Applications are open for ILO RTA Project Seed Grants for Master’s and PhD students. The “From Research to Action” (RTA) project aims at accelerating the use of rigorous research by policymakers and practitioners in support to efforts to tackle child labour, forced labour, and human trafficking around the world. To safeguard the rights of all workers, including migrant workers, this project commits to engage researchers and promote new interest to strengthen the evidence base for achieving SDG

Grants

The ILO Seed Grants for Master’s and PhD students are designed to provide an entry point for students, early career researchers as well as skilled researchers from a variety of research disciplines – such as, but not limited to, anthropology, business, child development, economics, health, public policy, psychology, sociology, gender studies, law, criminology, social work, and statistics – into rigorous research of direct relevance for policies relating to child labour, forced labour, and human trafficking. The seed grant is intended to help researchers develop novel studies to fill knowledge gaps and produce research suitable for publication in academic journals or reports through reputable policy research institutes.

Though, the intended goal of the grant-funded research is to reach beyond the research community to inform policy. It is the intention that the grants will also serve as a beacon to draw new scholarship and talent into the growing network of specialists and interdisciplinary collaborators with a focus on child labour, forced labour, and human trafficking studies

Awards and Funding

The ILO RTA project Seed Grants for Master’s and PhD students will award ten seed grants for research from a variety of disciplines on child labour, forced labour, and human trafficking issues. The project will provide seed grants up to a maximum of US$10,000 each for the period of 9 months. The project start date is within the first month of the award date and subject to funds availability and the approval of extension of the RTA project by the Donor.

Criteria

• The application is open to researchers of all nationalities who want to advance knowledge in the field of child labour, forced labour, or human trafficking. The grant may be used to fund new research or proposals to integrate the topic areas into existing research projects.
• For research that is already underway, applicants must justify how the ongoing research is relevant to child labour, forced labour, and human trafficking. Applicants must specify which part of the research will be supplemented by the seed funding and how the topic areas are part of a core research question.
• The applicant must demonstrate the ability to complete the proposed research within 9 months by including a workplan and budget in the application.
• The grantees will receive feedback on their research from ILO, IOM, and a scientific committee formed by experts and academics working on the issue of child labour, forced labour, and human trafficking

Eligibility Criteria

• The principal applicant must either have a PhD degree, or enrolled in a PhD or master’s program.
• The principal applicant must be affiliated to an eligible host organization, i.e. University or Research Institute.

Online Application Form