The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is a Canadian Crown corporation that funds research in developing countries to create lasting change on a large scale. IDRC supports local organizations in the Global South to generate the evidence that is relevant in their context. We provide financial resources, advice, and training to researchers in developing countries to help them find solutions to local problems, and encourage knowledge sharing with policy-makers, researchers, and communities.

IDRC is pleased to announce a new funding opportunity, implemented through its Sustainable Inclusive Economies division. This call for expressions of interest aims to advance the generation and use of context-specific evidence that can contribute to women’s economic empowerment in the Global South in the context of responses in lower-income countries to the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing climate crisis.

This call will support solutions-oriented, local research and evidence that help address the specific and systemic barriers women face during and following the COVID-19 pandemic, and in accessing opportunities that arise in new low carbon economic activities.

The call will address new barriers that have arisen during the pandemic, the continued disproportionate burden of unpaid care work and gendered social norms, and ways to support and scale women-led initiatives that promote sustainable recovery.The call will support projects with a clear plan for how the results of the research are to be used by policymakers, private-sector actors, and women-led and other organizations who are well positioned to advance women’s economic empowerment at scale.

Proposed projects must take place, and be carried out by organizations based in low- and lower-middle-income countries in Africa Latin America, the Caribbean, South and Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. The call will support collaborative projects involving research organizations policymakers, private-sector actors, non-profit and grass root organization and/or other key actors, including in different countries.

This call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) invites qualifying organizations to submit a short proposal that follows the guidance on this site.

Duration of grants: up to 30 months.

Budget: CA$750,000 – CA$1,000,000 per project (Grants will be awarded subject to availability of funds)

Contact email: [email protected]

Language: Applications can be submitted in either English or French