GDPC Spotlight Research Grants Program

Benefits & funding

• US$10,000 per project; the French Red Cross Foundation call page states that 15 grants are available in this round.
• Eight-month research period, 1 November 2026 to 30 June 2027.
• Eligible costs include part-time personnel and graduate-student support, survey and interview costs with participant incentives, equipment rental or purchase needed for the research, data-collection and analysis software, essential project travel (economy airfare, ground transport, visas, per diems), printing, copying and meeting-room rental, and administrative overhead up to 8 per cent.
• Translation costs may be included in the budget where the final paper needs translating into English or French.
• Not covered: business or first-class travel, personal expenses, equipment that becomes personal property, institutional overhead above 8 per cent, and entertainment unrelated to dissemination.
• Grantees are encouraged to publish in academic journals or present at conferences, acknowledging GDPC and the French Red Cross Foundation.

Eligibility

• Open to nationals of low- and middle-income countries on the OECD DAC List of ODA Recipients; the research itself must also focus on those countries.
• Applicants must be affiliated with an accredited university at the time of submission.
• PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers and faculty members are all eligible.
• Disciplines sought are the social sciences and humanities, such as sociology, anthropology, law, human geography, management, behavioural studies and psychology.
• Team and joint applications are accepted. Collaborating with researchers or institutions in high-income countries is allowed as long as the primary applicant is a national of an eligible country.
• The project must be completable within the eight-month window, with the final research paper submitted in English or French.
• No age limit and no minimum years of work experience are stated.

Application process

1. 1
   Confirm the two hard requirements: nationality of a country on the OECD DAC List of ODA Recipients, and current affiliation with an accredited university.
2. 2
   Choose one of the three thematic areas and its sub-topic, and build the project around it.
3. 3
   Complete the short eligibility form linked from the call page to receive access to the full application portal.
4. 4
   Prepare the package: applicant information and affiliation, project summary, project description covering background, rationale, objectives, methodology, merit and ethical considerations, a budget in US dollars with a line-by-line breakdown, research team composition with CVs, and letters of collaboration from partner institutions or local stakeholders.
5. 5
   Submit the complete application by 31 July 2026, 23:59 UTC.
6. 6
   Applications are reviewed in August 2026, awards are notified in September 2026 and processed in October 2026.

Program timeline

1. Application deadline

   31 July 2026, 23:59 UTC

2. Application review

   August 2026

3. Award notification

   September 2026

4. Award processing

   October 2026

5. Research period

   1 November 2026 to 30 June 2027

6. Research reports due

   30 June 2027

7. Report review

   July 2027

8. Final reports published

   September 2027