Name of the programme and of the thematic/horizontal area:
LSE - IFRI Call for Management of Public Services in South East Europe

Information on funding

Programme:
Other

Specification/themes:
Management of Public Services in South East Europe: Implications for QualitY, Reliability, Efficiency and Equity

Deadline:
30/11/2009 17:00

Short introduction to the programme / what is it about? How may WBC participate? (approx. 500 characters):

The LSE’s South East Europe Unit (LSEE), and L’Institut français des relations internationales invite researchers with a recognized interest in contemporary South East Europe to submit an application for funding in order to carry out a project on implications for quality, reliability, efficiency and equity in the management of public services in South East Europe.

The Call is open to all researchers with an affiliation to a recognised University or research institute. Applicants should have a good command of English.

Applications from groups of researchers are welcome, but in this case all members of the research team should meet the eligibility criteria.

Researchers are invited to present projects which address one or more of the following:
· The impact of ownership transformation on the quality, reliability, efficiency and equity of public services in SEE
· The appropriate role of public-private partnerships, in the SEE context, in mobilising new investment
· The optimal form of regulation of public utilities in SEE
· The role of regional cooperation in the provision of public services

The call invites research proposals on the provision of public services in South East Europe which investigate these issues, and which provide policy relevant research on the public sector in the region. Proposals which address these issues in a particular sector, or in a particular country are welcome. However, those which make a comparative analysis across sectors or across countries are especially encouraged. Proposals which involve the energy sector, all else being equal, will be given priority. In any case, the projects should identify clearly the sector (for an in-depth case study) or sectors (for a comparative analysis) of public services (energy, transport, health, education, telecommunications, other utilities) on which their analysis will focus and explain the reasons for selecting these sector(s), in terms of their relevance to policy and their importance for the economic and social development and cohesion of the country or countries concerned.

Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate relevant theoretical and conceptual foundations to their proposals, and to connect these to their proposed research questions and empirical work. The call is open to a wide range of methodological approaches including those based on statistical analysis of the performance of public services under different ownership and regulatory regimes, as well as qualitative methods based on case study research of specific cases which have wider implications. The research methods should be appropriate to the research questions which should be clearly set out. The potential relevance of the research findings to policy makers should also be indicated. Applications which are purely theoretical in nature, or which are unfocused and poorly justified will not be funded.

More details on the call: Major information on administrative issues (e.g. type of entities which are eligible, consortium structure, budget for the call, etc. (a. 1000 characters):

A grant of up to €12,000 (euros) in total will be awarded to the successful applicant(s) for research on the management of public services in South East Europe, to be undertaken normally within a period of one year. The participants will be required to present the results in a conference in Brussels, in late summer 2010. They shall also send an interim report after 6 months to LSEE and Ifri, demonstrating the state of progress. Payments will be made in two equal installments, the first on commencement of the project and the second on completion of the defined outputs. The successful applicant(s) must provide a relevant research account in their host institution for the transfer of the grant.

Applications should be submitted electronically by the deadline of Monday 30th November 2009 (5pm GMT) to euroinst.lsee@lse.ac.uk. The subject line of the email should read “LSEEIFRI Call 2009” only and all application material should be in MS Word format. Applicants who are unable to submit their application in this form must contact the LSEE Office on +44-20-7955-7198 at least 10 days before the advertised deadline.

The award will be made by a Selection Committee appointed by the LSEE and Ifri solely on the basis of the application materials submitted. All applicants must provide (a) a project proposal (of up to 5 pages), detailing the research question, the conceptual framework and methodology, the empirical data, and the expected outputs; (b) an indicative budget; (c) a copy of the CVs of all applicants; and (d) a cover letter, summarizing the competencies of the applicant and/or research team in relation to the proposed research. For group applications, an additional document highlighting the structure of the team and the allocation of tasks across its members is required.

Further information on the programme (e.g. links to programme website, Rules for Participation, Financial Guidelines, etc.):

Click here to access the call website.

Contact/additional support (e.g. Helpdesk, contact to NCPs in your country, partnering websites if available, further related links, etc.):

Applications should be sent directly to LSEE:

euroinst.lsee@lse.ac.uk