisations such as NGOs, cooperatives, social movements, unions and civil society organisations)., including CSOs and the MFA. By involving them along the research, they act as sounding board to reflect on the approach of the empirical part and/or in discussing the (early) findings. This increases the likelihood that research results will be used and thereby improves their impact. Projects should budget the participation of main and co-applicant(s) to these workshops. Active participation in all knowledge brokering activities is required. Research updates will be published on a website.

The four workshops are:

Next to these knowledge brokering activities, consortia are expected to organise a project kick-off workshop to fine tune the approach of the project (directly after the programme kick-off workshop) and to organize a final self-assessment workshop with stakeholders on site resulting in a final research report. Costs for policy briefs, lay-men publications, books, and other (visual/audio) approaches or tools to enhance knowledge sharing and use should also be budgeted.

3. Guidelines for applicants

3.1. Who can apply

Applications can be submitted by consortia consisting of at least:

Organisations that are supported by Dialogue and Dissentcannot be part of the consortium. All organisations participating in a consortium must be registered as a legal persona and deliver proof thereof.

The main applicant should hold a senior7VSNU 2010: senior positions include tenured staff such as Post-docs, Assistant Professor, AssociateProfessor, Full Professor, and senior lecturer (UHD). All must have a PhD degree. position at the Dutch university. He or she will act as project coordinator and point of contact with NWO-WOTRO and will submit the research proposal. The main applicant’s organisation will take responsibility for the project secretariat, the day-to-day management and all financial affairs of the research project.

Together, the consortium members will 1) formulate relevant research questions and approaches; 2) formulate and submit the proposal; 3) conduct the project activities; 4) coordinate knowledge sharing and support the application, dissemination and communication of the project results to a broader group of (local) possible knowledge users who are not a member of the consortium; and 5) take responsibility for reporting adequately and timely in accordance with the terms and conditions.

Each individual person can be applicant in only one proposal submitted. Universities and research organisations may submit multiple proposals.

3.2. What can be applied for

For each research project of a duration of 18 months, a maximum budget of 0.5 million euros will be available. Applicants can budget only for costs that directly attribute to the project (see below).

The following cost can be reimbursed by a grant:

All costs should be made during the project duration.

3.3. When can applications be submitted

The closing date for the submission of full proposals is August 8th 2017, 14.00 CET

The assessment round will take approximately five months. For an overview of the procedure timelines, please see Section 4.1.

3.4. Preparing and submitting an application

Applications, including annexes, should be written in English.

Application forms can be downloaded from the electronic application system ISAACor from NWO’s website (www.nwo/assumptions). Before completing the application form, please read the information and guidelines provided in Section 7 of this call.

An application can only be submitted to NWO-WOTRO via the online application system ISAAC. This must be done by the main applicant. Applications that are not submitted via ISAAC will not be taken into consideration.

The main applicant should submit his/her application via his/her own ISAAC account.

Please note: In case a main applicant does not have an ISAAC account he/she is advised to create an account at least five working daysbefore submitting the application, to ensure that any registration problems can be resolved in time. Especially if the applicant’s organisation is not listed in ISAAC it is vital to take five working days into account to ensure correct registration (a request for registration of the applicant’s organisation in the ISAAC system should be sent to relatiebeheer@nwo.nl).