About

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) has launched a call for proposals for the Participatory Social Research on Risk and Early Warning Perception in Border Communities.

Purpose

• The purpose of this grant is to generate evidence-based insights into how disaster risks and early warning messages are perceived, trusted, and acted upon by women, girls, persons with disabilities facing intersecting vulnerabilities due to age, migration status, ethnicity, remoteness or socioeconomic status in five border communities in Thailand, Lao PDR, and Cambodia. 

• The findings will directly inform the design of more inclusive, accessible, and actionable early warning communication strategies, plans and standard operating procedures in view of the principle of No One Left Behind.

Funding Information

• The maximum amount requested from UNDRR for the implementation of this project cannot exceed USD 53,000.

Outcome

• Improved understanding of the social, cultural, linguistic, technological, and psychological factors that influence how communities, particularly women, girls, persons with disabilities with intersecting vulnerabilities due to age, migration status, ethnicity, remoteness or socioeconomic status perceive, trust, and act on early warning messages in five disaster-prone border areas in Thailand, Lao PDR, and Cambodia.

Suggested Activities

• Establish a research team with experience and knowledge of the suggested geographic regions in Thailand, Lao PDR and Cambodia.

• Co-design and delivery of participatory research in five selected border communities in:

  • Thailand (Mae Hong Son, Nan, Ubon Ratchathani, or Chang Rai - provinces to be confirmed)

  • Lao PDR (Champasak - province to be confirmed)

  • Cambodia (Stung Treng - provinces to be confirmed)

  • Focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and community-based consultations with women, girls, and persons with disabilities and their organizations.

  • Field data collection and transcription, ensuring ethical standards and accessibility.

  • Analysis and validation workshops with communities and local government counterparts.

  • Preparation of final research reports and presentations to inform subsequent risk communication and capacity-building components of the project.

  • Validation sessions

Eligibility

• All International and national non-governmental organizations that wish to be considered for partnership opportunities with UNDRR will need to register and create a profile on the United Nations Partner Portal (UNPP). Following verification of the profile information, partners will be eligible to apply to partnership opportunities with UNDRR as well as the UN Secretariat and all other participating UN Organizations.

• They encourage you to start the registration as soon as possible to avoid delays. Only registered organizations whose profile has been successfully verified will be considered eligible partners to apply for grant opportunities with UNDRR.

• This research will be conducted in communities across Thailand, Cambodia, and Lao PDR. 

• The applicant should have minimum 10 years of experience in the domain of disaster risk reduction, climate change, environment and natural resources. Suggested documentation includes:

  • Previous/past experience demonstrated with copies of reports and evaluations from past projects

  • CVs of technical and senior staff

  • Applicant is expected to demonstrate that it has an operational presence and understanding of Thailand, Cambodia, and Lao PDR context. Suggested documentation includes:

    • Previous/past experience demonstrated with copies of reports and evaluations from past projects implemented in Thailand, Cambodia and Lao PDR.

Post Date: July 30, 2025