Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - General
- I have a great project that fits within UC MEXUS' areas of interest. Am I eligible for any funding opportunities?
- May I apply to more than one grant competition?
- I have received previous grants from UC MEXUS. May I still apply?
- May I apply for a continuation of my current grant?
- Whom can I contact for additional information about UC MEXUS programs and UC MEXUS-CONACYT grants and/or fellowships?
- Who should send a letter of intent? How many should I have? What should the letter include? Why do you need it?
- The IRB for Human Subjects Review approvals or exemptions on my campus will not meet before the UC MEXUS proposal deadline. Can I still apply?
- If I am selected to receive a grant, may I use the funds for project-related activities that occurred before the official project period started?
- Why can't I fax or e-mail my request for a change in my grant?
- What is the format for a final report?
- Does UC MEXUS fund projects in the sciences?
- Does UC MEXUS fund projects in the Arts?
- Does UC MEXUS fund conferences?
- Does UC MEXUS fund publications?
- How does UC MEXUS proportion funding among the UC campuses?
1. I have a great project that fits within UC MEXUS’ areas of interest. Am I eligible for any funding opportunities?
The eligibility requirements for each program are included in the descriptions of each Call for Proposals under "Eligibility." This section is usually on the first or second page of each program description. All the program descriptions are available under Funding Opportunities.
Keep in mind that the UC MEXUS mandate involves linking the University of California to the Mexican academic community and Mexico-related research. Thus, all projects must have a link to the University of California, and the grants programs are, for the most part, open only to researchers and scholars from the University of California or Mexican academic institutions.
University of California faculty and researchers who meet UC requirements for Principal Investigator status are eligible to apply to any of the grants programs except the dissertation research and postdoctoral residencies and exchange. Please check with your department administrator and/or campus research office (or sponsored projects office) if you have any questions regarding your eligibility. Lecturers are not eligible.
For the UC MEXUS-CONACYT programs, check the eligibility requirements for each program to determine which one would be most appropriate. Faculty or researchers with full-time positions at Mexican institutions of higher education and/or research recognized by CONACYT are eligible to apply in partnership with eligible UC researchers or faculty to the UC MEXUS-CONACYT grants and fellowships programs. Please note that most NGOs (ONGs) are not recognized as eligible institutions by CONACYT, even if they have a research component coupled with the advocacy role. If you are eligible, check the requirements for each program to determine which one would be appropriate. Please note that for the postdoctoral fellowships, applicants from Mexico must be Mexican citizens.
Recent Ph.D. graduates (within 2 years of the Call for Proposals) from the University of California or Mexico are eligible to apply for UC MEXUS-CONACYT postdoctoral fellowships. Please note that you may not apply to this program if your graduate studies were supported via the UC MEXUS-CONACYT cost-sharing program. Funds are limited and UC MEXUS-CONACYT prefer to distribute funds as broadly as possible and provide them to someone who has not yet had a chance for financial support.
If you are a graduate student enrolled in a doctoral program at the University of California, you may be eligible to apply to the UC MEXUS Dissertation Research Grants competition, provided you will have advanced to candidacy by June 30 of the funding year (i.e., 2008 for 2008 competitions). We currently do not offer programs to which undergraduates or graduate students not yet advanced to candidacy can apply. However, faculty submissions are encouraged to include student participation as part of the proposed projects.
If you are a Mexican student interested in graduate studies at the University of California, please consider the information found in the UC MEXUS website: UC MEXUS-CONACYT Doctoral Fellowships for Mexican Students.
If you do not meet any of these criteria, i.e., you are not an eligible UC or Mexican researcher, you can still participate in a submitted project as an "Additional Academic Participant." The budget can support your participation as long as the items are part of the allowable expenses outlined in the Call for Proposals (e.g., no equipment and no academic salaries).
Postdoctoral researchers and students may not submit proposals to the UC MEXUS Grants Program, the Small Grants Program, the UC MEXUS-CONACYT Collaborative Research Grants Program, or the UC MEXUS-CONACYT Faculty and Sabbatical Fellowships Programs. Please do not use an eligible researcher/faculty member as a front to submit a proposal to one of these programs for what is essentially your project. Grant review committees almost always recognize this strategy and look with considerable disfavor at attempts to get around program policies and goals.
2. May I apply to more than one grant competition?
You may submit separate proposals to any of the grant programs for which you are eligible, provided they are different proposals for separate projects or distinctly separate parts of an overarching program. Selection of one proposal for funding would not ensure funding for the other. You may not submit the same proposal to more than one competition, or even a differently worded proposal for the same project. In addition, you may not submit more than one proposal to the same competition. Note, however, that you may apply with the same project concurrently to the UC MEXUS grants and fellowship programs as long as the proposals are not identically worded, but instead geared to the goals of each program. That is, you cannot submit the exact same proposal to both and just change the title of the program to which it is sent. The grants programs are geared toward research development and the fellowship programs are geared toward career development of the individuals applying.
3. I have received previous grants from UC MEXUS. May I still apply?
If you have received only one grant in the past five years, you may apply. However, should your project be selected for funding, the grant would be contingent upon finishing your previous grant, including the submission and approval of your final narrative and financial report.
If you have received two or more grants from any of the UC MEXUS, UC MEXUS-CONACYT, or UC MEXUS-CMHI programs (excluding the Small/Travel Grants) within the last five years, you are no longer eligible to apply for a grant. While we have clearly recognized the importance of your work through our support, our funds are limited and it is time to give other researchers an opportunity for support. You may participate in a proposed project as an additional academic participant, but you may not be a P.I.
4. May I apply for a continuation of my current grant?
We seldom fund the continuation of projects, and grant reviewers are asked to give such requests lower priorities. The grants programs are intended to provide seed funds to get projects started. Projects are expected to grow well beyond UC MEXUS and go on for much larger, long-term funding from larger foundations and agencies (see the funding links below).
However, if you are just asking for an extension of the project period with no increase in funding, then you may ask for a "no-cost extension." The instructions are included in the terms and conditions of the award and require that you send a letter of request to:
Mr. David Kropf
Assistant Director, UC MEXUS
Universitywide Headquarters
3324 Olmsted Hall
University of California
Riverside, CA 92521
Provide a brief explanation of why the project needs more time and an estimated date for completion. The letter must be a hard copy with original signatures of the P.I. or both Co-P.I.s (for collaborative grants). E-mails and faxes are not accepted.
5. Whom can I contact for additional information about UC MEXUS programs and UC MEXUS-CONACYT grants and/or fellowships?
For the grants programs, contact Andrea Kaus (andrea.kaus@ucr.edu; tel: 951-827-3586) or Martha Ponce (martha.ponce@ucr.edu; tel: 951-827-4773).
For for the fellowship programs, contact Wendy DeBoer (wendy.deboer@ucr.edu; tel: 951-827-7339) or Susana Hidalgo (susana.garcia@ucr.edu; tel: 951-827-4744)
6. Who should send a letter of intent? How many should we have? What should the letter include? Why do you need it?
Anybody, except for students, who is listed as an "additional academic participant" on your proposal must include a letter of intent and a short curriculum vitae or biography. Only include people who are involved in the conceptualization and/or execution of the project, who are providing intellectual contributions, or whose participation is key to the success of the project. Every speaker at a conference does not need to be listed as an additional academic participant. However, if the funds are requested for the travel of a specific speaker, then that person would be considered an additional academic participant and would need to provide a letter and c.v. Principal Investigators do not need to include letters of intent, since the proposal itself requires a signature and c.v. and is considered to be sufficient indication of intent!
A proposal can also include letters of support from people who are not listed as participants, such as the director of an institute that will host the project, for instance. Such letters are helpful for the review committees to understand the commitment of all the people and institutions involved.
The letters of intent provide two purposes. First, they let UC MEXUS know that the people named as additional participants know about and agree to participate in the project. Second, if the letters include more than a perfunctory agreement to participate, they let the reviewers know the role of the participant in the project and his or her interest and dedication to it.
7. The IRB for Human Subjects Review approvals or exemptions on my campus will not meet before the UC MEXUS proposal deadline. Can I still apply?
Yes. The IRB schedules vary from campus to campus and are in no way coordinated with or connected to UC MEXUS deadlines. Simply indicate in your proposal that you are aware of the requirement for projects that involve human subjects and have submitted your project to the appropriate committee for approval. If UC MEXUS selects your project for funding, the grant would be contingent upon a copy of the IRB Human Subjects Review approval or exemption.
8. If I am selected to receive a grant, may I use the funds for project-related activities that occurred before the official project period started?
No funds may be allocated to any expenses before the beginning of the project period.
9. Why can’t I fax or e-mail any requests for a change in my grant?
The volume of e-mail and attachments that we receive is overwhelming. Apart from the risk of an undetected virus, all our documentation requires hard copies with original signatures to satisfy the policies of our own UC administration.
Send all requests regarding a change in your project, whether for a budget revision or no-cost extension, to:
Mr. David Kropf
Assistant Director, UC MEXUS
Universitywide Headquarters
3324 Olmsted Hall
University of California
Riverside, CA 92521
10. What is the format for a final report?
There is no standard format for the final report, but we do provide guidelines on our website under "Resources." These guidelines are not intended to be forms to fill in but more to indicate what are key points to cover. Keep in mind that we are interested in how the project reached its own goals, how the funds were spent in accordance to the approved budget, and how well the results of the project met the UC MEXUS goals in terms of providing seed funding for research and/or collaboration.
11. Does UC MEXUS fund projects in the sciences?
Yes. Such projects may not be of significance specifically to Mexico or U.S.-Mexico relations but rather have a more global significance. In such cases, what is emphasized is the collaboration between the University of California and Mexican scientific communities. Projects usually demonstrate how advancement in a specific field cannot occur without the combined research on either side of the border.
To gain a sense of the diversity of the areas funded, please look at the Spotlight on Research and Program Results pages, particularly the grants and fellowships awarded under the UC MEXUS-CONACYT Programs.
12. Does UC MEXUS fund projects in the Arts?
Yes, except for the UC MEXUS-CONACYT programs. CONACYT's national mandate is specific to science and technology, and its funding cannot cover funding for the arts.
For an idea of the range of projects in the arts supported by UC MEXUS, please look at the Spotlight on Research and Program Results pages, particularly for the Faculty Grants, Small Grants, and Dissertation Grants Programs. The Dissertation Grants Program is also open to MFA students if they are in a department that does not offer a Ph.D. program.
13. Does UC MEXUS fund conferences?
Yes, with some reservations. In general, the grants programs have been used for support of a portion of a conference or workshop that will provide a springboard for a more long-term research or academic agenda. UC MEXUS does not tend to fund events in which the meeting itself is the objective, i.e., when there is no plan beyond the event. The grants programs are intended to be seed grants to get projects started that will then go on to expand well beyond the limits of UC MEXUS support.
Keep in mind that all the grants are relatively small, while conferences are relatively expensive. A small amount of seed funds tends to get lost in a pot of larger donors. As a result, UC MEXUS prefers to fund a specific part of a meeting, perhaps a session that is specific to UC MEXUS' areas of interest or the travel for Mexican participants, things where it is clear that the funds will have a direct impact on the success of a conference and long-term goals.
14. Does UC MEXUS fund publications?
Not through the grants programs. The grants programs are intended to provide seed fund for the start of a research project. Occasionally UC MEXUS will support a proposal for activities related to the preparation of a publication, if and only if the publication involves the results of UC MEXUS-funded research.
15. How does UC MEXUS proportion funding among the UC campuses?
There is no preset amount allocated to each campus or any intended priority for any one campus. The funding distribution is a direct reflection of the number of proposals we receive from the different campuses to each competition and which ones are subsequently recommended for funding by the review committees. The home campus of a project is not a factor in the review process.
That said, the division of support among the campuses is fairly evenly distributed across the programs. For a sense of the distribution, you can review Spotlight on Research and Program Results pages.