(CLOSED) Call for proposals: Turning the 2021 World Risk Poll into action (4 of 4)

Lloyd’s Register Foundation is inviting proposals for impactful research and interventions that will increase the utility and influence of data generated by the 2021 World Risk Poll, focusing on global experiences of violence and harassment. This funding call is the last in a series of four calls (see other open calls here) linked to separate focus areas of the 2021 Poll. We also welcome proposals which use data and findings from more than one of these focus areas.  You can access the dataset related to this and other calls here.

The Poll, which was conducted in 2019 and 2021, covers a wide range of topics relating to perceptions and experiences of risk and safety globally. This year we are publishing the 2021 findings through a series of reports and resources. On the 26th January 2023 we launched the results of our ‘Safe at Work?’ module through a detailed report and associated dataset available here.

In June 2021, the International Labour Organisation’s Convention 190 came into force as the first international treaty to recognise the right of everyone to a world of work free from violence and harassment. Against the backdrop of the ongoing campaign for national governments to ratify the Convention, there is an urgent need for comprehensive and reliable data on the nature and scale of the problem to help policymakers target their efforts. To address this need, this data from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll provides the first global and comparable measure of violence and harassment in the workplace, using consistent questions and definitions across 121 countries. This Lloyd’s Register Foundation report provides added value to the report published with the International Labour Organisation in December 2022 based on the same World Risk Poll data as it makes country-level data available for comparison, as well as providing more in-depth demographic analysis.

Our results show that violence and harassment at work remains a significant problem at the global level shows with a number of groups being at heightened risk of particular and multiple forms of violence and harassment globally. For a majority of those who have experienced it, violence and harassment at work is a recurring issue that does cumulative harm, rather than a matter of isolated incidents.

There is an ongoing need to raise awareness and understanding of violence and harassment in the workplace and the detrimental impact it has for both the individual and their employer. Alongside this there is also an urgent need to develop and roll out targeted interventions to protect the most at-risk groups. Encouraging countries to ratify and put into force the Violence and Harassment Convention No. 190. is a significant first step in this process.

This call invites proposals from anywhere in the world to use the data to support impactful projects which are analytical or intervention-based, with the aim of improving safety at work among at-risk demographic groups in ways that align with the Foundation’s mission.

Lloyd's Register Foundation is an independent global charity with a unique structure and an important mission: engineering a safer world. We reduce risk and enhance the safety of the critical infrastructure that modern society relies upon in areas such as energy, transport and food.

Our strategy includes a cross-cutting focus on evidence and insight to better understand the complex factors that affect safety. Our goal is to improve safety through interventions that are driven by evidence of what works. We anticipate that this will require action across the data – evidence – action cycle to:

• Improve safety data – quality, availability, completeness
• Synthesize evidence to identify and understand safety challenges, and what works
• Understand evidence needs and support the implementation of evidence into practice

We support work which helps us deliver our charitable mission and strategic objectives.

The World Risk Poll began in 2019 and is the first ever global study of perceptions and experience of risk. There have been two rounds of polling so far, with two more iterations planned for 2023 and 2025.

It surveys up to 150,000 people to better understand how to improve our understanding of risk and make the world a safer place. Part of the Gallup World Poll, the survey is conducted through interviews in over 120 countries and up to 145 different languages.  The Poll offers a direct comparison between how people around the world perceive risks and how they experience them; understanding these differences can be crucial to informing effective risk management policies and communications.

Now that the dataset for the 2021 Poll is complete, we want to maximise its impact and ensure the findings are widely disseminated and used. We are inviting applications for projects which will use the data to design and run research and/or interventions – in LRF mission aligned areas - that aim to make a marked contribution to improving global safety.

We envisage a range of possible outcomes for projects which practically apply the Poll findings through the development of new interventions or by strengthening existing ones.

We encourage applicants to consider projects that utilise WRP data to support early intervention from policymakers and employers to tackle violence and harassment at work, recognising that if it has happened once, it is likely to happen again, and intervening effectively to prevent recurrence rather than dismissing incidents as ‘one-offs’.  To support design of targeted interventions, applicants have at their disposal actionable data on who does and doesn’t report their experiences of violence and harassment, who to, and if not, why not.

Research projects may aim to address data gaps or support hypotheses through secondary analysis of the Poll data and/or to 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, that effectively communicate findings to relevant bodies, and consequently influence improvements to risk information.

General information on LRF funding is here.  While degree of utilisation of Poll data may vary from project to project, a tangible link with the World Risk Poll dataset must be demonstrated, e.g., your project might address an issue which affects a specific community/-ies that has been identified by the Poll or might embed the data in the proposed work.

1.  Your proposal needs to provide a compelling pathway for utilisation of the findings of the Poll in at least one of the following ways:

• Apply the longitudinal data to impactful projects and programmes, aligned to the LRF mission:
• Design and implement interventions which aim to tackle safety challenges using findings and insight from Poll data to target the intervention, conducting secondary analysis if needed
• Use the findings to support the development/implementation of relevant national and international policies, guidelines, recommendations and other risk information

2. Build awareness of the Poll findings, among influential stakeholders and/or grassroots organisations to help effect changes to policy and practice at a local, regional and/or global level

3. Conduct further impactful research projects designed to investigate safety challenges identified by the findings of the dataset associated with the 2021 Poll report:  Safe at Work? – Global experiences of violence and harassment. 

• Articulation of vision and plans that have the potential to create long-term impact using the findings from the World Risk Poll
• Proposals that align with the Foundation’s mission
• Evidence of previous experience of data analysis, and/or knowledge of the design and management of safety interventions
• Evidence of expertise in one or more of the global safety challenges identified by the 2021 Poll findings
• Established connections with required partners / beneficiaries - influential stakeholders, grassroots organisations and communities / or policy-level decision makers
• Appropriate suggested budget for activities outlined
• Demonstration of appropriate policies and governance of the host organisation

The Foundation may share anonymised applications with third-party reviewers.

We expect that the typical budgets for the proposed projects may range between £250,000 and £750,000 but we are also open to receiving applications for projects outside this range, as appropriate to the type and scale of the intervention proposed.

Information on eligible costs can be accessed on our page: Portal homepage - Lloyds Register Foundation (flexigrant.com) 

1.Register your interest

First you will need to create an account in Flexigrant. Once you have created your account you will receive an email to verify it. Once you have done this, you will be able to access the Expression of Interest form where you will be asked to briefly explain your vision for utilising the data set.  The purpose of this step is to establish communication with you, and so that we understand the level of interest and types of projects being proposed. You can register your interest any time but no later than 13 February 2023.

If you have any problems creating your account or accessing the Expression of Interest form, please email [email protected].

2. Complete the application

A link to the Flexigrant application form will be sent to you within 2-3 days from registering your interest. All applications must be submitted via Flexigrant; they will not be accepted in other formats. The deadline for applications is 28th February 2023.

Applicants will receive a response about their proposal by the end of March 2023.

The PowerPoint from our information sessions on this funding call can be accessed in full here. Q&A from the information sessions can be accessed here.

If you have any questions, please e-mail us at [email protected] with the e-mail subject WRP call.