The European Union is seeking proposals for its grant program entitled EU support for economic and political studies in the Southern Neighborhood to contribute to an increased awareness and evidence-based policy making of regional and national actors in relation to areas of the Southern Mediterranean region. The eligible countries for this grant are Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia. The deadline for proposals' submission is 2 September 2019.

The EU has been supporting policy dialogues, economic research and studies in the Southern Neighborhood region. The rationale is that sound policy-making needs to build on evidence-based and objective research and analytical work. Therefore, it is expected that the knowledge generated by this program will help policy makers in the EU and in the Southern Neighborhood, to devise more robust and relevant policies. It is also expected that the program will allow researchers from Southern Neighborhood countries to explore new subjects, gain recognition for their work and develop their competences through peer-to-peer learning.

The specific objectives of this call for proposals are:

• To foster evidence-based research policy dialogue and research in the priority areas of economic development, security and migration. 
• Based on peer-to-peer work, to build the analytical and research skills and capacities in Southern Neighborhood countries. Each action should seek to strengthen cooperation between research networks, think-tanks, universities, academia, policy makers, civil society, non-governmental organisations and the private sector.
• To have a strong outreach component and wide dissemination of research results to stimulate policy debate with national policy-makers, EU institutions, and other relevant stakeholders.

The priority areas of these studies are:

Economic development: Trade and investments as factors of regional integration as well as their impact on employment; trends and policies aiming at an increased integration of North Africa in the African continent; private sector development and job creation, in particular for youth; the role of digital in the new economy; role of informal/parallel sectors in the local economies and policies to lead it to formalization; perspectives and policies aiming at enhancing new economic models in the Southern Neighborhood region, respectful of its social foundations and the environment, also looking at issues such as inclusive finance, circular and social economy.

Security: Modernization of the national security sectors (also called Security Sector Reform – SSR), terrorism and other forms of violent extremism (including prevention), trans-national organised crime, cyber-crime, the full cycle of crisis and disaster management (prevention, preparedness and response).

Migration: Regular economic migration and mobility; asylum and protection; irregular migration; migrant smuggling; border management; economic impact of migration in countries of origin, transit countries and countries of destination modalities to ensure a positive role of the diaspora in the socio-economic development.

Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the minimum amount of EUR 1,600,000 and the maximum amount of EUR 2,500,000.

Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum percentages of total eligible costs of the action:

• Minimum percentage: 50% of the total eligible costs of the action
• Maximum percentage: 80% of the total eligible costs of the action

To know more about this grant opportunity, click here.

Info and photo sources:
https://www.euneighbours.eu/en/south/stay-informed/opportunities/eu-support-economic-and-political-studies-southern-neighbourhood
https://www.mei.edu/publications/eu-policies-may-worsen-migration-crisis-2019-0

This document was produced by DARPE www.darpe.me, July, 2019.