Application Deadline: March 22
Award Amount: $5,000-10,000
The African Social Research Initiative (ASRI) is part of the African Studies Center at the University of Michigan. ASRI was established in response to the critical need in Africa for high-quality social data for policy and planning in economics, urbanization, gender, citizenship and governance, education, demographics, environmental change, and public health. ASRI encourages collaborative research projects that cross national, institutional, and disciplinary boundaries, and innovative partnerships with policy-makers.
The purpose of ASRI seed grants is to provide faculty at the University of Michigan and colleagues at institutions of knowledge production based in Africa with seed funding to conduct pilot research on important social research topics, and/or initiate new partnerships in this domain, to advance scholarship and policy, and to be used to leverage future funding. Projects with co-investigators from any country in Africa are welcome. ASRI particularly encourages projects that provide data of critical policy value—evidenced by plans to translate research into action, and/or commitment to supporting junior faculty—and/or those that are multidisciplinary in nature. Preference will be given to those applicants who have not previously received an ASRI seed grant award.
PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS AND APPLICATION PROCESS
Each proposal must be accompanied by a completed cover sheet as illustrated at the end of this RFA. Proposal narratives are limited to 5 pages, double-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman font, 1” margins. References, budget, and budget justification are not included in the 5-page limit.
Proposal narratives should address:
- Background / Description of the problem
- Research Goals & Objectives
- Methods
- Roles & Responsibilities
- Significance of the research / potential next steps
- Deliverable expected as the outcome of the proposed project
- Anticipated potential challenges and potential solutions to those challenges
- 1-page itemized budget and budget justification, including a breakdown of expenses across Africa and the United States
Proposals MUST include co-investigators from both the University of Michigan and partner African institution(s).
The cover sheet and additional application materials should be submitted as a single PDF, named “ASRI SEED GRANT [YOUR LAST NAME].” The PDF document should be emailed to asc-contact@umich.edu no later than April 15. Applications received after this date will not be considered for funding. Applications will be reviewed by Africanist social science faculty.
USE OF HUMAN SUBJECTS
All research projects involving human subjects conducted in connection with this must have written evidence of compliance with required federal guidelines and approval from an institutional review board (IRB). IRB approvals must be maintained and in effect throughout the project’s connection with the program.
REQUIREMENTS FOR FUNDED PROPOSALS
Grant recipients will be required to submit a final report to ASC, along with a short summary of results for the ASC website, no later than 6 months from the end of their funding cycle.
QUESTIONS
Questions may be directed to asc-contact@umich.edu.
