Researchers and academic teams can apply for the IDB GDLab Call for Research Proposals 2026, offering funding of up to US$100,000 for rigorous research examining how regulation, fiscal policy, financial rules, and labor reforms shape economic opportunities for women and men across Latin America and the Caribbean.
The call, titled “Economic Opportunities for Women and Men: The Role of Regulation and Fiscal Policy,” is being led by GDLab, the Inter-American Development Bank Group’s Gender and Diversity Knowledge Initiative, in collaboration with the IDB’s Institutions for Development Sector.
Researchers can apply under two funding categories. Category I provides up to US$20,000 for quantitative diagnostic studies establishing causal relationships, while Category II offers up to US$100,000 for pilot interventions.
Applications must be submitted in English through Oxford Abstracts by September 24, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. ET.
IDB GDLab Research Grants 2026: Key Details
Organization: Inter-American Development Bank Group
Initiative: GDLab – Gender and Diversity Knowledge Initiative
Call: Economic Opportunities for Women and Men: The Role of Regulation and Fiscal Policy
Region: Latin America and the Caribbean
Category I Funding: Up to US$20,000
Category II Funding: Up to US$100,000
Eligible Applicants: Independent researchers and research teams affiliated with eligible institutions
Application Language: English
Submission Platform: Oxford Abstracts
Deadline: September 24, 2026
Deadline Time: 12:00 p.m. ET/noon
Shortlist Stage: October 2026
Final Results: November 2026
About the IDB Call for Research Proposals
The call seeks to generate rigorous evidence on how seemingly neutral policies and regulations can produce different economic outcomes for women and men.
Researchers are invited to investigate how changes in regulation, financial systems, taxation and labor policy influence participation in employment, entrepreneurship, credit markets and other forms of economic activity.
The ultimate objective is to generate evidence that policymakers, governments, private-sector organizations and multilateral institutions can use to design more effective economic policies across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Studies must focus on at least one of the 26 IDB borrowing member countries.
Research Topics Prioritized
The call identifies four major thematic areas.
Regulatory Simplification and Digital Government
Researchers can investigate how reducing administrative requirements or moving government processes online affects economic opportunities.
Potential topics may examine formalization, compliance burdens, access to government services, and how these reforms affect women and men differently.
Financial Regulation and Access to Credit
The second research area focuses on financial regulation and access to formal financial markets.
Research could examine rules, policies, or financial instruments affecting:
- Credit access
- Business financing
- Formal financial services
- Participation in formal markets
- Entrepreneurship
The objective is to better understand whether financial systems affect the economic opportunities of women and men differently.
Tax Design and Economic Participation
Researchers may also study how taxation influences decisions about employment, entrepreneurship, formalization, and income.
Projects can investigate whether tax structures or tax reforms create different incentives or outcomes for women and men.
Labor Regulation and Formal Employment
The fourth priority concerns labor-market regulation.
Relevant areas may include:
- Employment
- Formalization
- Job quality
- Earnings
- Labor protections
- Workforce participation
Research should seek to identify causal effects rather than simply describe differences between groups.
Research on Other Population Groups
Projects may also examine how policy reforms affect other groups in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The call specifically allows research addressing differential effects involving:
- Indigenous peoples
- Afro-descendant populations
- Persons with disabilities
These dimensions must still fit the overall objectives and methodological requirements of the call.
Funding Category I: Up to US$20,000
Category I supports quantitative diagnostic research designed to establish causal relationships.
Selected projects can receive up to:
US$20,000
These projects should provide rigorous empirical evidence explaining how regulations or policies affect economic opportunities.
The research should move beyond descriptive analysis and use credible quantitative methods capable of identifying causal effects.
Funding Category II: Up to US$100,000
Category II supports pilot interventions.
Successful projects may receive up to:
US$100,000
This category is suited to researchers seeking to test policy interventions in practice and evaluate their effects.
The higher funding ceiling reflects the additional costs that can be involved in designing and implementing pilot interventions.
Applicants can apply under only the funding category appropriate to their proposed project and should consult the official call documentation for eligible expenses, payment arrangements and project timelines.
Who Can Apply?
The call is open to:
- Independent researchers
- Research teams
- Researchers affiliated with universities
- Researchers affiliated with public institutions
- Researchers affiliated with private institutions
- Researchers working with research centers
Applicants must be citizens of one of the 48 IDB member countries.
Research teams should carefully verify the citizenship and other eligibility requirements before preparing their proposals.
Restrictions Involving IDB Employees
Applicants cannot have certain immediate family relationships with employees of the IDB Group.
The official call excludes applicants with immediate family members employed by the IDB Group within the specified degrees of family relationship.
IDB Group specialists may participate as members of external research teams, but they cannot receive financial compensation from the research grant.
Grant funding is transferred to the external institution or principal investigator leading the selected project.
Geographic Requirement
Proposed studies must analyze one or more of the 26 IDB borrowing member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
This is a core eligibility requirement.
Research proposals focusing solely on countries outside the relevant IDB borrowing-member group will not qualify for this call.
Applicants developing cross-country projects can include multiple eligible countries where this strengthens the research question and methodology.
Methodological Requirements
The IDB places strong emphasis on causal research.
Proposals must use rigorous quantitative approaches capable of identifying cause-and-effect relationships.
Accepted methodological approaches may include:
- Experimental research designs
- Quasi-experimental methods
- Structural models
- Other rigorous quantitative causal methods
Qualitative research can be included, but only when it supports implementation of the quantitative analysis.
A proposal based entirely or primarily on qualitative research would therefore not satisfy the methodological expectations of this particular call.
Policy Relevance Is Important
The call particularly encourages projects that can produce actionable policy recommendations.
Researchers should explain how their findings could inform decisions made by:
- Governments
- Private-sector organizations
- Multilateral development institutions
- Policymakers
- Other relevant stakeholders
A strong proposal should therefore connect the academic research question to a clearly identifiable policy challenge.
How Proposals Will Be Evaluated
A Scientific Committee composed of IDB Group specialists and external advisors will assess proposals.
The stated evaluation criteria include:
Thematic Relevance
The research should clearly fit the objectives and priority areas of the call.
Policy Relevance and Innovation
Projects should address meaningful policy questions and ideally generate new evidence.
Methodological Rigor
The research design should be capable of producing credible causal conclusions.
Team Capacity and Implementation
Applicants should demonstrate that their research team has the expertise and capacity required to successfully deliver the project.
Scalability and Replicability
Evaluators will also consider whether the project or its lessons could potentially be replicated or scaled in other settings.
The external advisors identified for the call include Lori Beaman of Northwestern University and Guillermo Cruces of Universidad de San Andrés and the University of Nottingham.
Publication Opportunities
Selected research will undergo external peer review.
Studies may also be considered for publication in the IDB Working Paper Series.
Researchers are additionally encouraged to pursue publication of their findings in academic journals.
This makes the opportunity particularly relevant to academic researchers who want their work to contribute both to policy discussions and to the wider research literature.
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted through the Oxford Abstracts platform.
Applicants need to create a free Oxford Abstracts account before submitting their proposal.
Research teams must:
- Complete the online application form.
- Prepare the proposal in English.
- Upload all required supporting documents.
- Check that their proposed country or countries meet the geographic requirements.
- Confirm that all team members satisfy the eligibility rules.
- Submit before the September 24 deadline.
Applications sent by email or through another platform will not be considered.
Application Language
The complete research application must be submitted in:
English
Researchers should therefore leave sufficient time to edit their proposal carefully before submission.
For teams whose primary working language is Spanish or Portuguese, the final submission should still satisfy the English-language requirement.
Application Deadline
The deadline is:
September 24, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. ET (noon)
Late applications will not be accepted.
GDLab specifically encourages researchers to submit ahead of the deadline because it does not assume responsibility for technical problems encountered near the closing time.
Selection Timeline
After the initial review, selected teams will enter a revise-and-resubmit stage in October 2026.
This means shortlisted applicants may be asked to improve or modify aspects of their proposals before a final decision.
Final results are expected in:
November 2026
Because of the expected volume of applications, detailed feedback will only be provided to shortlisted teams.
Tips for Preparing a Competitive Proposal
Applicants should begin with a clearly defined policy question rather than an overly broad discussion of gender differences.
The proposal should explain:
- Which regulation or policy is being studied
- Why it matters
- Which population or economic outcome will be examined
- How women and men may experience different outcomes
- What causal identification strategy will be used
- Why the available data can support the methodology
- How findings could influence policy
- Why the research team is capable of delivering the study
For Category II proposals, applicants should additionally demonstrate that the proposed pilot intervention can realistically be implemented and evaluated.
Why This Research Call Matters
A law or policy may apply equally on paper while still producing different practical outcomes across population groups.
For example, changes to business registration, credit regulation, taxation or labor rules can affect people’s ability to participate in formal employment, establish businesses or access financing.
The IDB’s call aims to generate stronger evidence on when these differences emerge, why they occur and which policy instruments can improve economic opportunities.
Research resulting from the call could therefore contribute directly to policy design across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Final Thoughts
The IDB GDLab Research Grants 2026 provide an important funding opportunity for researchers examining how regulatory, financial, fiscal and labor policies shape economic opportunities for women and men in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Researchers can request up to US$20,000 for quantitative causal diagnostic studies or up to US$100,000 for pilot interventions.
Eligible proposals must study one or more IDB borrowing member countries and employ rigorous quantitative methods capable of establishing causal relationships. Independent researchers and teams affiliated with universities, research centers, and public or private institutions can apply, subject to the citizenship and other eligibility requirements.
Applications must be submitted in English through Oxford Abstracts by September 24, 202,6 at 12:00 noon ET, with shortlisted teams entering a revise-and-resubmit process in October and final results expected in November.
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