Necessary Knowledge for a Democratic Public Sphere Program
http://www.ssrc.org/programs/media
WHAT:
The SSRC is pleased to launch its next round of the small grants project for academic-advocacy collaboration in the media and communications field. This round will provide grants of up to $7,500 for research that clearly supports advocacy, organizing, policy and/or campaign uses in the media and communications field in the US. The grants are intended for short-term work, completable and usable by advocacy partners within the next 4-12 months. Awards will be made on a rolling basis.
WHO:
In this round, proposals must be:
1 Submitted by a US-based nonprofit advocacy, organizing or community group working on media and/or telecommunications issues. (Groups with nonprofit fiscal sponsorship are also eligible.)
2 Structured as a partnership with an academic researcher based at a university, college or other research institution. This can include advanced graduate students.
There are no citizenship requirements for participants in these projects.
CRITERIA:
Please review the attached list of criteria carefully BEFORE preparing your proposal.
All projects must:
? Be strategically useful in their proposed advocacy and/or organizing context.
? Produce scholarship that meets academic standards.
? Have a realistic workflow and timeframe.
The selection committee will also favor proposals that:
? Address issues of disparate impact on communities on the basis of race, class, gender, ethnicity, age or other identity/status category.
? Build capacity—skills, tools, experience, access to data sets—within the "user" organization and/or community.
? Have a clear plan for the dissemination of the research to target audiences.
? Have uses outside the immediate intended context.
? Use methods or models of research that have proved effective in similar contexts.
? Reflect diversity in the staff or group involved with the project.
Bonus points for proposals that:
? Involve collaboration between two or more advocacy/community groups in the project design and the plan of use for the research.
? Use participatory methods to engage community and/or advocacy group members in framing the questions, data collection, and/or analysis.
? Are related to issues of telephony, publishing, privacy, intellectual property, independent media, or spectrum.
See also sample topics below.
PROPOSAL STRUCTURE:
Please submit proposals to mediahub@ssrc.org . Please send a project outline of no more than 5 pages including:
? A short description (max. 100 words) of how the research will be used to advance public-interest change in the media/communications arena.
? A description of the research project (max. 1000 words), covering both process and outcomes, and addressing the criteria above.
? A description of the proposing organization (max. 200 words), including mission, constituency, geographical scope of work, and annual budget.
? The name, institutional affiliation(s) and research experience of the academic partner.
? A project timeline.
Plus:
? The researcher’s CV.
? A budget of up to $7500, with itemized major expenditures. If the project draws on other resources or financing, please indicate them.
REVIEW COMMITTEE:
Applications will be reviewed and selected for funding by our Panel:
? Saskia Fischer, Media Empowerment Project
? Hernan Galperin, Annenberg School of Communications, University of Southern California
? Dorothy Kidd, Media Studies, University of San Francisco
? Gene Kimmelman, Consumers Union
? Mark Lloyd, Center for American Progress
BACKGROUND:
The Collaborative Grants project is part of the Necessary Knowledge for a Democratic Public Sphere (NKDPS) Program of the Social Science Research Council, working in partnership with CIMA: Center for International Media Action and the McGannon Center for Communications Research at Fordham University. The program is funded by the Media, Arts and Culture program of the Ford Foundation.
The NKDPS program is launching a series of funding opportunities to help increase the production, use and capacity for research to serve public-interest advocacy and organizing around media and communications. These mini-grants for collaborative advocacy- academic partnerships have been initiated to meet the short-term research needs of advocacy and policy actors.
Several other funding projects will be launched in the next months, including a "Research Bounties" project that place prizes on advocacy-defined research and a larger program to support longer-term advocacy-academic research partnerships and training.
For more information on the program, see http://www.ssrc.org/programs/media.
For all program-related inquiries, please write to mediahub@ssrc.org
Subscribe to MediaResearchHub-News for program updates, research funding opportunities, and conference information: http://listserve.ssrc.org/mailman/listinfo/mediaresearchhub-news
SAMPLE PROJECT TOPICS:
Proposals might seek to:
1 Measure the success or failure of mainstream media in advancing different public interest goals or values.
2. Measure the impact of existing “alternative”/ community media systems on communities, public discourse, or democratic processes.
3. Develop better, actionable accounts of the role of ‘new media’ in people’s lives.
4. Analyze policymaking and/or regulatory systems.
5. Analyze emerging systems, frameworks, or models of media and communications that transcend the current regulatory framework.
6. Analyze economic models, industry structure, markets, or audiences for different kinds of media.
7. Create analytical tools or research resources for use by advocates, communities, or the public.
8. Document or evaluate advocacy or organizing strategies around communications and media issues.
To view past submissions that were approved in the first round, go to: http://www.ssrc.org/programs/media/collaborative_grants/smallgrants.page
Note that any new applications do not have to work within the exact same range of topics as we encourage a diversity of issues as long as they are related to the media and communications field.
FELLOWSHIP - 2007
Individual Advanced Research Opportunities (IARO)
Fellowships IREX
is pleased to announce the 2007 competition of the Individual Advanced
Research Opportunities (IARO) Program.
The IARO Program provides
fellowships to US scholars and professionals for overseas research
on contemporary political, economic, historical, or cultural developments
relevant to US foreign policy. Limited funding is also available for
non-policy-relevant topics.
IARO applications and supporting materials are available on the IREX
website at www.irex.org/programs/iaro/index.asp
The application
deadline is November 15, 2006.
Fellowships will be awarded to Masters students, Predocs, Postdocs
and Professionals with advanced degrees.
The countries eligible for research are Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia and
Montenegro, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
IARO Fellowships cover travel expenses and a living/housing stipend.
IARO is funded by the United States Department of State Title VIII
Program and the IREX Scholar Support Fund.
Questions may be addressed
to the IARO Program Staff at IARO@IREX.org or
by calling 202-628-8188.
IREX, 2121 K Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20037 USA
Phone: 202-628-8188
