Call for Expressions of Interest (EOI)
Global Financial Inclusion Initiative
* * *
Seeking Submissions for New Research Projects under the GFII Competitive Funds
This
Call for Expressions of Interest includes both: The Citi IPA Financial
Capability Research Fund & The Yale Savings and Payments Research
Fund
Deadline for EOI Applications: August 23, 2013
The Global Financial Inclusion Fund (GFII) at Innovations for Poverty
Action (IPA) invites Expressions of Interest (EOI) submissions from
teams of researchers and practitioners to conduct rigorous research on
identifying innovative products and programs that enhance poor
households’ access to and usage of improved financial tools, products,
and services.
The initiative is focused on three key areas of research within the financial inclusion domain:
Savings: The poor can and do save. In fact, saving
is critical to households whose income flows do not match their daily
consumption needs, much less their need to plan for risks and make
investments. GFII studies innovations that help individuals to access
savings services, overcome temptation and social demands, and build
savings habits, and measures the impact of improved saving on
consumption, investment, and risk mitigation.
Payments: The ability to move money from one
location to another is key to allowing personal, business, and
government transactions to occur. Innovations in payment channels,
driven by the widespread use of technologies such as mobile phones,
allow the poor to transact in a faster, cheaper, and more secure manner.
Our studies measure the impact of these new transaction mechanisms on
the welfare of the poor.
Financial Capability: Simply having access to
financial products and services is only part of the solution to
maintaining a healthy financial portfolio. Individuals must also know
how to choose and use the right products based on their specific needs,
and know how to balance products and services to optimize sustenance and
growth. GFII assesses the effectiveness of various innovative tools
designed to help the poor make better decisions on their own financial
portfolios.
I. RESEARCH FUNDS
GFII manages two research funds to address these evidence and innovation gaps: the Yale Savings and Payments Research Fund supported by theBill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Citi IPA Financial Capability Research Fund supported by the Citi Foundation.
► The Yale Savings and Payments Research Fund (YASPR) supported
by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and managed by IPA in
collaboration with Yale University, supports studies on innovations
encouraging and allowing the poor to save more towards their own life
goals. With a focus on engaging new technologies and delivery channels
such as mobile and agent banking, the projects under this fund study
what works best for the poor in mobilizing savings and facilitating
payments.
The focus areas of the fund are:
1. Innovations that most effectively
enable improved usage of savings and payments services by the poor
(through reduced cost, reduced risk, improved learning, behavioral
incentives, regulatory reform, etc.); and
2. The impact that the use of improved savings products and payments channels has on the welfare of the poor.
The fund encourages research projects
focused on Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia as well as applications
from in-country researchers based in those regions or from teams with
one or more in-country researchers in those regions.
YASPR has funded 12 projects for a total of $890,000 awarded over two competitive rounds (see the list of funded projects). In the upcoming round, the fund is expected to award up to $380,000 in new grants.
► The Citi IPA Financial Capability Research Fund (FCRF) supported
by the Citi Foundation, aims to contribute to the sparse evidence on
ways to improve financial capability by supporting rigorous evaluations
of promising interventions in three areas where financial service
providers can act to improve the financial capabilities of potential and
existing clients.
The focus areas of the fund are:
1. Product-linked financial education;
2. Incentives for behavior change and use of financial services; and
3. Product design as a way to encourage appropriate use of financial instruments.
The fund encourages research projects in
all countries except the United States, with a particular interest in
projects from emerging markets such as Brazil, China, Colombia, the
Dominican Republic, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru,
Poland, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, and Turkey.
FCRF has awarded a total of $770,000 across 6 projects in the first round of competitive funds (see the list of funded projects). In the upcoming round, the fund is expected to award up to $730,000.
Expressions of interest will be reviewed and considered based on
their relevance to the research agenda of either fund managed by the
Global Financial Inclusion initiative.
II. CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY
Each application must be presented by a team consisting of (i) one or
more researchers involved in the design of the intervention and
responsible for carrying out a rigorous evaluation of the program and
(ii) one or more practitioner institutions from the financial sector who
will partner with the research team on the proposed intervention.
Researchers must be affiliated with a research institution or a
university and either hold a PhD or be a current PhD candidate in a
relevant social science or engineering discipline, such as economics,
statistics, sociology, anthropology, psychology, public health,
education, or computer science. They must demonstrate experience in
field research and randomized trials.
Submissions to the competitive funds will be assessed under two project categories.
All submitted projects must demonstrate a clear hypothesis and a
rigorous study design for a randomized evaluation. Innovative research
projects building on existing field experiments will also be accepted
under each category.
1. PRODUCT TESTS
We consider a product test to be a
randomized field experiment that primarily involves the collection and
analysis of administrative data from the financial service provider to
measure impact on client outcomes.
Product Test awards will be given to
research projects that use randomized controlled trials to compare the
relative effectiveness of interventions and product features in
achieving behavior change or in improving financial outcomes, primarily
using administrative data. These grants could fall under either of the
following sub-categories:
Single-Site Product Test (capped at $75,000 per grant): Grants awarded in this category will conduct one or more product tests in a single country.
Example: Sticking to Long-term Savings Plan: Researchers
test the efficacy of different interventions in helping customers with a
high likelihood of missing contributions maintain commitments to a
voluntary personal pension plan in Turkey. Interventions tested include
messages as well as temporary matches and gifts for resuming regular
payments or enrolling in a default payment. Researchers will also study
variations in message framing to determine relative impact.
Multi-Site Product Tests (capped at $250,000 per grant):
Multi-Site Product Tests will be awarded only under the Citi IPA
Financial Capability Research Fund (FCRF), to conduct product tests
across multiple countries. Projects will use randomized controlled
trials conducted across three or more countries that seek to improve the
policy relevance of findings and the richness of tests under different
contexts and implementation arrangements. The replications should speak
to a cohesive theory that incorporates context and mechanism tests and
not merely be a proliferation of one evaluation in multiple locations.*
Example: Unpacking Reminders – The
reminders replication program will work with financial institutions
from around the world to test variations of this intervention that was
already found to have cost-effective impacts in several countries. The
replication of product tests based on administrative data will help
derive a robust set of prescriptions for implementing reminders programs
to improve savings and other financial behaviors.
*All
sites and partners need not be identified at the time of the Expression
of Interest submission (the application will need to be submitted
jointly by a researcher and at least one financial service provider in
order to be reviewed), but a credible strategy for identifying and
managing the replication with likely additional partners should be
detailed.
2. PRODUCT EVALUATION (capped at $150,000 per grant):
We consider a product evaluation
to be a randomized field experiment that primarily involves the
collection and analysis of survey data from households to measure impact
on welfare outcomes.
Product Evaluations will be awarded to
research projects that use randomized controlled trials to measure the
impact of an intervention on the take-up and usage of a financial
service/product and the resulting welfare impact on its users. Grants in
this category will typically involve field data collection using
surveys combined with administrative data from the financial service
providers.
Example: Powering Small Retailers: The Impacts of Solar Energy under Different Pricing Schemes – In Kenya,
researchers will conduct a randomized control trial to study the impact
of access to electricity on businesses, along with how variation in
pricing schemes and enforcement through the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG)
technology that rides on mobile money, affects electricity usage and fee
payment.
Example: Changing Behavior to Improve Household Financial Management in Malawi – Researchers
in Malawi test the effectiveness of three different interventions
(labeled savings accounts, financial training and direct deposits) for
overcoming common behavioral barriers to saving. Researchers will
collect information using surveys on aspiration levels, financial
knowledge, consumption, savings, and agricultural inputs and outputs to
determine if the interventions affected the savings behavior of
participants.
All funding is for research costs.
Implementation costs for the program are expected to be covered from
other sources, except when adequate justification is provided for their
inclusion in the study budget. No funding will be provided for the
salary or time of researchers in developed countries. Funding under the
study budget for the salaries and/or time of researchers in developing
countries will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the selection
committee.
III. INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPLICANTS
The application process will proceed in two stages. In the first
stage, Expressions of Interest will be accepted during a fixed window
that closes on August 23, 2013. IPA will review submissions and request selected applicants to submit full research proposals.
In the second stage, the full research proposals will be vetted and
presented to a selection committee, comprised of academic and industry
experts, for review and final award selection. Grant awardees will be
notified and awards subsequently disbursed in January 2014.
To apply, applicants must complete the Competitive Fund’s Expression of Interest (EOI) application by filling the attached application document and submitting via email, along with the required documents, to gfii@poverty-action.org. The subject of the email and the file name should read: “GFII EOI 2013 ResearcherLastName PractitionerOrgName.” The application form is also available for download at www.poverty-action.org/sites/default/files/gfii_eoi_2013_application_form.doc.
To apply, applicants must complete the Competitive Fund’s Expression of Interest (EOI) application by filling the attached application document and submitting via email, along with the required documents, to gfii@poverty-action.org. The subject of the email and the file name should read: “GFII EOI 2013 ResearcherLastName PractitionerOrgName.” The application form is also available for download at www.poverty-action.org/sites/default/files/gfii_eoi_2013_application_form.doc.
Key application components in the EOI form include:
A signed letter of support should be submitted from the practitioner organization (the financial service provider or other institution delivering the service or product being evaluated), summarizing operations and commitment to the project. Label the file: PractitionerOrgName_LetterofSupport.pdf.
Graduate Students: Graduate (PhD) students applying to the competitive fund must clearly state whether the work proposed is intended for their own dissertation or whether it is collaborative work with other researchers. Graduate students must include the name of their advisor in the application as well. Finally, the advisor must send an email to gfii@poverty-action.org (Subject: “GFII EOI 2013 ResearcherLastName Advisor”) acknowledging their support for the application submitted.
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Details on primary applicants, co-applicants, and institutional affiliations
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Overview of proposed research project
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Tentative project timeline and budget
A signed letter of support should be submitted from the practitioner organization (the financial service provider or other institution delivering the service or product being evaluated), summarizing operations and commitment to the project. Label the file: PractitionerOrgName_LetterofSupport.pdf.
Graduate Students: Graduate (PhD) students applying to the competitive fund must clearly state whether the work proposed is intended for their own dissertation or whether it is collaborative work with other researchers. Graduate students must include the name of their advisor in the application as well. Finally, the advisor must send an email to gfii@poverty-action.org (Subject: “GFII EOI 2013 ResearcherLastName Advisor”) acknowledging their support for the application submitted.
Projected Timeline:The deadline for receipt of EOI
applications is Friday, August 23, 2013 (11:59pm EST). Applicants whose
EOI submissions are approved to proceed to the second stage will be
notified no later than September 23, 2013. These selected EOI
applications will need to submit full research proposals within a month
of notification.
Please note that all funded projects must be implemented in accordance with human subject research protocols.
Donor Information: The Yale Savings and Payments Research Fund
is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is implemented
by Yale University and its sub-grantee Innovations for Poverty Action
(IPA). The Citi IPA Financial Capability Research Fund is supported by the Citi Foundation and managed by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA).
A project may not be eligible for funding in the following scenarios:
if the project has been rejected from other funding facilities at the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation or the Citi Foundation, or if it has
received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation or the
Citi Foundation for an amount equal to or greater than the cap allowed
in this call for EOIs. If you are not sure whether your proposal would
be excluded by this criterion, please contact us at gfii@poverty-action.org (Subject: “GFII Funding Inquiry”).
Please direct all questions to gfii@poverty-action.org. For more information on IPA’s Global Financial Inclusion initiative, please visit http://poverty-action.org/financialinclusion.
Please submit the completed form and all materials to gfii@poverty-action.org.
