Research Grant Administration:
Evaluating potential solutions

Research grants can support evaluations of the efficacy of new programs addressing important societal challenges, enabling the adoption of more effective programs into policy and practice. 

Recent research indicates that the societal value of learning about the efficacy of alternative programs and policies is likely very high, in some cases exceeding 40% of a jurisdiction’s total budget for those policies. Research grants supporting this learning can help public, private, and nonprofit organizations contribute more value to their communities. Research grants to evaluate the efficacy of new programs can also increase the likelihood that successful programs are adopted into policy and practice. For example, programs supported by the US Agency for International Development’s Development Innovation Ventures unit were five times more likely to be adopted at scale by governments, large NGOs, or firms if they were backed by rigorous research evidence (Kremer et al 2021). Likewise, development projects supported by the World Bank were 50% more likely to be implemented on schedule if they were subjected to rigorous evaluation (Legovini et al 2015). 

The Social Science Research Council has a long and successful history of working with funding partners to design and administer research grant programs that produce decision-relevant evidence about potential solutions to pressing challenges. We craft calls for proposals, design publicity and marketing materials, recruit applications from large domestic and international talent pools, secure leading experts to serve on peer review panels, convene grantees to share findings and implementation insights, and provide efficient and responsive application processing, peer review management, award administration, and outcome reporting.