Miami Consortium for Latin American and Caribbean Studies - Call for Proposals, Interdisciplinary Research Groups, 2012-2013
The Miami Consortium for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, a partnership between the University of Miami’s Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) and Florida International University’s Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC), is pleased to announce the 2012-13 cycle of the Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRG) competition. The IRG program is made possible by contributions by CLAS and LACC.
The Miami Consortium’s IRG program has as its goal the promotion of cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research spearheaded by professors and students at UM and FIU in the field of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. The amount of each IRG award is $5,000. Awards are not renewable. Funds are intended to serve as seed money for the development of medium- and long-term research initiatives. Proposals that do not assign priority to this objective will not be considered for funding.
For the 2012-13 cycle, proposals should address one of these areas of interest:
- Migration
- Informal Cities
- Emerging Markets
Funds provided will support such activities as research projects, workshops, conferences, publications, and the development of curriculum and teaching resources in one of the areas of interest. The IRG program seeks to fund teams of scholars working collaboratively on a project. For the 2012-13 cycle, only proposals with a scholarly concentration will be considered (that is, projects solely focused on public policy or civic engagement activities will not be considered for funding). Proposers are encouraged to clearly explain how this funding might be used to advance a sustained research agenda, lead to proposals for external funding, and result in the publication and broad dissemination of project outcomes.
Full proposals should include (1) a cover page listing the title of the project; the names, position and affiliation of the PI or co-PIs; and the names, position and affiliation of the rest of the participants in the proposed IRG; (2) a maximum of five single-spaced pages including the title of the project; the selected area of interest; the project’s relevance to the field of study; the project’s objectives and the process by which the objectives are to be achieved; and the specific deliverables of the project; and (3) a single-page itemized budget. Please note that items (2) and (3) should not contain the names of the PIs or the participants. Incomplete or late proposals will not be accepted.
Preference will be given to proposals that include PIs from UM and FIU. The MC encourages teams to collaborate with partners in Latin America and the Caribbean. IRG awards may be combined with funding from other sources. A panel of four faculty members (two from UM and two from FIU) appointed by the directors of CLAS and LACC will review the proposals. The directors of CLAS and LACC will participate in the panel’s deliberations but will not vote on the awards. Proposals must be received by CLAS Associate Director, Israel Alonso-Chavez (i.alonsochavez@miami.edu), by December 7, 2012. Awards will be announced following a review process. Funds must be used by the end of the UM’s 2013 fiscal year, May 31, 2013. The monies will not rollover into subsequent fiscal years. Please note that funding cannot be used for salary support of any kind. The IRG PI or co-PIs are solely responsible for tracking expenditures.
PIs are strongly encouraged to contact the directors of CLAS and LACC prior to submitting a proposal to discuss their research projects. Proposers whose projects do not receive funding can request written feedback by sending a request in writing to Mr. Alonso-Chavez.
More detailed information on other aspects of these grants, including financial and narrative reports on the activities completed by the IRG, will be outlined in the award letter.
This is a highly revised call for the IRG program. Beginning with the call for the 2013-14 IRG competition—which will occur in the spring of 2013—the MC will establish a regular cycle with a CFP in the spring, awardees announced soon thereafter, and project starting in the following fall semester and ending at the conclusion of the corresponding fiscal year.