Grant opportunity
SPIA Small Grants for Measuring CGIAR Policy Influence 2026
CGIAR SPIA is funding short studies that critically examine how research evidence influenced policy and how policy changes translated into effects for people and institutions.
- Funder
- CGIAR Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (SPIA)
- Proposals close 7 August 2026 at 23:59 CEST
- Proposals close 7 August 2026 at 23:59 CEST: Aug 7, 2026
- Award
- Up to USD 5,000 per grant
- Applicant
- PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and early-career researchers in political science, sociology, development studies, public policy, public administration or related fields who can investigate one of the six specified CGIAR policy-influence cases.
- Discipline
- Public Policy, Governance and International Development
- Region
- Bangladesh / Ethiopia / Uganda / Vietnam
- Posted
- Aug 3, 2026
Call summary
Overview
The call addresses a persistent evidence gap in tracing the pathway from CGIAR research to policy uptake, formal policy change, implementation and downstream impact.
Who can apply
Applicants should be PhD students, postdocs or early-career researchers with appropriate social-science or public-policy expertise. Each proposal must select one listed case in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Uganda or Vietnam and use methods suited to the chosen question.
What it supports
- Evidence uptake by policy actors and CGIAR's contribution to policy change.
- Political-economy factors that enabled or constrained research use.
- Implementation, incentives, spillovers and lived effects after a policy was adopted.
Funding and duration
- Each selected study may receive up to USD 5,000.
- Research runs from September to December 2026, with the final report due at the end of January 2027.
Proposals close 7 August 2026 at 23:59 CEST
Proposals close 7 August 2026 at 23:59 CEST: Aug 7, 2026
How to apply
Submit a technical proposal of no more than three pages and a light-touch budget to the SPIA email address specified in the official call by the deadline.
Call details
Source-based overview
SPIA seeks concise, feasible studies that move beyond success stories and carefully test particular links in CGIAR's research-to-policy pathway. Qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods may be proposed when they are appropriate to the selected case and can be completed within the short grant period.
Eligibility
Applicants should be PhD students, postdocs or early-career researchers with appropriate social-science or public-policy expertise. Each proposal must select one listed case in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Uganda or Vietnam and use methods suited to the chosen question.
Funding and benefits
Each selected study may receive up to USD 5,000.
Research runs from September to December 2026, with the final report due at the end of January 2027.
Themes and supported activities
Evidence uptake by policy actors and CGIAR's contribution to policy change.
Political-economy factors that enabled or constrained research use.
Implementation, incentives, spillovers and lived effects after a policy was adopted.
Deadline and timeline
Proposals close 7 August 2026 at 23:59 CEST: Proposals close 7 August 2026 at 23:59 CEST: Aug 7, 2026.
Applicants should confirm the exact deadline time, time zone, required documents, portal steps and any institutional approvals on the official call page before submitting.
How to apply
Submit a technical proposal of no more than three pages and a light-touch budget to the SPIA email address specified in the official call by the deadline.
Before applying, check eligibility rules, budgets, attachments, page limits, partner requirements, cost-share conditions and whether the opportunity uses an expression of interest, full proposal, registration or nomination stage.