Interdisciplinary Action Groups

CRASE is dedicated to research, scholarship, and artistic efforts that directly investigate and address the many pressing social, cultural, economic and environmental issues currently emerging with the rapid proliferation of new technologies, social media, global crises, political upheavals, and climate change. 

 

CRASE Interdisciplinary Action Groups Grant Program

world map with continents made of ice

Call for Proposals: Interdisciplinary Action Groups (IAGs)  - Climate Crisis

CRASE invites teams of faculty and librarians from at least three different academic departments to propose a 3-4 month project with a specific, high impact outcome that provides new ideas, strategies, and possibilities to address the climate crisis.

Directly or indirectly, all of us are feeling the impacts of climate change. Rising temperatures across the globe are producing extreme weather events such as a massive uptick in wildfires and floods, and more intense hurricanes resulting in loss of property, loss of habitats, climate migration, and more. And, to be sure, the effects of climate change are far from equal across the globe with poorer countries and coastal cities being affected more than others. 

From Kyoto, to Paris, and now Glasgow, governments across the world are negotiating climate change accords that might reduce and limit carbon emissions. Critics, however, rightly point out that these top-down initiatives are far from sufficient. Climate activists, local communities, non-governmental and not-for-profit organizations, among other actors, are mounting their own efforts to hold governments, the fossil fuel industry, big business, and other polluters accountable, and develop action plans to mitigate climate change. Despite these best efforts, the physical transformations of the planet, from melting glaciers to sea-level rise, are continuing to worsen. 

CRASE is dedicated to research, scholarship, and artistic efforts that directly investigate and address the many local and global, political and economic, social and cultural issues that are contributing to and that emerge from the climate crisis. With this commitment in mind, we solicit teams of faculty and librarians to submit a proposal for research, scholarship, and artistic projects that address at least one of the following:

Promote the understanding of climate change from various perspectives (e.g., social, political, philosophical economic) and the understanding that it constitutes a real, existential threat to our lives and the planet.

Promote advocacy and activism to address climate change and show how local communities,  grassroots organizations, and climate activism are taking on the climate crisis.

Develop, implement, support, or evaluate programs and interventions to address the climate crisis.

Develop and/or assess research to evaluate policies, programs, and interventions that tackle the climate crisis.

General Guidelines: 

Description:

Teams of faculty and librarians from at least three different academic departments will propose a 3-4 month project with a specific, high impact outcome that provides new ideas, strategies, and possibilities addressing a social problem. Each team will be expected to share their project with the USF community, key stakeholders, and with the public in the form of talks, written materials, symposia, panel discussions, mini conferences, research publications, or other outputs. Specific outcomes must contribute to the public debate concerning the issue and may include one of the following: policy brief, position paper, presentation, or publication. Awards of up to $3,000 will be awarded in Fall 2022.

Guidelines:

Please submit a 3-5-page single spaced proposal not including cover page or citations. Please address the following in your proposal:

1) Urgent issue: What is the current, urgent issue that will be addressed, and why is it critical?

2) Description of the project: How will your team address this topic?

3) Timeline: What is your timeline for completion of the project?

4) Project Outcomes: What are your proposed outcomes (e.g., policy brief, book proposal, community presentation) and how will these inform the public debate on your topic?

5) Team: Who is in your team and what perspective and fields of expertise do they represent? You do not need to include individual bios of the team, rather a narrative of the overall team and the perspectives they bring.

6) Budget: What is your budget and how do you propose to spend the money?

Submission:

Email proposals to CRASE@usfca.edu. Proposals will be reviewed by a team of faculty and librarians from across the university.

IAG Funding:

IAG Awardees can use the funds to support activities for bringing together the IAG or supporting work led by the IAG. Examples of ways in which IAG funding can be spent include: inviting guest speakers, organizing an event at USF with food, etc., hosting IAG-related writing retreats or workshops, publication fees for an IAG-related paper, spending on equipment or travel. Spending must be in line with university policy, including limits placed on travel meals ($75/day with no allowance for alcohol), lodging ($275 per night), and airfare ($750). Expenses beyond these limits require Vice Provost approval. 

 

Previous Awardees:

The Pandemic As Portal: What Does Our Post-COVID Future Hold?

 
2 Grants awarded 2021-2022:

 

Research Study: USF-ALAS Migrant Youth Summer: Education, Arts, and Sports for Justice   

Action Group Grant Team: Rosa Jimenez, Jane Bleasdale, Enrique Luis Bazan, and Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga

 

Research Study: Impact to Asian American community in post-COVID era

"Affective Engagement in #StopAAPIHate on Social Media: The Role of Emotion in Driving Engagement for Counter-hate Content on Twitter"

Action Group Grant Team: Zifei Fay Chen, June Y. Lee, Shan Wang, and Diane Woodbridge 

 

Examples of grant awards can be found here:

 

Award

Two to three grant awards of up to $3,000 will be awarded [date to be determined]. Awards may be used to purchase tangible goods related to grant activities. While funds can be used for stipends and honoraria, they can only be paid to full-time faculty and may be taxed. Funds cannot be disbursed to students and non-full-time faculty at USF. Awards must be spent as indicated by the award letter otherwise the unspent portion will be returned to CRASE.

 

Guidelines

Submit a 500-700 word proposal addressing the following:

  • Urgent issue: Succinctly describe the problem your topic seeks to address as it relates to the theme, Post-COVID Futures.
  • Plans: Provide a detailed description of your project.
  • Timeline: Describe how your team will address this topic over the course of a semester.
  • Outcomes: What are your proposed outcomes (i.e. policy brief, book proposal, community presentation, etc.)?
  • Team: Describe group members, noting individual contributions to your topic, departments, and schools/colleges/library they represent. Provide brief bios of each member and why their perspectives are important.
  • Budget: What is your budget and how do you propose to spend the funds? Previous proposals have included honoraria for guest speakers, food for an event, art supplies, and faculty stipends.

Criteria For Award

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Interdisciplinary nature of the team
  • Significance of the topic
  • Clarity in articulation of the project and its connection to the theme Post-COVID Futures
  • Feasibility of the project to impact local, regional, and/or national communities
  • Meaningfulness of the proposed outcomes
  • Appropriateness of the budget

Submission

Proposals will be reviewed by a team of faculty from across the university. Announcements will be made during the spring semester. Winning teams are expected to submit a blog post (500-800 words) to be published on the CRASE blog. Faculty teams are also featured in the CRASE Academic Faculty Circles.

 

Questions?

We strongly encourage emailing us your ideas, intent to apply, and potential dates, so that we may provide provisional feedback prior to submitting your final proposal. We can also assist in forming interdisciplinary groups.

As a Jesuit institution, USF is committed to founded on academic rigor and scholarship stemming from reflection and discernment on social, artistic, and environmental justice-related issues with the goal of developing a deeper, interreligious understandings, and service to others, especially poor and marginalized communities. The mission’s parameters are broad and inclusive and we encourage scholars to expand their understanding of how their work “encourages critical, analytical, and creative approaches to solving problems.”

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