To promote research in the Social Sciences, the Government of India had sanctioned the scheme ‘Impactful Policy Research in Social Sciences’ also  known as IMPRESS. The total cost of the scheme is Rs. 414 crores for implementation up to 31^st March 2023. Individual scholars as well as research institutes are encouraged to submit their proposals. Submission of proposal should be done in both online and offline mode. Detailed information related to the IMPRESS Scheme has been provided in this article.

IMPRESS Scheme 2022 Main Highlights

• The Indian Council of Social Science and Research (ICSSR) will be the project implementing agency.
• 1500 research proposals will be selected and will be funded for 2 years at the cost of Rs. 20-25 lakhs per project.
• An applicant can apply for maximum two projects at a time. In case both proposals are accepted, they can choose only one project at level 3.
• Institutes having good research infrastructure and resources can apply for any number of proposals.

Objectives of the Scheme

The main objectives of the IMPRESS scheme are categorized as follows:

• To identify and fund research proposals in the field of social sciences with major impact on the governance and society
• To ensure selection of projects through a transparent and competitive way in online mode
• To focus research on 11 broad thematic areas namely
  • State & Democracy
  • Urban Transformation
  • Media, Culture & Society
  • Employment, Skills & Rural Transformation
  • Governance, Innovation & Public Policy
  • Growth, Macro-Trade & Economic Policy
  • Agriculture & Rural Development
  • Health & Environment
  • Science & Education
  • Social Media & Technology
  • Politics, Law and Economics
• Apart from the 11 theme areas, there will be sub-theme areas decided as per the advice of Expert Groups

IMPRESS Scheme Eligibility Criteria

The applicants need to fulfill the eligibility criteria mentioned below if they wish to submit their proposal under IMPRESS scheme.

• Persons with proven Social Science expertise having a PhD degree or equivalent research work in any social science disciplines and research experience demonstrable through publications of books/ research papers/ Areports can apply.
• Institutions funded by the Government central and state Universities, private institutions with UGC 12(b) status and ICSSR funded/ recognized Research Institutes can submit proposals.
• A regular employee of a research institute who hold a PhD degree can also be appointed as a Project Director. However, he/ she must have an interest in doing research. This interest should be evidenced by their records of past studies, publications and academic background.
• Retired faculties with proven research interests can apply too given get themselves affiliated to any of the recognized research institutions.
• Senior government and defence officers (with at least 25 years of regular service) can also apply.

Submission of a Proposal

• Those who meet the eligibility criteria discussed above can submit their proposals for the IMPRESS scheme.
• The proposals can be submitted online on the portal http://impress-icssr.res.in/.
• A hard copy of the submitted proposal should also be sent at the address provided below.

Address for submission:

A copy of the proposal duly signed and stamped by the affiliating institution should be sent at the following address:

IMPRESS, Indian Council of Social Science Research,

Aruna Asaf Ali Marg,

New Delhi – 110 067

Evaluation of the Proposal

• Assessment and selection of the proposal will be completed with 90 days from the date of call.
• Those selected for the evaluation of the proposal will be persons of eminence and will be selected using certain specified criteria.
• The progress of the selected proposal will be supervised using the online portal. Coordinator of the proposal/ project can directly update the progress report on the portal.
• A third-party evaluation of the project will be done in March 2023.