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Security of land tenure and stable access to housing have the potential to unlock massive economic and social value for India’s poorest. Secure rights to property form the basis for physical safety, livelihoods, wealth accumulation and social status. However, the numbers paint a stark picture: according to the Socio Economic & Caste Census 2011, 54 million landless households in rural India derived their income from manual casual labour. A Prindex survey in India showed that one in four people are afraid of losing the homes, which prevents them from investing in and utilizing their assets fully.
The/Nudge Centre for Social Innovation and Omidyar Network India invite research proposals that will shed light on issues of land and housing and lead to breakthrough innovation. We believe that high-quality research that uncovers bottlenecks and opportunities in the land and housing ecosystem will help entrepreneurs, nonprofits, philanthropists and policy-makers develop meaningful interventions for the economically disadvantaged. We invite grant proposals under the following categories:
Category A
Grants between ₹ 3-6 lakhs for desk research, legal research, and research that utilizes secondary sources or pre-existing data. Expected turn around time for research outputs is upto 6 months.
Category B
Grants upto ₹ 25 lakhs for field research and primary research. Expected turn around time for research outputs is upto 1 year.
Grant winners will be expected to produce market-ready research and at least one journal-level article. Other outputs can include: editorials, workshops, case studies, policy briefs and assets that make the research more accessible (websites, data portals, repositories). Additionally, Grantees are encouraged to maintain open source data sets as far as possible.
We invite research proposals on the the thematic areas below and in closely allied areas. Applicants are encouraged to integrate a class and gender perspective into their research projects. This will be part of the selection criteria while awarding grants.
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Category A - ₹ 3-6 lakhs
Category B - ₹ 25 lakhs
Category A - upto 6 months
Category B - upto 1 year
qualitative or quantitative research, bias for technology
individuals, centers of research, nonprofits, collaboratives
deadline: 6 September
Submit research concept note
Shortlisted applicants will be invited
to submit detailed proposals
deadline: 2 weeks after shortlist notification
Submit detailed proposals
Up to 15 proposals will be reviewed
by the Expert Jury
end-September
Interviews with Expert Jury
Proposals selected will receive the Research Innovation Grant
Research proposals will be selected for grant awards by our distinguished panel of Jury Members.
for queries, please email us at
pioneer@thenudge.org
High-quality research facilitated by the Research Innovation Grant will be made available to potential problem-solvers in the ecosystem for land and housing including entrepreneurs, nonprofit organizations, investors, donors and policy-makers. Apart from facilitating publication in leading journals, we will also host an annual research symposium on land and housing , inviting all relevant stakeholders.
The research proposals will only be viewed by the selection committee, including the The/Nudge Team and the Jury. It will not be shared with anyone else, and will be treated as confidential.
The criteria used to shortlist grant proposals are:
Quality and integrity - Does the proposal clearly define the research questions, activities, methodologies, and target audience? Is the need to use certain methodologies used through the course of the study well-supported?
Impact - Is there clarity and significance of the impact of the proposed activities? Is the research solution-oriented and will it lead to action?
Team - Does the team demonstrate strong knowledge of the problems they are addressing and an understanding of the setting in which their research innovations will be tested?
Innovation - Is the research about innovative practices or will the findings of the research make room for innovations that are easier, faster, less costly, or more feasible to implement/replicate.
Intersectional Perspective - Does the research integrate an intersectional perspective of gender and caste?
We understand that it may be difficult and unsafe to conduct field research at the moment. Therefore we have introduced smaller grants that can be used for desk research, legal research or research from secondary sources.
We are keen to receive applications where the researchers have devised innovative primary research methodologies that are safe, rigorous and circumvent the pandemic. In case this is not possible, we are also open to funding the research only once it safe to be in the field.
We understand that different types of research requires different amounts of funding. If we are convinced that your research is valuable, we can consider supplemental funding or partnering with other organizations that fund research. If you still have a doubt, please email pioneer@thenudge.org.
Yes, we will consider it. Please write a strong justification for the timeline you have chosen in the research proposal.
Yes, you can. However, the research must have a direct linkage to land and housing, and be closely aligned to the thematic areas mentioned above. If you still have doubts about your research topic being eligible for the grant, please email pioneer@thenudge.org.
