As part of its ongoing effort to promote high-quality, policy-relevant research on issues related to decentralization and local development, the Local Public Sector Alliance is offering a number of awards for outstanding papers on decentralization and local development.
Although the award is open to all, the award is targeted at young scholars and emerging researchers from around the world. A US$ 500 prize will be awarded to the winner for the best research paper submitted on a topic related to decentralization or localization in each global region, while US$ 250 will be awarded to two regional runners-up. In addition, the winning paper will be considered as part of the global award. The author of the Global Outstanding Paper will receive a total award of US$ 1000.
The awards are open to recent research papers (whether unpublished, working papers or published) covering a range of fields and topics related to decentralization and local development, including—for instance—research studies related to local government finance or the inclusive and responsive nature of local governments.
The Local Public Sector Alliance / Decentralization.Net’s editors and editorial board members will select the best papers from those submitted prior to the deadline. The winners are generally asked to present their work as part of the Local Public Sector Alliance’s global webinar series. Each research paper should be accompanied by a blog of around 1000-1500 words, summarizing the study and its policy relevance.
In selecting the winner, the editors will reflect on the Local Public Sector Alliance’s vision and mission to promote inclusive, equitable societies and sustainable global development by enhancing the understanding of decentralization and localization as complex, cross-cutting and multi-stakeholder reforms. The assessment of submissions will take into consideration the technical quality of the research and the policy-relevance of the paper’s topic and findings. It will further consider whether the author(s) is/are young scholars/emerging researchers as well as take into account factors such as clarity of presentation, innovation, and the paper’s potential significance to the policy and research community.
More submission information (PDF)