Indian School of Development Management’s Centre for Innovative Finance for Social Impact (CIFSI) is an initiative that seeks to enhance research on innovative financing and raise dialogue among public and private stakeholders to tackle developmental challenges. The centre is dedicated to catalysing social financing as a tool for solving global challenges through a combination of research, knowledge creation and exchange, and convening diverse voices from social purpose organisations.
Innovative financing in the social sector has long been touted as one of the enablers for creating, scaling and sustaining innovative and impact-oriented solutions towards developmental challenges. However, as per available resources and research, the scope of innovative financing in social sector remains limited due to asymmetry of understanding between implementers and funders, and the inherent complexity of the sector.
The CIFSI Research Fellowship Program 2023 seeks to commission interested practitioners and researchers to lead studies that will create and disseminate high-quality actionable knowledge on innovative finance and impact assessment to drive social impact.
Beginning from Oct 2023, a cohort of maximum five fellows will be spending 12 months to conduct research on a topic under ‘Driving Social Impact through Innovative Finance Approaches’
This is a part-time program in which the fellows will be visiting at least twice during the duration of fellowship.
The total fellowship amount for 12 months will be INR 3,00,000. At the end of the fellowship, fellows must submit a report of 6000-8000 words based on their research project/findings that ISDM may publish under the Creative Commons Licensing 4.0.
The copyright of the working paper published under CCL 4.0 will be held by the author, ISDM and the third party supporting the research work pursued by the author.
The theme for this year’s fellowship is ‘Driving Social Impact through Innovative Finance Approaches’ with a focus on the Drivers to scale impact
In accordance with the theme, the list of research topics includes but are not limited to:
Submission deadline: 31 July 2023
Announcement of selection results: 1 Oct 2023 onwards
Orientation and commencement of cohort: 23 Oct 2023 onwards
Selections will be made based on the following parameters:
Please submit the Expression of interest (EOI) containing the research proposal and two writing samples using the link
The last date for submission of the detailed proposal is 31 July 2023.
Only completed applications in adherence with all requirements will be considered.
For any query, please write to Dr. Ria Sinha, Email: [email protected] with the subject line ISDM-CIFSI Research Grant Program 2023.
Indian School of Development Management, supported by Citi India's CSR efforts, launched the Centre for Innovative Finance and Social Impact (CIFSI) to mainstream innovative finance for social impact.
Any practitioner with research interest in the field of innovative finance/social finance/ sustainable finance are eligible to apply.
Individuals with no prior experience will also be considered.
Not necessarily
No. The grant is only open to individual fellows.
No, the honorarium will be paid on a quarterly basis during the tenure of the fellowship (12 months).
It is a 12 months part-time non-residential program.
Yes. It’s a part-time program where professionals can also apply. However, researchers will have to furnish a NOC from the full-time employer.
The fellows have to be based in India to apply for the fellowship.
You can apply for the fellowship, but you need to furnish proof of stay within India during the tenure of the program.
No
No. While the theme is pre-decided, t. he research topics provided are indicative.
Post your queries over email within 10 days after the call for application to get immediate replies. Queries posted beyond 10 days might need to wait for response.
You will receive a certificate, and the submitted report will be published on the CIFSI official website.
All participants will be notified (if selected) over email.
No, all selected fellows are expected to stay till the end of the program (Oct 2024).
The total honorarium amount for each fellow for a period of 12 months is INR 3,00,000. However, out of the total amount, 60% will be paid on a quarterly basis. The remaining amount should be used as a contingency grant to be paid on a reimbursement basis after furnishing of actual bills.
The contingency grant will cover expenditures towards travel for data collection, paper presentation and publication fees.
Yes. ISDM will bear travel and accommodation expenses up to two times.