Aug 28, 2008

University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States

Annual Call for Proposals 2008
return to funding

Please consult the Resources page for additional information such as proposal writing suggestions, FAQs, and UC eligibility requirements. Awards from previous competitions are listed in Program Results.
Program Flyer

UC MEXUS is pleased to announce a competition for support of dissertation research or MFA final projects by University of California graduate students in the areas of

Projects funded are expected to lead to the completion of dissertations or MFA degrees in these areas. Preference will be given to projects that hold significant promise for the advancement of science or scholarship in areas of interest to UC MEXUS; that involve meaningful collaboration with a Mexican institution and/or a Mexican scientist or scholar; or that address issues of importance to Mexico and/or the Mexican-origin population in California and/or the United States.

Eligibility

University of California graduate students in good academic standing are eligible if they will be advanced to candidacy for the research doctorate by June 30, 2008. Successful proposals will not be funded until advancement to candidacy is attained. Only one proposal will be accepted from any student. Proposals for renewals of previous UC MEXUS awards will not be considered.

Conditions of Award

Each grant is expected to result in the completion of research to support the dissertation within two years of the UC MEXUS grant award. UC MEXUS support of the project shall be acknowledged within the dissertation and in publications that result, fully or partially, from the UC MEXUS grant. A copy of the dissertation or other publications must be provided to UC MEXUS. During the project period, grant recipients may be asked to participate in seminars, conferences, and educational activities organized by UC MEXUS.

Any selected project that uses human subjects, including pilot surveys or interviews, will be required to provide a copy of a UC campus IRB Human Subjects approval or exemption before the grant can be awarded. Students who are conducting research in Mexico are expected to acquire all required permits for sampling or fieldwork in Mexico, as well as export and import permits as appropriate. Copies of human subject review approvals or necessary research permits that have been obtained already should be included in the proposal as an attachment.

Proposals for research to be performed in Mexico must reflect a collaborative relationship with a Mexican scholar or scientist and an affiliation with a host Mexican academic institution. A copy of a letter of invitation from the Mexican institution is required with the proposal.

Budgets

Grants of up to $12,000 for periods of up to two years (July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2010) will be provided to support research leading to the dissertation. Allowable expenses include:

• Domestic and international travel for field, laboratory and archival research; data collection; and meetings. Keep in mind that the program is intended to fund research activities directly related to completing the dissertation or MFA final project. As a result, conference attendance is given lower priority in the review process and, if included, should be limited to one meeting, no more than $500 of the total budget, and directly related to the development of the dissertation research or reporting on its results.
• Computing, lab analyses, and other costs necessary to the research.
• Payment for field or research assistants, but only if well justified as to why this work would not be done by the applicant.
• Support stipends for periods of field and archival research if well justified and when no other source of support is available. Stipends are limited to a maximum of $1,000 per month and may not exceed $6,000 over the entire two-year project period.

Items which will not be funded include:

• Salaries or tuition.
• Equipment purchases, including computers, computer parts, and accessories.
• Indirect costs or institutional overhead assessments.
• Printing, publication, or editing costs of the dissertation or MFA final project.
• Reimbursement for activities that occur before the project period begins.

All budgets are subject to strict administrative review. No project will be funded until all the appropriate items have been approved.

Submission of Proposals

Approval by the student's research professor/faculty advisor is required; academic standing must be certified by the Graduate Division serving the student. Procedures established by each campus for the submission of grant proposals must be followed. On most campuses, these procedures provide for review of the proposal and budget by the Contracts and Grants or Research Office that serves the student's faculty advisor. For additional information about these procedures, contact your campus Contracts and Grants or Research Office. Please note that campus offices may require that proposals be submitted for internal review well before the published deadline in this Call for Proposals.

Submit 10 complete application sets (originals plus nine copies) with the required signatures indicated on the application forms from Graduate Division and the Contracts and Grants or Research Office serving your campus to:

A checklist of what needs to be included in the proposal packet is included as part of the cover sheet forms of the application and at the end of this page.

Faculty Recommendations

Two separate faculty recommendation letters are required:

1. By the proposal deadline, the student's research professor/faculty advisor needs to send a separate, confidential letter of recommendation to the Program Director at the address listed at the bottom of the page.
2. An additional letter of recommendation is required from a faculty member other than the student's advisor. This person need not be from the student's department, and the letter may be written in English or Spanish.

Deadline for Receipt of Proposals

To be considered, proposals must be received by UC MEXUS, with all required campus approvals, not later than Monday, March 31, 2008. Late or incomplete proposals, faxes, and other electronic submissions will not be accepted. Successful proposals will be funded on July 1, 2008. No reimbursements will be given for research activities prior to this date.

Review Process and Criteria

Each proposal will be reviewed, evaluated, and rated by a committee of UC and Mexican scientists and scholars representing expertise in relevant topics of either the natural and physical sciences or the social sciences, hu-manities, and arts. Proposals should be written for a committee of broadly-based expertise and interests. Appro-priate bibliographies and supporting documents should be provided.

In addition to such standard review criteria as clarity, quality, and feasibility of the proposal, the Committee will assign importance to whether the proposed activities support research directly applicable to completion of the doctoral dissertation. Additional consideration will be given to the significance of the proposed work for society and for the advancement of scholarship in the discipline(s); the protocols of research, particularly with respect to cultural factors affecting human subjects and non-academic participants; and the preparation of the student to undertake the project. For projects in Mexico, reviewers will seek evidence of affiliation or collaboration with Mexican institutions and/or scholars. A letter of intent must be included from each additional academic participant named in the proposal. In addition, reviewers will consider whether the budget is in keeping with the methodology, appropriate to the program goals, and within the allowable criteria set forth by UC MEXUS (see p. B-2 under "Budgets").

Students are expected to exercise sound environmental protection standards when conducting research in Mexico and be particularly attentive to the risk of introducing or spreading pathogens or invasive exotics in native ecosystems or agricultural systems. In addition, applicants are expected to follow research protocols that demonstrate sensitivity to cultural factors affecting human subjects and non-academic participants. In the proposal narrative, particular attention should be given to research methodology, including how samples will be drawn, how control groups will be used, how questionnaires will be constructed and administered, and, in general, how cooperation will be elicited from local informants and subjects. Selected projects that involve human subjects, including interviewing, will be contingent upon receipt of a copy of a campus IRB human subjects approval or exemption (see "Conditions of Award")

UC MEXUS does not provide pre-review of proposals nor will reviewer comments be provided following the competition. However proposal writing suggestions specific to this program can be found on the UC MEXUS website under "Resources."

For additional information contact

• Submit the proposal by the deadline. Proposals that are received after this date will not be accepted, even if they are postmarked earlier. Faxed or electronic submissions will not be accepted.
• Allow at least two weeks before the UC MEXUS deadline to meet internal campus deadlines and to get your advisor's signature. The application requires several signatures, including that of your advisor, Graduate Division, and the Contracts and Grants or Research offices at your campus. Each one will have deadlines for the submission of proposals for their review well before the published deadline in this Call for Proposals.
• Observe the indicated page limits (maximum 5 pp.) for the narrative statement.
• Submit all narrative materials, including the abstract, in at least 11-12 point font with adequate spacing and margins. The review committees will be reading many proposals, so make your proposal easy to read, both in content and format.
• Be clear but detailed in your budget. Note carefully the instructions on allowable expenses on page B-2 when preparing the detailed budget justification. The review committees evaluate the budget in terms of whether it is reasonable, clear, and appropriate for the project methodology and whether it stays within the guidelines for allowable expenses.
• Include all signatures, as indicated on the application form, from the faculty advisor, the graduate divi-sion, and the Contracts & Grants or Research Office serving the student's campus. Check that the Grad-uate Division has indicated that the student has advanced to candidacy. Proposals without the appropriate signatures will be considered incomplete and will not be accepted.
• Advise your advisors of the critical deadlines. Make sure that your faculty advisor and additional fac-ulty member are aware of the deadline to submit their letters of recommendation to UC MEXUS. Your advisor most likely will want to read your proposal draft with sufficient time to make suggestions and changes well before you submit it for review to the Contracts and Grants Office on your campus. The recommendation letters should be submitted separately, i.e., you advisor and additional faculty member need to send it to UC MEXUS directly, independent of your proposal packet.

• Cover Sheet - This is the form titled "2008 UC MEXUS Dissertation Grant Application" at the end of the pdf document. Print it out from your computer and fill it in. Include the proposal abstract in the box as indicated, a summary budget, and all signatures requested.
• Project Plan - Provide within a narrative statement (maximum five pages), the academic bases for the proposed activities, specific research plans and methodology, and potential results of the project. Attach a bibliography of relevant work. Proposals for work in basic science should address the potential applications of the work to a problem of importance to both Mexico and the United States.
• Bibliography - Attach a bibliography of relevant work. The bibliography does not count as part of the five pages for the project plan.
• Detailed Budget - Attach a detailed budget for the project period, July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2010, that specifically relates each item to proposed activities. Refer to the instructions under the "Budgets" section above regarding eligible expenses. Keep in mind that the budget is part of the criteria for the review process.
• Curriculum vitae - Attach the student's cv , as well as the cvs and letter of intent to participate for each additional academic participant (except for other students).
• Two letters of recommendation - The student's faculty advisor also must provide a letter of support for the project, detailing the student's preparation for and ability to accomplish the proposed work. An additional faculty member familiar with the student's work must send a separate letter of recommendation, in English or Spanish. Both faculty letters should be sent separately to the Program Director by March 31, 2008.
• Letter of invitation from a Mexican academic and/or research institution - The application must include a copy of a letter of invitation from a host Mexican institution for any project activities to be conducted in Mexico (see the section above under "Conditions of Award"). Retain the original for your own use and documentation while in Mexico
• Signatures, as indicated, from the student applicant, the student's faculty advisor, the Contracts and Grants/Research Office, and the Graduate Division for the student's campus. Please note that campus offices may require that proposals be submitted for internal review well before the UC MEXUS deadline for receipt of proposals.
• Retain a copy of all application materials submitted for your own records. UC MEXUS will not provide you with copies of submitted materials.

UC MEXUS Universitywide Headquarters
3324 Olmsted Hall • University of California
Riverside, CA 92521-0147, USA
Tel: (951) 827-3519 Fax: (951) 827-3856 Email: ucmexus@ucr.edu
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