2016 Seed Grant Competition for Faculty and Collaborative Research Groups

2016 Call for Faculty Grants (full content of this PDF also listed below)

The Center for Latino/a & Latin American Studies (CLLAS) Announces 2016 Seed Grant Competition for Faculty Collaborative Research Groups

In order to encourage existing projects and collaborations and to facilitate new ones, CLLAS announces its sixth grant competition for funds to be used during the 2016-2017 academic year (July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017). We plan to award 1-2 grants of up to $5000.1 This grant is specifically intended to support research that fits within the CLLAS mission. Projects that include collaboration between UO units, involve the wider Eugene/Springfield, Oregon, or Latin American communities/organizations/institutions in the U.S. or Latin America or propose other forms of community engagement are particularly welcome. Proposals generated within CLLAS Research Action Projects (RAPS) will be given priority. In recognition of the fact that not all disciplines include collaborative models of research, such as fields within the humanities, CLLAS will consider projects that involve nontraditional forms of collaboration and/or community engagement. We are especially interested in projects that have the potential to put Latino and Latin American Studies into conversation with one another.

Possible project topics include, but are not limited to:

• Latino/a literature or visual arts
• history and ethnic identity
• immigration
• education
• language and language use
• film and media
• historical memory
• environmental and economic sustainability projects structural adjustment policy impact on local communities
• governmental or public policy sustainable business practices philosophical inquiries narrative and popular culture public health
• gender and sexualities testimonies performance
• human rights

This grant is made possible by the generous support of University of Oregon’s Division of Equity and Inclusion.

Former recipients must wait one year before applying again. All grantees will be asked to make a public presentation of their research projects during the 2016-2017 academic year; to write a newsletter article; to include recognition of CLLAS in all relevant presentations and publications; and to provide CLLAS with information regarding other grants and fellowships received, as well as publications, films, websites, or other materials that result from the funded research. Grantees are encouraged to work with CLLAS staff and RAPs to explore further collaborations and external grant opportunities. Funds not spent by June 30, 2017 will revert to CLLAS and will no longer be available to the grantee. Projects funded must be completed within the 2016-2017 academic year.

Criteria for Application:

1. This grant is intended for researchers who engage Latino/a or Latin American communities and/or collaborative group projects.
2. Projects should show evidence of interdisciplinarity. Preference will be given to projects that include individuals from at least two different units on campus or at least one UO unit and one community organization.
3. Preference will be given to proposals that connect to the local community or more broadly to the state of Oregon and beyond in the U.S. or Latin America.
4. Preference will be given to projects that relate to one of the CLLAS Research Action Projects (RAPs). Full RAP descriptions and coordinator names can be found at cllas.uoregon.edu. Applicants are encouraged to contact RAP coordinators for more information and ideas for collaboration.
5. The grants are intended for a sustained set of activities unified by a specific theme (i.e. not to sponsor one speaker or performance). People who have already been in conversation or are currently working together are encouraged to apply. We suggest that applicants demonstrate their collaborative track record and list specific activities or events they have planned and carried out jointly in the past, such as planning a conference, team teaching, working on a research project, or sitting on a project committee together. We would also like to encourage new collaborations and urge those who have not worked together previously to carefully demonstrate how they will accomplish their collaboration.
6. Applicants should demonstrate how their project either builds on work already begun or describe how they plan to use a CLLAS grant to leverage future resources. Other secured and potential funding sources should be included in the budget proposal.
7. Grantees will be asked to specify what kinds of concrete results their project will produce in one to two years, including research results, creative products, educational materials, etc.

APPLICATION PROCESS
Application Deadline: 12:00 p.m., Friday, May 6, 2016 Applicants will be notified by June 3, 2016.

Applications should include:
1. A cover letter that includes a summary of the project and the amount of the request up to

$5000. Contact information for all applicants should be included.

2. A description of the project (maximum 1000 words). Describe the interdisciplinary nature of the project, proposed participants and their organizations, how the project is sustained through time (as opposed to sponsoring an event), track record of participants working together, other potential or existing sources of support, concrete results, and other information. Please indicate if there are cosponsors and a timeline for planning and carrying out the project.

3. A budget and grant request for the project. Applications may request up to $5,000 of support from CLLAS. (Please note that these grants do not cover equipment needs such as digital cameras or laptops.) In your budget, please indicate: other sources of support that have been secured, other sources requested, and what specific project activities other funds and CLLAS funds will cover (Please note: applicants are discouraged from using CLLAS funds to support non-UO personnel or researchers.)

4. Statements of qualifications and/or vita (CVs must not be longer than two pages per person). Please describe your qualifications and capacity to carry out the project. University applications should demonstrate unit support for the project by including a short letter from the unit head.

You may submit your applications electronically or in hard copy:

For Electronic Submissions: Send applications by email to CLLAS staff at cllas@uoregon.edu. Attach application documents (cover letter, project description, budget and grant request, statement of qualifications) as either a Microsoft Word for PC Document or an Adobe PDF. One attachment for all documents is preferred. Include your name in the title of the documents (e.g. Rodríguez_CLLAS_Grant.doc).

For Hard Copy Submissions: Mail or deliver the complete application packet to the address below. All parts of the application, including vita, should be printed single-sided and paper- clipped (not stapled). Applications need to be received no later than the above due date and time.

Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies 337 Hendricks Hall
6201 University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon 97403

For more information, contact the Center for Latino/a & Latin American Studies Assistant Director Eli Meyer or graduate assistant Erika Takeo at cllas@uoregon.edu or 541-346-5286. You may find a list of funded projects from previous competitions on the CLLAS website cllas.uoregon.edu

Center for Latino/a & Latin American Studies Executive Board: Professor Carlos Aguirre, Department of History; Monique Balbuena, Robert D. Clark Honors College and Latin American Studies; Professor Erin Beck, Department of Political Science; Professor Christopher Chávez, School of Journalism and Communication; Feather Crawford, Department of History; Professor Cecilia Enjuto Rangel, Department of Romance Languages; Antonio Huerta, Undergraduate Studies; Professor Gabriela Martínez, School of Journalism and Communication; Professor Ellen McWhirter, Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Services; Lori O’Hollaren, Global Studies Institute; Guadalupe Quinn, Amigos Multicultural Services; Alai Reyes-Santos, Ethnic Studies; Professor Gerardo Sandoval, Department of Planning, Public Policy, and Management; David Woken, UO Libraries; Professor Kristin Yarris, Departments of International Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies