International Center for Refugee and Migration Studies

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Call For Research Proposal - Senior Research Grant 2023 Guidelines

The International Center for Refugee and Migration Studies (ICRMS) is inviting research proposals from national and provincial universities, research institutes within Pakistan, and foreign universities interested in the Refugee crisis and policy issues of Pakistan. Also, graduate students enrolled in PhD and thesis-based MS/MPhil degree programs are encouraged to submit proposals.

The proposed themes for the research are:

Research Themes

Education

  • Access of Refugees to tertiary education and national scholarship programs in Balochistan: challenges and opportunities.
  • Promoting awareness in public schools to ensure social cohesion between refugees and host community in Balochistan.
  • Challenges and opportunities in digital learning programs for refugees.

Health

  • Health issues in refugee communities, causes and their access to health care centers and hospitals.
  • Prevalence of mental health issues in refugees as compared to host community and the contributing factors.
  • Ensuring equitable access to refugees’ health promotion, disease prevention and identifying barriers, which may be associated with various socio-economic issues.

Livelihood

  • The economic potential of Startup microenterprises, and ways to increase the refugee participation. Processes adopted by different Afghan businessmen (formal and informal) to navigate through the system and overcoming legal barriers.
  • Digital workplace environment for refugees in Balochistan: Assessing the opportunities for the inclusion of refugees’ men and women – highlighting challenges, gaps, methods of engagement, and recommendations.
  • The role of technology in empowering and connecting refugee women: Challenges and opportunities.
  • The challenges faced by refugees in accessing basic resources such as food, water, and shelter in the context of climate change. The potential for community-based solutions to these challenges. The related good practices for resilient refugee communities in Balochistan.

Protection

  • The impact of media coverage on public perceptions and attitudes towards refugees and the potential for counter-narratives to challenge stereotypes.
  • Gender and other forms of discrimination faced by refugee women belonging to ethnic and religious minorities.

Refugee Affected and Hosting Area (RAHA)

  • Host and Refugee communities: way forward for social cohesion.

Refugees and market inclusivity

  • Data on the availability of bank accounts to the refugees: barriers and possible solutions. the informal sector & refugees in Balochistan.
  • The challenges and opportunities of refugee-owned businesses.
  • Micro-businesses and access to digital banking for Afghan refugees’ impact on lives of the educated refugee population.
  • Labor legislation in Baluchistan province and its coverage of refugees’ right to work.

WASH

  • Pathways to sustainable water for refugees in drought prone regions
  • Water Scarcity and Afghan Refugee Resilience: Examining Coping Strategies in Drought-Affected Areas.

Grants Description

Grant amount and time to conduct the study:

  • The maximum duration to complete a project will be 6 months.
  • The maximum grant available for a project is 0.6 million PKR (relevant taxes included).
  • All data collected and work produced under ICRMS will have to be submitted for authenticity checks.

Submission Process and Deadline

Researchers are suggested to adhere to and follow the following guidelines.

  1. Proposal should be submitted in English only.
  2. ICRMS Application Cover Sheet should be attached (download file from the website)
  3. Proposal should include Title Page, Abstract (up to 250 words), Table of Content, Main Body and references.
  4. Main body of the research proposal should include problem statement, extensive literature review, research questions, methodology, potential analysis pitfalls, anticipated result uses, policy implications, potential beneficiaries, and references.
  5. Research proposal should not exceed 12 pages, single-spaced, in Times New Roman/Cambria font with a font size of 12.
  6. A brief curriculum vitae (1-3 pages) for principal investigator/s is required.
  7. Attach an annexure for detailed timeline for the completion of the study.

Applications (in pdf) must be submitted electronically to icrms@buitms.edu.pk. Complete applications will be acknowledged by return email within 15 days of submission. There is no need to submit a hardcopy of the application.

The deadline for applications submission is extended to May 05th, 2023 by midnight Pakistan Standard Time (PST). Incomplete applications and applications received after this deadline will not be considered.

Selection Criteria and Process

Proposals will be assessed based on five criteria: relevance of the theme, creativity, technical feasibility and timeline for the timely completion of the research, potential policy value, and researcher qualifications.

  • Only short-listed proposals will be invited for detail presentation before review panel in person or via video.
  • Proposals will be judged by the choice of the problem and expected knowledge outcomes.
  • Researchers will have to sign a contract with ICRMS and will have to abide by the terms of the contract.

Expected Outputs and Research Dissemination

ICRMS grant recipients are expected to produce a research article of international peer-reviewed publication quality. The grant recipient may also be asked to produce one or Policy Briefs for wider research dissemination.

The ICRMS Research team will organize research symposium. ICRMS grant recipients will be expected make a presentation corresponding to their final research report.

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