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.
Mildred Mathias Award
Program Flyer

UC MEXUS announces a competition for funding of projects conducted by University of California researchers or research teams in all disciplines in the areas of

Projects funded are expected to lead to development of major, long-term, interdisciplinary re-search and intercampus/interinstitutional collaborations with strong potential for extramural funding; binational conferences and publications; significant advancement of scholarship; new creative works; innovative binational instruction or new intercampus courses; public service programs; strengthening of academic and research capabilities; and/or graduate student training. The competition is intended to provide seed funds for new or developing projects; requests to support the continuation of an ongoing project will have a lower priority. Proposals for collaborative research projects with investigators at Mexican institutions should consider submitting under the Call "UC MEXUS-CONACYT Grants for Collaborative Projects". However, pilot projects designed to seek out and develop the initial ties with Mexican colleagues and institutions may apply to this program.

Eligibility

Only University of California employees eligible under the UC policy for Principal Investigator status may submit proposals in response to this Call. Recipients of two or more awards from any UC MEXUS grants program (excluding small/travel grants) within the previous five years (2003-2007) are not eligible to apply. Postdoctoral researchers and students are not eligible. Only one proposal will be accepted from each Principal Investigator, and the same proposal may not be submitted to concurrent UC MEXUS grants competitions. Please note, as stated above, requests for renewals or continuations of previous awards are given lower priority.

Conditions of Award

If previously funded by UC MEXUS, Principal Investigators must complete previous awards in this program, and final financial and narrative reports must be filed and accepted by UC MEXUS. Each grant is expected to result in the completion of the proposed work within one year. UC MEXUS support of the project shall be acknowledged in proposals to extramural agencies and publications or conference materials that result, fully or partially, from the UC MEXUS grant. A copy of each proposal or publication 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. Applicants 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.

Budgets

Awards of up to $15,000 will be provided for the one-year period, July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009. All budgets are subject to strict administrative review. The appropriateness of the budget to the project and the UC MEXUS program is also considered within the criteria for the peer review process. No project will be funded until all the appropriate items have been approved.

Allowable expenses include:

• domestic and international travel for the purpose of meetings, conferences, instruction and collaboration; field, laboratory, and archival research; data collection. Keep in mind that the program is intended to fund the seed research phase of a project. As a result, conference attendance is given lower priority in the review process. If included, it should be limited to one meeting, no more than $500 per participant, and clearly directly related to the development of the project or the reporting of results.
• computing, lab analyses, and research assistance.
• research supplies and services.

Items that will not be funded include:

• salary payments to Principal Investigators or other academic salaries, except student research assistants in areas directly related to the project.
• tuition remission to student assistants.
• equipment purchases, including computers, computer accessories, and parts.
• indirect costs or institutional overhead assessments.
• reimbursement for activities that occur before the project period begins.

Submission of Proposals

Procedures established by each campus for the submission of grant proposals must be followed. These procedures provide for review of the proposal and budget by the Contracts and Grants or Research Office that serves each faculty member participating in the project. Faculty participating in multi-campus projects are responsible for obtaining appropriate local approvals, which will be confirmed by memoranda to the Contracts and Grants Manager of the campus on which the Principal Investigator resides. For additional information about these procedures, contact your local 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) by the deadline via the UC Contracts and Grants or Research Office serving the Principal Investigator's 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.

Deadline for Receipt of Proposals

To be considered, proposals must be received bearing required local-campus approvals not later than 5:00 p.m. Monday, March 31, 2008. Late or incomplete proposals, faxes, or electronic submissions will not be accepted, nor will proposals only postmarked with the deadline 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, humanities, and arts. Proposals should be written for a committee of broadly-based expertise and interests. Appropriate 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 the significance of the proposed work for society and for the advancement of scholarship in the discipline(s); the involvement of proposed collaborators in the conceptualization and performance of the work; and the involvement of students in ways which advance their training. In addition, reviewers will consider whether the budget is in keep-ing with the methodology, appropriate to the program goals, and within the allowable criteria set forth by UC MEXUS (see the section above under "Budgets").

Projects that are collaborative, interdisciplinary, intercampus, and/or binational are particularly welcomed. Reviewers will seek evidence of meaningful participation among collaborators and will look for project design that leads toward long-term cooperative research and/or development of new research programs and resources. Projects addressing Mexican-origin populations in California are encouraged, as well as those that are interdisciplinary (as evidenced by participants from different disciplines). For research projects in Mexico, developing a collaboration with ap-propriate Mexican institutions and individuals beyond the proposed fieldwork is a critical factor.

Applicants 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, participants 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 co-operation will be elicited from local informants and subjects.

Another key criterion for evaluation is whether the seed funding for the proposed project will lead to applications for extramural funding. All proposals should discuss any UC MEXUS funding received by the Principal Investigator(s) in the past five years, including description of the project results and the current status of the award.

UC MEXUS does not offer any prereview 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

• Cover Sheet - This is the form titled "2008 UC MEXUS 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 detailed information about the project you propose to develop within a narrative statement (maximum 10 pages) attached to this application form. This narrative should discuss the academic bases for the proposed activities; specific plans and methodology; significance; and potential applications of the results of the project. Please refer to the section, "Review Process and Criteria" for additional items which should be addressed in the project plan, including a summary of previous UC MEXUS support.
• Detailed Budget - Attach a detailed budget for the project period-July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009-that specifically relates each item to the project plan. Refer to 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 cv of the Principal Investigator(s). Attach the curriculum vitae and letter of intent to participate for each additional academic participant (except for students).
• Contracts and Grants/Research Office signature - all proposals must have been reviewed and approved by the campus research office of each P.I.'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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