Human Trafficking Research Initiative
Forecasted
Human Trafficking Research Initiative supports researchers and implementing organizations with seed research and pilots to prepare counter-trafficking interventions for rigorous impact evaluations.
Funder: Innovations for Poverty Action
Due Dates (Anticipated): December 2026 (Proposal deadline)
Funding Amounts: Pilots: $10,000–$75,000; exploratory awards: $10,000–$30,000; existing-data awards: up to $15,000; projects last 3–12 months
Summary: Seed grants support partnerships, exploratory research, and pilots preparing counter-trafficking interventions for rigorous impact evaluations.
Key Information: Projects must take place outside the United States and primarily benefit people in or from low- and middle-income countries.
Description
Innovations for Poverty Action’s Human Trafficking Research Initiative (HTRI) supports early-stage research that prepares current or planned counter-trafficking interventions for larger impact evaluations. Funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Program to End Modern Slavery, the initiative brings researchers and implementing organizations together to strengthen evidence on reducing trafficking and protecting victims and survivors.
Seed funding supports partnership development, exploratory work, feasibility assessments, small research pilots, and analysis of existing data. Projects can address Prevention, Protection, Prosecution, or Partnership, and must build toward randomized or rigorous quasi-experimental impact evaluations rather than primarily qualitative or descriptive research. Proposals should address specific questions in HTRI’s Research and Learning Agenda and focus on sex trafficking, forced labor, or both.
