RFP @ NCAER

NCAER National Data Innovation Centre (NDIC)

Request for Proposals (RFP) on Methodological Innovations to Improve Data Quality

RFP launch date: July 22, 2019

Due date for Proposals: August 31, 2019

The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) is one of India's oldest and largest independent, non-profit, economic and social research institutes. It undertakes grant-funded research and commissioned studies for governments and industry, and is one of the few think tanks globally that also collects primary data. NCAER has set up a National Data Innovation Centre (NDIC) to serve as a laboratory for experiments in data collection, interfacing with partners in think tanks, Indian and international universities, and government. NDIC forms an important core of NCAER's long-standing data collection activities. NCAER, has partnered with the Universities of Maryland and Michigan for the NDIC. Initial funding for NDIC is being provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Request for Proposal (RFP)

The focus on data-oriented research and the dynamic policy environment impose a great demand for rapid, high-quality, and policy-relevant data. Changing socio-economic conditions and technological innovations necessitate rethinking of both the kind of data being collected and how they are collected. In that context, quality assurance mechanisms play an important role in influencing the credibility of the data being collected.

Therefore, the focus of the current RFP is to seek proposals on methods to improve data quality across the following themes: gender equity, women's time use, health system, health insurance and healthcare expenditure, employment and unemployment, family planning, and financial inclusion.

The proposals on these themes should ideally focus on generating evidence pertaining to the following specific areas relevant to data quality:

Sampling frame for selection of ultimate sampling units
Use of paradata as a quality assurance mechanism
Controlling interviewer bias and variability in outcomes
Real time survey data and consistency checks
Use of machine learning techniques to identify patterns automatically
Secondary data analysis to quantify variability between interviewers
Eligibility and Funding

Applicants affiliated to any academic or research institutes, non-profit organisations, and private companies that have experience in primary data collection and work out of offices located within India are eligible to apply. We hope that the successful applicants will be able to collaborate with NCAER researchers in future activities, allowing NCAER and the Centre to expand both its network as well as the skill sets of professionals associated with it.

The Centre will support a budget of up to Rs. 20,00,000/- (inclusive of all applicable taxes) for a period of 12 months. The budget should clearly indicate the actual needs and modes of utilisation of the funding for the proposed project. There is a provision for two such grants of up to Rs. 20,00,000/- (inclusive of all applicable taxes). However, only one grant for each applicant will be considered for funding.

All applications must be emailed to Arpita Kayal, Programme Manager, NDIC (akayal@ncaer.org), in a single PDF document (with the text in 'Georgia' font, point size 12).

For details of the application procedure and selection criteria, please visit the NCAER website (www.ncaer.org)

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