Current Calls
Social Protection for Platform Workers in Asia
FutureWORKS Asia invites proposals for empirically grounded, country-based case studies that examine how social protection for platform workers is being designed, interpreted, and implemented in practice across Asia. The call focuses on specific, ongoing or recently initiated policy, regulatory, or programme initiatives, including the extension or adaptation of existing schemes, as well as the development of new arrangements led by governments, platforms, or hybrid public–private approaches.
The case studies should examine how key actors – such as government agencies, platforms, and workers – understand vulnerabilities and navigate these initiatives on the ground. Emphasis is placed on stakeholder experiences, institutional processes, and emerging implementation dynamics, including patterns of uptake, exclusion, and contestation, with a view to identifying lessons for strengthening social protection systems. Given this focus, the case studies are expected to draw primarily on qualitative research, complemented by policy and regulatory analysis and high-level secondary quantitative data where relevant.
This Call is supported with funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
Budget: USD 6,000
Application deadline: 15 February 2026 | 23:59 (UTC +5:30)
Online application form: https://forms.gle/DKJwRMfziJvzGsCZA