OVERVIEW

CEGA’s Global Networks program invites joint proposals from CEGA Fellows and CEGA Affiliates to conduct policy or programmatically-relevant impact evaluations in East and West Africa. 

A total of $200,000 in research funding will be awarded to 3-4 projects. Individual projects may request up to $67,000. 

Proposed studies must use a rigorous research design capable of identifying causal effects and must demonstrate that the project can be successfully implemented. Priority may be given to extensions of CEGA-funded pilot grants. 

We prioritize research that addresses important questions with the potential to advance knowledge and inform policy or programmatic decision-making. Competitive proposals should articulate both the broader significance and innovation of the research question and its relevance to the specific policy or programmatic context in which the study will be conducted.

We particularly encourage projects that are developed in collaboration with an end user of the evidence, such as a government agency, policymaker, or implementing organization, and that respond to a concrete policy or programmatic need. Applicants should describe how the proposed research is connected to partner priorities and how the collaboration will extend beyond study implementation to support the use of evidence and strengthen institutional capacity. Letters of support from key stakeholders can be submitted to document this engagement and commitment.

Proposals must also demonstrate the viability of the intervention, program, or approach being studied. Applicants should provide sufficient detail and supporting evidence to establish that what is being evaluated is well developed, can be implemented as proposed, and is supported by partners with the capacity and commitment to carry it out. Purely qualitative or descriptive studies are not eligible for funding.

Eligibility: 

We will award teams of scholars made up of at least one CEGA fellow (see here) and at least one CEGA affiliate (see here). Please see the accompanying “Global Networks Co-Authorship Statement,” which lays out expectations for collaboration between the CEGA fellow and CEGA Affiliate. We will accept proposals from PhD students if a CEGA Affiliate sponsors the study. 

Applications will be accepted for research conducted in any of the following countries: Benin, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Applications must be in English.

Proposal Materials Required:

1. Research Proposal - please adapt this template (go to File → Make a Copy)                    
   1. Budget Narrative (example)
   2. Budget (Excel sheet): This document must be completed in its entirety using the accompanying excel sheet

       

We will offer two types of awards to support original research led by UC Berkeley PhD students. A total of approximately $80,000 will be made available through this competition:

(1) travel grants up to $5,000 for scoping and/or short-term fieldwork;

(2) seed grants up to $20,000 for extensive, longer-term projects.

Proposed research must involve rigorous evaluation of programs or policies designed to alleviate poverty and promote social or economic development in low- and middle- income countries. Grant funds may be used to cover travel and lodging, data collection or access, data analysis, and related activities. Grants may not be used for student payment.

Researchers that have previously received CEGA funding are eligible for additional CEGA funding if they have completed requested retrospective surveys, interim and final reports, or other required deliverables.

Deadline: November 8, 2026 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time

Eligibility Criteria: Doctoral students at UC Berkeley can apply.

Each application must include a nomination from a CEGA faculty affiliate sponsor. The nomination should be emailed to Sam Bordia (bordia@berkeley.edu) by the submission deadline (simply stating, "I have reviewed the proposed research and agree to nominate the applicant for this award" is adequate). 

Application Process:

Please complete the Application Form. Applications must include a proposal describing the research (no more than 2 pages) and a budget. 

Call for Speakers for the 2027 BITSS Annual Meeting

The  Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences (BITSS) will hold its 15th Annual Meeting on Friday, February 26, 2027 at UC Berkeley! This event is in-person only.

Program

The BITSS Annual Meeting brings together actors from academia, scholarly publishing, and policy to share novel research and discuss efforts to improve the credibility of social science by advancing research transparency, reproducibility, rigor, and ethics. The program will feature presentations of meta-scientific work selected from this Call for Papers, as well as a keynote presentation.     

Call for Papers

We invite papers or long abstracts (500-1000 words) in all aspects of meta-science, including but not limited to work that assesses scientific practice, evaluates the credibility of bodies of social science literature, presents new tools or strategies to improve research transparency and reproducibility, or evaluates the effectiveness of existing tools. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Pre-registration and the use of pre-analysis plans;
• Disclosure and transparent reporting;
• Research ethics;
• Replicability and reproducibility;
• Peer review and changes in academic publishing;
• Methods for detecting and reducing publication bias or data mining;
• The intersection of openness and inclusion in science;
• Assessment of the validity or reproducibility of literature;
• Meta-analysis and evidence synthesis;
• Open policy analysis;
• Role of AI in research transparency;
• Other policy-relevant research.

Eligible projects include completed works, work in progress, and prospective work. All submissions are due by Sunday, November 1, 2026 (11:59 PM Pacific Time).   

Contact 

Reach out to Jo Weech (jweech@berkeley.edu) with any questions about this event.