The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the International Housing Coalition (IHC), the World Bank, the Wilson Center, and Cities Alliance encourage graduate students to enter their Fifth Annual Reducing Urban Poverty Paper Competition. Selected authors will present their findings at a policy workshop in January, 2015 at the Wilson Center in Washington D.C. and their papers will be published. One grand prize winner will present his/her paper at the Cities Alliance Forum in Brussels funded by a travel stipend. In case you’re interested, I’ve listed some additional information about the submission process and timeline.

Papers must address one of the following sub-topics:

-Cities and Climate Change

-Urban Resiliency

-Inclusive Cities

-Impacts of the Informal Economy

Eligibility

-Applicants (advanced Masters and PhD students) should be enrolled in a degree program as of April 30, 2014.

Abstract Submissions

-Candidates should submit an abstract (500 words maximum) and brief CV to UrbanPaperComp@WilsonCenter.org by April 31, 2014.

-Abstracts must include a title, paper description, author name, affiliation, sub-topic.

Criteria for Selection

-Abstracts should present a clear, compelling research question.

-Preference will be given original, field-based research that builds upon existing scholarship as opposed to desk or literature reviews.

-Paper proposals should be policy-based and solutions-oriented and should critically examine existing projects and/or propose new strategies for tackling issues related to urban poverty in the developing world.

-Abstracts should be clearly linked to one or more of the sub-topics.

Request for Full Papers

-A panel composed of members of the sponsor organizations will review submitted abstracts and request full papers from finalists.

-Applicants will be notified in mid-May whether they will be asked to write a full paper, which will be due by July 31, 2014.

-Completed papers should be a maximum of 20 pages in length including appendixes (double-spaced, Times New Roman 12pt font) and utilize the guidelines used by the Chicago Manual of Style.

Publication

-Roughly 10 of the full papers will be compiled in a book and published by the Woodrow Wilson Center.

-Publication of each selected paper is subject to review and will be contingent upon completion of suggested revisions by the authors, should they be requested by the selection committee.

Policy Workshop:

-3-5 of the authors selected for publication will be invited to Washington, DC in January, 2015 to take part in a unique “policy workshop” that will bring together academics, policy makers and students for an interactive discussion of international urban development topics. The session will focus on bridging gaps between policy and academia, theory and practice. Workshop invitees will be provided with a travel stipend to help cover transportation and accommodation costs.

-At the workshop, students will be paired with a senior development expert who will serve as a discussant for their paper.

-The grand prize winner will be awarded a travel stipend to present the paper at a Cities Alliance Forum in Brussels (Belgium).

Papers from a variety of perspectives are appropriate, including (but not limited to) urban planning, economics, political science, geography, public policy, law, sociology, environment, anthropology,  housing policy, governance, emergency services, and public health.

For more information, please contact UrbanPaperComp@WilsonCenter.org

For more information on last year’s competition, please visit: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/innovation-urban-development-incremental-housing-approaches-and-big-data-for-smarter-cities

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