CaTCH Request for Proposals

A healthcare provider measures a child's hemoglobin in India.
A healthcare provider measures a child's hemoglobin in India.
Photo: Vandana Sharma | J-PAL

Overview

Given the pressing demand from policymakers for evidence that speaks to the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, CaTCH is hosting a special Request for Proposals window for studies directly related to covid-19. Specifically, CaTCH will accept proposals that address questions related to the following priority themes and topics:

  • Impact of covid-19 on both covid and non-covid-19 related care, and evaluations that test innovative solutions to address the current disruption in the supply and demand for routine healthcare services, particularly reproductive, maternal and child health services.

  • Impact of cash transfer programmes and other social protection programmes that focus on mitigating the impact of covid-19. This may include direct evaluations of such programmes, or studies that aim to address demand and supply-side barriers to the take-up of government relief and social protection programmes.

  • Studies that focus on vulnerable groups, particularly returning migrants and their households in the home state, including impacts on intra-household decision-making, particularly related to women’s health and maternal health.

Geographic Focus:

CaTCH will fund proposals for studies to be implemented in India.

Proposal Types

Under the special covid-19 window, CaTCH will fund studies designed to test scalable, cost-effective interventions addressing themes described in the previous section. Two types of proposals will be considered:

  • Full Evaluation Proposals
  • Proposals to collect data for descriptive analyses related to covid-19

During this covid-19 RFP, we will consider proposals for a maximum of $67,500. Compared to the typical non-COVID J-PAL RFP, this RFP will put more weight on the project's ability to make an important, timely contribution to understanding and alleviating the current public health crisis and less weight on its contribution to the academic literature in economics or other disciplines. All proposals must adhere to J-PAL’s COVID-19 response guidelines in regard to in-person interactions with subjects. 

To submit a proposal for consideration, please complete the application requirements described in the proposal guidelines and email to [email protected] by no later than 11:59pm U.S. Pacific Time on Friday, 14 August 2020.

Eligibility

The network of eligible applicants for CaTCH includes all J-PAL affiliates, J-PAL post-docs, and CaTCH invited researchers. Proposals may include collaborators outside of this network but the principal investigator (PI) must be a J-PAL affiliate or CaTCH invited researcher.  If you have questions regarding your eligibility to participate, please send an email to the CaTCH Initiative at [email protected]. Additionally, PhD students advised by J-PAL affiliates can also apply for grants under this window.

FAQ

What types of funding are available under CaTCH?

CaTCH is accepting 2 types of proposals in the special covid19 round:

  • Full Evaluation Proposals (Capped at $67,500)
  • Proposals to collect data for descriptive analyses related to covid-19 (Capped at $67,500)

 

Who can apply to CaTCH?

The network of eligible applicants for CaTCH includes all J-PAL affiliates, J-PAL post-docs, and CaTCH invited researchers. Proposals may include collaborators outside of this network but the principal investigator (PI) must be a J-PAL affiliate or CaTCH invited researcher.  If you have questions regarding your eligibility to participate, please send an email to the CaTCH Initiative at [email protected]. Additionally, PhD students advised by J-PAL affiliates can also apply for grants under this window.

What documents do I need to submit for my application to CaTCH?

All potential applicants should submit each of the following:

  • CaTCH Proposal Cover Sheet 
  • Proposal Narrative 
  • Proposal Budget
  • Government Letter of Support (no template | optional). Note: Unlike our regular RFP, under this window we do not require that projects have a government implementing partner in order to be eligible for funding. However, in case you have any supporting documents from a government partner expressing interest in the findings of the study please submit it along with your proposal.
  • Letter of Support from Organization Implementing the Research Project (if applicable). Note: This is not required if the institute implementing the research project is J-PAL South Asia.

 

How do I submit my documents?

You will have to e-mail all your final proposal documents to [email protected] by the proposal submission deadline. Please note that you must submit a draft version of your proposal to J-PAL SA’s Admin & Finance team at least 2 weeks prior to the proposal submission deadline. This is so that J-PAL SA can support you with developing the budget for your project. During this period the research team at J-PAL SA will be looped in to support you in developing budget assumptions.
 

Does CaTCH accept off-cycle proposals and when can I apply next?

CaTCH is currently not accepting off-cycle proposals.

Does the initiative provide any support to develop projects with Governments for CaTCH?

Yes. J-PAL SA has a dedicated policy team within which CaTCH is housed. Two staff members, Urvashi Wattal and Sai Siddharth Janapareddy, can work with you to help identify potential government collaborations and support you in pitching your proposals to state government departments.