Writing Winning Research Proposals and Papers, 2012

ERF receives many research proposals annually under various competitions or call for papers. In recent years, the following pattern has emerged: many proposals address policy relevant questions but are judged weak on their methodological approach, while others use strong analytical tools but don’t always ask the right questions.

This training workshop was intended to help both types of researchers develop proposals that ask policy-relevant  question, while ensuring that these proposals are implemented using rigorous techniques. The main objectives of this module were to train researchers on how to identify research questions that are both relevant to policy making while contributing to the generation of new knowledge, and selecting and adopting a proper analytical methodology to tackle these questions. The targeted trainees were a chosen sample of 12 researchers who submitted proposals for papers to be presented at the ERF 19th Annual Conference in Kuwait, March 3-5, 2013.