USAID and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine are pleased to announce that a call for new proposals for the Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) program is now open. This cycle will focus on sourcing locally-led research projects from researchers in USAID partner countries that aid in our understanding of how shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, affect key sectors in our partner countries and test approaches to help communities and sectors respond to and mitigate the effects of COVID-19 or similar future shocks. Find the full request for applications here. For this funding cycle, PEER will distribute awards of up to $70,000 for one year research projects. 

Dates

Pre-proposal deadline: October 22, 2021

Applicants invited to submit full proposal: November 22, 2021

Full proposal (by invitation only) deadline: January 28, 2022 

Awardees announced: April 29, 2022

Eligible applicants must 

• Hold a research or teaching position at a higher education institution in a PEER eligible country (see eligible country list in RFA);
• Be citizens or permanent residents of a PEER-eligible country
• Be living and working in the country from which they are applying  
• Have a US-based research partner who is funded by an eligible US government agency (USDA Agricultural Research Service, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA Forest Service, NASA, NIH, NOAA, NSF, Smithsonian, U.S. Geological Survey)

Potential sectors that might be studied include but are not limited to the following:

• Digital innovations (e.g., cashless transfers, geospatial and big data)
• Education (e.g., effects of school closure on learning, digital solutions for remote education)
• Agriculture and food (e.g., resilient value chains, effects of COVID-19 on food systems)
• Women and gender (e.g., disproportionate impact of shocks, COVID-19 and gender-based violence)
• Public health (e.g., novel approaches to contract tracing, mobile health, vaccine distribution)

PEER-Eligible Countries for 2021/2022

Asia

Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Vietnam

Sub-Saharan Africa

Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia

Latin America & Caribbean

Brazil, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Peru

Europe & Eurasia Middle East & North Africa

Armenia, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Morocco, Tunisia

Applicants with questions are encouraged to consult National Academies for Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (the implementers of PEER) program staff at peer[at]nas.edu prior to submitting their pre-proposal.