IDRC Research Ideas Competition 2021 for Research Students in Developing Countries - Canada

Published: 10 Nov 2020 2,239 views

Canada’s International Development Research Center (IDRC) is pleased to announce a new Research Ideas Competition to promote health, sustainability and equity in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).

The IDRC, a Canadian Crown corporation, funds research in developing countries to create lasting change on a large scale and supports local organizations in the Global South to generate the evidence that is relevant in their context. The IDRC is working with the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Faculty of Arts and Sciences to manage this competition and ensure scientific integrity, ethical oversight and inclusivity.
The goal of this competition is to inspire novel research ideas that aim to strengthen policy interventions, population health, environmental sustainability and / or health, gender and social equity in LMICs. These novel ideas are expected to deliver health and environmental co-benefits by addressing the interlinked nutrition and environmental challenges and knowledge gaps that impede shifts towards healthier and sustainable food systems. These ideas will promote a conceptual understanding of healthy and sustainable food systems and account for the practical realities of their implementation.

IDRC Research Ideas Competition

Benefits of IDRC Research Ideas Competition

This competition aims to:

1.  Identify novel, solutions-oriented research ideas that promote healthy and sustainable food systems in LMICs;
2. Support interdisciplinary exchange of ideas that draw upon different theories, methodological tools, frameworks, and approaches;
3. Harness lessons from research, civil society and policy spheres which bridge the fields of global health, food systems and environmental sustainability research.

10 winning applications will receive $10,000 CAD each administered directly to the primary applicant. The award will be provided upon the submission of the final idea write up and a formal presentation
at the Ideas Symposium (virtual or in-person).

Award-winners will have access to mentorship from a broad interdisciplinary network of mentors including scientific and technical support. Award-winners will also have the opportunity to further strengthen their idea, contribute to a global compendium of research ideas, and attract the attention of a wider audience of researchers, trainees, policy-makers, funders and practitioners.

Requirements for IDRC Research Ideas Competition

1. The primary applicant for this call must be a Doctoral Student or Post-doctoral Fellow that is Canadian, permanent resident of Canada, or citizen of LMICs enrolled in a doctoral degree or post-doctoral fellowship program at a recognized university.
2. Geopolitical focus: Proposed research ideas must be relevant and applicable to LMIC settings, with a particular focus on low-income communities. This includes, but is not limited to, a theoretical or practical grounding in specific local LMIC context(s), the relevance of an idea to local research, policy or community actors, and how an idea builds on previous engagement with local actors.

Application Deadline

How to Apply