RFF | Request for Proposals: Retrospective Studies of Regulatory Performance

I'm posting this RFP at the request of Dick Morgenstern and Art Fraas. This is a great project ... coincidentally, I recently purchased Economic Analysis a the EPA, ed. by Morgenstern and have read the intro, conclusions, and all the parts about estimating benefits. The book is highly recommended for a better understanding of what policy analysts do with our benefit estimates. 

From the website <https://www.rff.org/rpi/> here are excerpts from the RFP:

Overview

For more than 60 years, Resources for the Future (RFF) has been a leader in improving environmental, energy, and natural resource decisions through impartial economic research and policy engagement. The RFF Regulatory Performance Initiative (RPI) seeks to strengthen the measurement of the outcomes of federal environmental regulation. RFF is soliciting research proposals that pursue creative new ideas for measuring actual, realized benefits and costs of federal regulation. In particular, the project is focused on investigations that compare observed outcomes with a range of credible baselines and prospective or ex ante estimates.

Research Theme

RFF seeks applications for research and policy analysis on the performance of federal environmental regulations in the United States. ...

The present RFP seeks proposals in two areas:

1. New in-depth studies on the actual performance of individual (or groups of) rules issued by the US EPA. Our recent focus has been on Clean Air Act (CAA) regulation, but we are potentially open to other topics as well. Preference will be given to those proposals using particularly innovative methods or data sources.
2. New studies that examine the performance of different types of regulatory strategies; for example, a comparison of the performance of market-based vs traditional (command and control) regulation; a comparison of the performance of different types of market-based approaches (taxes vs emissions trading); or an evaluation of the performance of information-based (labeling) vs some type of mandatory regulation (e.g., traditional, command-and-control regulation or incentive-based approaches). These examples, and the examples below, are meant to illustrate but not limit the types of regulatory strategies that could be examined.

Scope

Selection of proposals will be based on the originality and scientific merit of the proposed research, compatibility with the research theme of this RFP, and the demonstrated research competence of the applicants. The project description should outline the plan of work and offer a discussion of its broader implications for federal environmental regulation.

Outreach and Dissemination

Grant recipients are expected to publish their research in both peer-reviewed journals and popular outlets.

Eligibility

Applicants must have demonstrated expertise in the relevant area of study.

Duration

The grant performance period is up to 15 months. The starting date is flexible, but applicants are urged to target a completion date no later than December 31, 2021.

Application

The application process is relatively simple and proceeds in two stages:

Stage 1: Pre-proposal submission (May 18 through June 15, 2020) ...

Stage 2: Final Proposals (June 30 through August 31, 2020) ...

Funding

At present, up to $200,000 is immediately available to support up to six grants. Applicants are encouraged to leverage this funding with other sources, consistent with RFF’s policy on outside support.

Timeline

The pre-proposal must be received by June 15, 2020. Applicants will be notified by June 30, 2020 if they are invited to submit final proposals. Final proposals must be received by August 31, 2020. Awards will be announced by September 15, 2020. All pre-proposal and final proposal materials should be sent electronically as PDF files to the RFF Principal Investigators, as listed below.

Contact

For more information, please contact the RFF Principal Investigators:

• Arthur Fraas ([email protected])

• Richard Morgenstern ([email protected])