REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

July 14, 2020

Part-time Position:

Principal or Co-Principal Investigator to Develop the Social Wealth Index

Introduction: The Center for Partnership Studies (CPS), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, seeks an experienced, part-time principal investigator (PI) or Co-PI to work with an existing expert team to develop the Social Wealth Index (SWI). The SWI will be a numerical index that tracks the status of a humane, environmentally sustainable and successful post-industrial and post-Covid 19 economy, using both Care Investment Indicators (CII) and Human Capacity Indicators (HCI). This work will consolidate, update, and expand metrics earlier developed by CPS, as reported in Social Wealth Indicators: A New System for Evaluating Economic Prosperity (2014). It will provide the basis for demonstrating the relationship between valuing and rewarding care work and a better life for all. This work will also provide recommendations for where new data collection is necessary.

1. Project and Requirements

Present economic systems have privileged domination and extraction, ignoring the economic value of caring for people and nature. The Center for Partnership Studies (CPS) seeks to change this unrealistic paradigm so that the work of care, whether inside or outside the market, is recognized as economically valuable and adequately rewarded. We seek to redefine our flawed concept of wealth, which fails to recognize that our most important wealth consists of the contributions of people and nature, to influence policy and improve the lives of all people.

To accomplish this, CPS seeks a Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI to work with an existing team of researchers to build a Social Wealth Index (SWI) to provide metrics for building what is increasingly called a “caring economy.” We define a caring economy as one that recognizes the realities of our post-industrial era, in which human capacity development and environmental sustainability are essential, as well as the realities about how essential care work is, as revealed by the Covid 19 pandemic.

The SWI will consolidate, update, and expand the 24 Social Wealth Economic Indicators developed by CPS in 2014. These indicators demonstrate the economic value of caring for people, starting at birth and across our entire lives, and caring for nature.

The SWI will be designed as an easily accessible measure to inform policy-formation and decision-making from municipal to national governments. While the technical team is developing the Social Wealth Index, CPS will engage in a communications campaign directed to policymakers, business leaders, academics, and the public to pave the way for adoption and use of the SWI.

Background

The term social wealth has a long history as a synonym for “social capital” and later as the strength of association between members of a society. Our definition of social wealth encompasses these earlier concepts, but extends beyond them to include the innate human capacities of members of a society.  Building social wealth is therefore not only creating a culture of care, trust, collaboration, and generosity, but also recognizing that such a culture allows for the full flourishing of human capacity, and thereby for social and economic prosperity.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or Gross National Product (GNP) are still the most-used indicators for overall performance of a given economy. However, GDP considers activities that harm and even take life as productive. At the same time, many important activities (e.g., caring activities in the household, community, and environmental sectors) are not included in GDP.

Policy experts have known for years that most household caring work is done by women and is insufficiently accounted for and rewarded. Recent work in neuroscience and human development shows that caring for young and old, as well as for the environment, is crucial to human success on this planet. Additionally, evolutionary biologists and psychologists increasingly see our species as fundamentally cooperative rather than competitive. For instance, studies show that our brains’ pleasure centers light up more when we care and share, rather than when we win.

Economists have begun to adopt the notion of different types of capital – such as natural and human; for example, societies have been deemed relatively well-off if they are well-educated. At the same time, there has been a great deal of work in recent decades to develop metrics (e.g., the Sustainable Development Goals, the Genuine Progress Indicator, the Human Development Index, the Thriving Index, and OECD’s Better Life Index) that go beyond GDP as an index of economic progress and status.

The SWI will draw on and add to these indices by focusing attention not only on a better general quality of life as an economic goal but also by helping to change economic thinking in ways appropriate for our post-industrial and post-Covid 19 era. This will require changes in what is considered social wealth and include ensuring that societies recognize and value the typically non-market areas of “women’s work,” care work, and environmental caring work, as well as including social and economic justice work as “productive work.”

2. Company and Project History

For more than 30 years, the Center for Partnership Studies (CPS) has been working to change economic thinking and measurements. Dr. Riane Eisler, the founder and Executive Director of CPS, has authored several books and numerous articles on the topic, starting with The Real Wealth of Nations

(Berrett-Koehler, 2007) and continuing through Nurturing Our Humanity (Oxford University Press, 2019) co-authored with anthropologist Douglas P. Fry.

Formally, the development of the SWI began in 2010 in partnership with the Urban Institute, resulting in two reports, followed by a two-day workshop in 2012 with leading experts, and culminating with the development of 24 Social Wealth Economic Indicators (SWEIs). In 2014, CPS released the report “Social Wealth Economic Indicators,” lead-authored by economist Indradeep Ghosh. This report laid out a theoretical framework for assessing the SWEIs, and selected data that were used as indicators for the SWEIs. These data were predominantly from OECD countries, with some global indicators.

CPS recently contracted with the Center for Sustainable Economics (CSE) to update and combine the SWEI’s into a single, easily accessible numerical index. This work showed that much of the 2014 data was insufficient for the approach as designed by CSE: e.g., were not time-series, were available only for one country, or were inaccessible.

The new team now being formed will develop another domain-subdomain structure, select appropriate indicators, and complete the steps described in the work phases below.

3. Compensation and Time Commitment

The applicant will be expected to work approximately 10-15 hours per week for competitive compensation.

4. Scope of Work

CPS, led by Riane Eisler, has contracted Dr. Nejem Raheem to work as Principal or Co-Principal Investigator on this project.

The project will proceed in three phases, with intermittent consultations with CPS throughout:

Phase I (September- November 2020): By November 16, 2020, the team will produce recommendations for moving forward with the index after taking into consideration previous work by CSE and CPS and considering the appropriate geographical scope – whether OECD or a larger region. CPS will select an option by November 23rd, 2020.

Deliverables in Phase I:

The first deliverable will be a memo updating CPS on progress by October 15th, 2020; this will include a draft working outline of the SWI domain/subdomain structure, a publication strategy including outline(s) of one or two articles to be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal, and a list of five candidate journals for submission. This will entail consultation with CPS leadership and be followed by a conference call with all team members to discuss progress.

The second deliverable will be a memo updating CPS on progress by November 16th, 2020. This will detail two options for proceeding with constructing the SWI for either the OECD or a larger region, based on data availability and other considerations; it will also provide an updated outline/draft of the first journal article. This will entail consultation with CPS leadership and be followed by a conference call with all team members to discuss progress.

Phase II (November – December 2020): By December 31, 2020, the team will submit a draft domain-subdomain-indicator framework for the SWI along with a framing narrative. This narrative will be sufficiently detailed to explain the construction of the index, including weighting of indicators. The team will produce a written document that can be promoted at Davos in January 2021. The CPS communications team will work with the PI and Co-PI to produce appropriate visuals, including a slide deck or recorded video presentation. During this phase CPS will build an online evaluation portal (through a tool such as SurveyMonkey) that can be used to solicit feedback on the draft SWI.

Deliverables in Phase II

The first deliverable – due December 7th- is a memo detailing the revised domain/subdomain/indicator framework; a theory of change for each subdomain or indicator; an initial draft of the article; and the target journal. This draft will include a literature review of existing metrics, and a literature review section explaining the theory of change. Additionally, the memo will recommend a core group of experts and a broad set of outlets or institutions to provide feedback on the draft SWI; this section will sketch out requirements for an online system used for feedback. This will entail consultation with CPS leadership and be followed by a conference call with all team members to discuss progress.

The second deliverable — due December 31— is a report on progress to-date and a draft final version of the article. (By this point the SWI will be viewable on the online portal for feedback.) The team agrees that CPS staff should review the paper before the team submits it for consideration at the chosen journal.

Phase III (January and February 2021): After receiving feedback from the Davos presentation, the team will – by February 26th, 2021, finish soliciting input on overall design as well as on the scoring system and weighting system from peers and stakeholders via the online survey system (i.e. SurveyMonkey).

Deliverables in Phase III: 

The first deliverable – due on January 31- will be a memo updating progress and summarizing feedback on the SWI and any issues with the feedback mechanism to date. For example, if we are experiencing low participation, we will need to investigate and respond.

The final deliverable will be a memo describing this part of the process, with an updated draft SWI, and a final summary of feedback from the portal and whatever mechanism we use for gathering feedback at Davos. This will entail consultation with CPS leadership, followed by a conference call with all team members to discuss progress. This will be due by February 26th, 2021.

Phase IV (March through April, 2021): By April 30, 2021, have the draft SWI created along with the final manuscript for a peer-reviewed journal.

Deliverables in Phase IV: 

During this phase the team will work with CPS staff and among themselves to finalize and submit the first journal article. The first deliverable will be a memo detailing progress to-date and an SWI created for the chosen region, using selected data and methods. This will be completed by March 26th, 2021.

The second deliverable, due April 30th, 2021, will be a memo detailing progress so far and a record of the submission of the article to the chosen journal. Additionally, the team will describe how to think about the ‘ideal’ SWI of ten years from now.  This will be based on feedback from the portal/SurveyMonkey instrument, will describe data needs, etc., and make recommendations for governments at the appropriate scale (e.g., either state, municipal, or national) to gather new data.

Phase V (May and June, 2021): By June 30, 2021, finalize SWI, work with CPS to release and publicize it, and submit final manuscript to a peer reviewed journal.

Deliverables in Phase V: 

During this phase, the team will work with CPS staff to create a full report on the SWI project and the tool itself.  Final deliverable is a full report comparable to the SWEI final report. If the team decides to submit a second article, this article will be submitted by this time. This will be due June 30th, 2021.

5. Selection Criteria

The successful applicant:

1. Holds an advanced degree — preferably a Ph.D. — in one or more of the following areas: economics, women’s studies, behavioral neuroscience, evolutionary biology, or a related area;
2. Has a distinguished record of publication on caring economy topics (i.e. neuroscience and human development), preferably with use of key indicators;
3. Has experience accessing and working with large data sets on socioeconomic and sustainability conditions and trends for countries and states as well as familiarity with how these data are used in various indicator frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals, Human Development Index, OECD Better Life Index. Such data sets include, but are not limited to, those created for the Sustainable Development Goals, and Human Development Index;
4. Has experience working with interdisciplinary teams on policy efforts;
5. Has excellent communication skills and written/spoken English;
6. Has the ability and commitment to work on this project to completion;
7. Has a willingness to co-produce communication products such as op-eds that will support the uptake of the SWI;
8. Demonstrates an aptitude in project management;
9. Ideally has relationships to those who manage OECD, UN System, or US federal databases. (To date we have found that we need access to data that may not now be publicly available, for example, by requesting customized runs of existing datasets but in combinations that would be ideal for the SWI through these relationships.)

Application Procedure:

Qualified applicants should submit: a cover letter detailing your qualifications for and interest in the project; a current CV; and names and contact information for three references.

Timeline 

• The Request for Proposal timeline is as follows:
• Post RFP: July 15-17, 2020
• Deadline for Bidders to Submit proposals: August 12, 2020
• Selection of Top Bidders / Notification to Unsuccessful Bidders: August 20, 2020
• Initial Zoom Interviews: August 24 – August 28, 2020
• Round 2 Zoom Interviews (finalists): to be completed by the end of August, 2020
• Contract Award/Notification to Unsuccessful Bidders: September 2, 2020

Recent events revealed undeniable racial disparities in police violence and COVID-19 fatality. The movements rising up to combat such injustices have highlighted the importance of considering the intersections of group identities in thinking about what social and environmental sustainability means.

The Campus Sustainability Fund and the UW Resilience Lab are calling for proposals of up to $3,000 for projects that will educate the UW community and spark dialogue about proposed solutions to environmental and societal problems that have a disproportionately negative impact on communities of color, and in particular on Black and Indigenous peoples.

Example projects could include anything from a documentary and group discussion to the creation of online resources or a public art installation. We are especially interested in proposals that address themes of police reform and accountability, environmental (in)justice, and health disparities that result from systemic and institutional racism. The 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals may serve as an inspiration for thinking about different aspects of intersectional sustainability that could be addressed. We prefer proposals for solutions that can be implemented at the University of Washington or in the greater Seattle area.

The application period will open on July 8, 2020, and will stay open while funding remains. All University of Washington students, staff, and faculty are eligible to apply. However, preference will be given to teams including students. Projects will be funded on a rolling basis.

Application Link

Demographers of Color (DOC) will be organizing an event every 2nd Friday of each month through at least Oct.  The next two “Job-Seeking in Times of Covid-19” workshops will be held Friday August 14^th and September 11^th at 3-4:30 pm PST. These panel discussions were organized in response to feedback gathered at the Demographers of Color & Allies Reception in April. The first workshop was held, June 23.

Real World/beyond Higher-Ed: Friday, August 14^th 6-7:30 pm EST

Post-docs, NIH career awards (k,diversity & re-entry supplements):Friday, September 11^th 6-7:30 pm EST

Demographers of Color and Allies has a LinkedIn group you can join

The Census Bureau (BOC) posted a call for proposals due July 29, 2020 ($150,000 award ceiling) from institutions of higher education and non-profit organizations to measure perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes toward the Census Bureau.  There are three program priorities: (1) secure research and development of formal privacy methods, including but not limited to differential privacy, for sample surveys; (2) explore the feasibility of open source data, and particularly those created through social media platforms such as Twitter, to complment or substitute opinion data from surveys and censuses. In particular, research should develop appropriate analytic strategies that facilitate the use of these data to meaningfully track attitudinal trends; and, (3) collaborate with an external body to design, build, and maintain an online research panel that would be available for robust public opinion and methodological research by statistical agencies and non profit organizations for the common good. For more information see: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=327791

The NIA-funded Reversibility Network (PIs: Eric Loucks, Margaret Sheridan, Keith Godfrey) is designed to foster research to reverse/remediate the effects of early life adversity (e.g. abuse, neglect, poverty, racial discrimination, etc.) in mid- and later-life, and welcomes scientists to apply for pilot funding through the Reversibility Network program shown below.

Applications are due on Aug. 14.

Call for Proposals – Summer 2020

Who we are. The Reversibility Network is a National Institute on Aging (NIA)-funded network of researchers whose mission is to advance research around remediating the effects of early life adversities (ELA) in mid- and later life. This growing network of interdisciplinary ELA experts seeks to foster research that will fundamentally develop and prepare the field for greater scientific discoveries, with a particular focus on the interaction between ELA and interventions for population and patient benefits. Furthermore, we aim to raise awareness in the field about the importance of ELA, ELA measurement, ELA mechanisms, and effective interventions. Specific aims for this call for research proposal are in two themes: (1) ELA mechanisms and (2) ELA interventions. See below for additional detail.

RFA Guidelines and Terms of the Award: 2020 Grant Cycle

Funding Amount: $50,000 available; to be issued in sub-awards of $10,000-$20,000

Research Proposal Deadline: 4:30 p.m., Friday, August 14, 2020

A growing body of evidence, both animal and human, highlights the long-term liability that early life adversities (ELAs) – such as low socioeconomic status, adverse early experiences (e.g. abuse and neglect), and malnutrition – confer on mental and physical health outcomes in late life. In addition, novel behavioral interventions aimed at increasing health and wellbeing during adulthood are being developed, which may be effective when provided in mid- and later life for people who experienced ELA. However, midlife interventions which directly test whether interventions can modify the processes that account for the long-term impact of ELAs on later life health remain minimally researched, representing strong potential for discovery. Finally, newer methodologies (e.g., neuroimaging, gene expression, epigenetics, ecological momentary assessment) offer significantly greater opportunities to illuminate mechanisms linking ELA to adult outcomes. Increased understanding of mechanisms will improve our ability to develop more informed and effective interventions. In sum, this is a particularly ‘ripe’ time for deepening and extending an interdisciplinary research network on reversibility/remediation for early life adversity (ELA), an opportunity the Reversibility Network aims to foster.

The Reversibility Network will foster research that will fundamentally develop and prepare the field for greater scientific discoveries, with a particular focus on the interaction between ELA and interventions for population and patient benefits. Furthermore, we aim to raise awareness in the field about the importance of ELA, ELA measurement, and effective interventions. This is a call for research proposals on two themes:

ELA Mechanisms: Catalyze research on key mechanisms through which ELA influences health and aging outcomes (e.g. biological, behavioral, socioemotional) in midlife. Target mechanisms should be evaluated as to whether they are both malleable to interventions and influence aging outcomes, and projects should be designed to contribute to our understanding of causal pathways.

ELA Interventions: Foster research on: (a) Midlife effects of early life interventions (e.g. preconception through adolescence) for those exposed to ELA; (b) Midlife interventions for those who recall ELA and/or were objectively exposed to ELA. Intervention studies should be designed to test mechanistic hypotheses about malleable targets, utilizing the Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) mechanisms-focused approach.

Examples of possible research projects include: (1) collection of new data (e.g.  performing midlife interventions, or contacting completed intervention study participants to ask about ELA or adult outcomes), (2) analyses of archival data, or (3) systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

The approach to achieve these aims will be to extend an interdisciplinary, international Research Network on Interventions to Reverse Effects of Early Life Adversity (aka “Reversibility Network”) that was developed over the past five years. During the coming year, the Reversibility Network will focus on ELA research capacity and community building, which will cut across the two themes outline above.

One of the major initiatives is a call for Pilot Research Proposals ($10,000-$20,000 grants, from a pool of $50,000), with an emphasis on mid to later life interventions which take into account, and measure, the impact of ELA. These projects should advance the stated goals of this network, and have the potential to lay the foundation for a larger research grant application. Projects should support researchers with expertise in aging, intervention, or ELA, addressing the goal of increasing research into mid-later life reversibility of the impact of ELA on aging.

Proposals should be two pages long, with an NIH-formatted Specific Aims page, and a second page providing further detail on the Methods. In the Methods section, please give careful consideration to rigorous measurement of ELA measures, ELA mechanisms, design of the intervention, as well as statistical analysis and power considerations where appropriate. Successful applicants will participate in a virtual grantees meeting and be welcomed to join additional activities of the Reversibility Network.

Applications with fundable scores will be required demonstrate human subjects research compliance to NIH standards prior to receiving funding.

Please submit research proposals by Friday, August 14, 2020 by email to: Senior Project Coordinator, Frances_Saadeh@brown.edu.

Subject line should read: “Reversibility Network – 2020 Proposal submission – {PI Last Name}”

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards senior individual research training fellowships to experienced scientists who wish to make major changes in the direction of their research careers or who wish to broaden their scientific background by acquiring new research capabilities as independent investigators in research fields relevant to the missions of participating NIH Institutes and Centers.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is designed specifically for applicants proposing research that does not involve leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary clinical trial, but does allow candidates to propose research experience in a clinical trial led by a sponsor or co-sponsor.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will support students at institutions without NIH-funded institutional predoctoral dual-degree training programs. The purpose of the Kirschstein-NRSA, dual-doctoral degree, predoctoral fellowship (F30) is to enhance the integrated research and clinical training of promising predoctoral students, who are matriculated in a combined MD/PhD or other dual-doctoral degree training program (e.g. DO/PhD, DDS/PhD, AuD/PhD, DVM/PhD), and who intend careers as physician/clinician-scientists. Candidates must propose an integrated research and clinical training plan and a dissertation research project in scientific health-related fields relevant to the missions of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers. The fellowship experience is expected to clearly enhance the individual’s potential to develop into a productive, independent physician/clinician-scientist.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is designed specifically for candidates proposing research that does not involve leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary clinical trial, but does allow candidates to propose research experience in a clinical trial led by a sponsor or co-sponsor.

The Washington Sea Grant Keystone Fellowship offers a unique career development opportunity for a soon-to-graduate or recently-finished graduate student in ocean, coastal and policy issues. In 2020 this one-year paid fellowship will place a Keystone Fellow with mentor Nathalie Hamel of the Puget Sound Partnership.

The Fellow will work primarily on science and/or policy projects with an additional emphasis on work related to the advancement of social justice, racial equity and inclusion in these professional spaces. Keystone Fellows receive mentorship both through their host office and through participation in professional development activities with WSG.

The Fellowship offers first-hand experience working on projects that help us better understand, conserve and utilize Washington’s ocean and coastal resources while building pathways into marine related careers for individuals who are historically underrepresented in those fields. The program seeks to recruit students who are underrepresented in marine science and policy fields, especially Black, Indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC) as well as representatives of the LGBTQ+ community and allies.

Applications are due by 5:00 p.m., July 29, 2020, and must be submitted via eSeaGrant. Interviews will be held remotely during the first week of August.

Fellowship Dates: October 2020 – September 2021