Global Development Awards Competition 2026 - Call for ORD (research) Reviewers

GDN is recruiting reviewers to conduct the assessment of research proposals under the ORD category of the Global Development Awards Competition. The review is scheduled to take place in two phases:

• Lot 1 - Reviewers will be selected to conduct a first assessment of proposals on the basis of the ORD selection criteria and shortlist the best proposals.
• Lot 2 Experienced researchers to review the shortlisted proposals, and select the three finalists of the ORD category. The final decision will be validated by the Panel Organizer.

Panel Organizer

Out of the Lot 2 reviewers, a Panel Organizer is selected based on her/his professional experience upon demonstrated availability for this additional task. This individual will have the additional task of approving the final ranking after taking into consideration all comments and (normalized) scores.

Interested candidates can apply to one lot only, depending on their profiles.

⮚ Lot 1: Be a researcher with 2-10 years of research experience, with a track record of work and publication in the award theme for the current edition

⮚ Lot 2: Be a researcher with 10+ years of research experience, with a track record of work and publication in the award theme for the current edition

Background

The Japanese Award for Outstanding Research on Development (ORD) is a competitive research grant program under the umbrella of the Global Development Awards Competition administered by the Global Development Network (GDN), funded under the Policy and Human Resources Development Fund (PHRD) trust fund managed by the World Bank, and generously supported by the Ministry of Finance, Government of Japan.

Objective of the assignment

GDN is recruiting reviewers to conduct the assessment of research proposals under the ORD category of the Global Development Awards Competition.

The review is scheduled to take place in two phases:

⮚ Lot 1 - a first level review by early-career scholars (less than 10 years of experience)

⮚ Lot 2 a second level review of experienced researchers (above 10 years of experience)

Interested candidates can apply to one lot only, depending on their profiles.

Panel Organizer

Out of the Lot 2 reviewers, a Panel Organizer is selected based on her/his professional experience upon demonstrated availability for this additional task. This individual will have the additional task of approving the final ranking after taking into consideration all comments and (normalized) scores.

Lot 1: First level review

Reviewers will be selected to conduct a first assessment of proposals on the basis of the ORD selection criteria and shortlist the best proposals.

Lot 2: Expert level review

Experienced researchers to review the shortlisted proposals, and select the three finalists of the ORD category. The final decision will be validated by the Panel Organizer.

Review criteria of ORD applications

The criteria for the ORD category are as follows:

⮚ Academic quality

1. Quality of the research question formulated
2. Quality of methodology and methods chosen to answer the research question
3. Quality of literature review
4. Originality and Innovativeness
5. Ethics

⮚ Clarity of the links to policy

1. Link to specific development outcomes
2. Specific relevance to policy process

⮚ Feasibility

1. Timeline
2. Budget
3. Research team
4. Impact of social distancing policies
5. Structure of the review and timeframe

Each review consists of:

1) Scoring each proposal against the criteria

2) Comments to complement the quantitative evaluation per each of the 11 criteria

3) Indication of recommendation to advance to the following stage

a. Lot 1 Reviewers – Yes/No to “Should this proposal advance to the next stage”

b. Lot 2 Reviewers – Yes/No to “Is this proposal among the top 3 you have reviewed”

Applicants receive the anonymized comments and have the opportunity to revise their proposals between phases. It is expected that all comments submitted are respectful and contribute to the professional development of the applicants regardless of the quality of their proposal.

Lot 2 reviewers (second level review) will not have access to the comments from the 1st level reviewers but the applicants will provide a reaction to their comments.

Finance and Budget

⮚ Lot 1: Every proposal reviewed will be paid USD 40 to the reviewer.

⮚ Lot 2: Every proposal reviewed will be paid USD 80 to the reviewer. GDN also pays USD 200 to the Panel Organizer as a management fee.