Call for proposals: Turning the World Risk Poll into Action 2024

The 2023 World Risk Poll assessed global perceptions and experiences of risk across a range of safety issues. Key findings have now been published in four main reports in 2024:

• Resilience in a Changing World
• A World of Waste: Risks and opportunities in household waste management
• Engineering Safer Workplaces: Global trends in occupational safety and health
• What the World Worries About: Global perceptions and experiences of risk and harm

With the full dataset from the 2023 Poll now freely available, we want to maximise its impact and ensure the data is widely disseminated and used to improve people’s safety, as well as our understanding of safety, risk and harm around the world.

We are therefore inviting proposals for projects which will use the data to design and run research and/or practical interventions, in areas aligned to the mission and strategy of Lloyd’s Register Foundation, that aim to make a marked contribution to improving global safety.

We are interested in research projects aiming to address data gaps or increase our understanding of specific (local) contexts or safety issues through secondary analysis of the Poll data and/or use alongside other relevant data. An important output could be the provision of evidence, disseminated to stakeholders, which motivates action. For example, research projects which find robust evidence for how and why particular demographics are most impacted by safety challenges, that effectively communicate findings to relevant bodies, and consequently influence improvements to public risk information.

We’re also looking to support hands-on projects that can lead to real-world impact by using evidence and insights from the Poll. This could include creating new programmes or strengthening existing ones that address key safety issues. For example, a project might aim to reduce the number of accidents or improve safety in high-risk communities by enhancing services or resources available to them. The goal is to take the Poll’s findings and turn them into actions that make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

The World Risk Poll explores a wide range of topics, and we're looking to support a variety of projects that tap into different aspects of the 2024 report findings. You should request a level and duration of funding that’s appropriate and well-justified for your proposed research or intervention, aligning with one of our defined funding categories.

Category A: research projects

• Research with an aim to generate further knowledge to understand, bridge, connect and share this new data.
• Can apply for up to £100,000.

Category B: practical interventions

• Practical interventions with a strong focus on preventing harm and improving the safety of people and property.
• Can apply for up to £100,000.

Category C: combined projects

• Actionable research projects that combine a solid research component and a practical intervention/implementation component, improving outcomes on the ground, or at policy level.
• Can apply for up to £250,000.

By actionable research, we mean that which is designed to address specific problems or needs and is intended to produce practical solutions that is directly applied to real-world issues. The research focuses on generating insights that are not only academically robust but also relevant and applicable to policymakers and/or practitioners and other stakeholders. In other words, usable research is not only about generating knowledge but also about facilitating its application.

We want to invest in projects that help us turn the World Risk Poll into action towards achieving the Lloyd’s Register Foundation mission and strategic priorities. As a result of this funding programme, we would expect to see:

• Better understanding and greater use of the data we have invested in, both directly and indirectly.
• Research-based initiatives: analysis of issues raised in the Poll reports that better help the Foundation and other safety actors understand risk and safety at individual, household, community, organisational, job sector and national levels.
• Action-based initiatives: either a) specific, evidence informed, practical interventions towards our mission and strategic priorities, or b) good engagement with those that can take practical action towards improving safety outcomes.
• World Risk Poll data as not just a collection of statistics but as a resource that continues to be a powerful tool driving impactful change for a safer world.

3.1 Your proposal

Your proposal should present a clear and compelling vision for how you will use the Poll data, whether through research, developing an intervention, or a combination of both.

While the proposal from template will be the same for Category A, B and C projects, the assessment of your proposal will depend on the type of project you are submitting. Each project type will be evaluated against specific, yet complementary, criteria outlined in the funding call details. To ensure your submission meets all requirements, please refer to the proposal guidance and tailor your responses to address the relevant criteria and questions for your project category.

• Access the proposal guidance here.
• Please also consult our general information on Lloyd’s Register Foundation funding, as well as information on eligible costs.

3.2 Mission and strategy alignment

As a global leader in safety evidence and practice, Lloyd’s Register Foundation is dedicated to generating, collating, and applying evidence to realise our charitable mission, with the World Risk Poll being a flagship initiative in this regard. As the Poll dataset expands, its longitudinal and regional insights will increasingly support and enhance the Foundation’s efforts and those of our partners. This expanded dataset will facilitate new research projects and innovative interventions, thereby extending the Foundation’s impact whilst establishing valuable new networks.

Our overarching goal is to transform the World Risk Poll into actionable insights that become a vital resource for informing and shaping safety interventions and programmes preventing harm to people and damage to critical infrastructure. We envision the Poll evolving into a go-to database for guiding safety measures, helping to address critical issues and improve safety outcomes on a global scale.

The World Risk Poll is integral to our strategy as it identifies where the greatest harm occurs and where we can make the most significant impact on safety – either directly in our current strategic priority areas, or by informing future strategies based on evolving Poll findings. It also highlights areas where others are well-positioned to take action to improve safety.

This funding call therefore aims to invest in initiatives that deepen understanding of local contexts and needs, fill data gaps, enable further research, promote evidence-based decision-making, and support interventions that improve safety outcomes with a particular focus on our strategic priority areas.

Specifically, we aim to leverage the World Risk Poll into Action funding programme to meet our strategic aims through three key lenses:

• Better understanding of safety and risk, including of risk perceptions and experiences of harm, and greater use of this evidence to improve outcomes.
• Addressing hazards and risks related to our strategy priority areas for safety – safer maritime systems, safe and sustainable critical infrastructure, and skills for safety. 
• Focusing on, and working with countries in our forthcoming network of Ocean Stewardship Centres – Brazil, Kenya, Ghana, Bangladesh, India, the Philippines and Indonesia – as well as other coastal communities. (Please note that while we have a particular interest in funding projects in these geographies, applications focusing on other countries and geographic areas are also very welcome).

As we continue to explore areas where World Risk Poll findings reveal additional safety challenges, we remain open to funding practical interventions that focus on the Poll report topics or broader themes of risk, resilience, and safety. While these projects may not be directly aligned with our current strategic priorities, we will consider them based on the volume and quality of proposals received.

In this case we would consider ‘seed funding’ or act as a catalyst, supporting smaller efforts that create safety initiatives – though these could also be projects that are most effective when there is another larger funder with the capacity to support the scale up and deepening of the work.

With certain exceptions, anyone is welcome to apply; however, we are particularly interested to hear from researchers and research bodies, NGOs, and organisations driving action-based interventions. We place particular emphasis on locally-led projects and seek better representation from a global spread of countries (though we will remain open to co-led proposals that enable quality and capacity building), with priority given to the following:

• Mission-led: organisations with a focus on our strategic priorities as well as projects originating from or focusing on our priority countries and communities.
• World Risk Poll-led: organisations with the capacity to deliver significant impact, either through further research or practical interventions, addressing clear vulnerabilities or safety challenges identified by the World Risk Poll data. These initiatives may be on the periphery of our strategic priorities or priority countries. While the Foundation may not be the driver of these efforts, we are open to considering these proposals and acting as a catalyst, particularly if it is a compelling and innovative proposal that improves safety outcomes.

Who cannot apply: organisations whose focus is wholly outside the scope of our mission, as well as political organisations and religious groups.