CLAS Faculty Funds
(Previously Faculty Research Grants)

Deadline: Rolling Deadline

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Purpose

The Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) Faculty Fund was created to support CLAS Faculty in their research and other academic endeavors. This small grant funds projects on Latin America, the Caribbean, and/or Latinx Studies, that ­will enhance disciplinary expertise, improve upon existing knowledge, and/or enrich the Latin American/Caribbean content of courses.

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Eligibility

Applicants must be eligible for Center funding via affiliation. Interested applicants who are not yet affiliated with CLAS, should contact Luis Van Fossen Bravo at bravo@pitt.edu to learn how they can begin that process.

Faculty already affiliated with CLAS must have updated their UCIS Faculty Survey within the past 12 months. That survey is available at: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/facsurv/

NOTE: Previous awardees who have not submitted reports and/or expenditure documentation from past grants are not eligible.

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Amount of Grant

Up to $4,000 will be made available for individual grants, though not all proposals may be funded at the maximum amount. Please note that we have a limited annual allocation. Once all available funds have been awarded further support will not be available until next academic cycle. 

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Funding Priorities

Grants are primarily intended to provide “seed money” or supplemen­tary money for large proj­ects; provide limited funds required for smaller proj­ects or projects of short dura­tion; research that will result in the development of Latin American/Caribbean/Latinx courses, whether to enhance an existing course or to develop a new course (If applying for the latter, departmental support should be included with the proposal).

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Utilization of Funds

(We also recommend for you to have a contingency plan; in case you must conduct research remotely due to COVID-19. Please make sure your proposal considers both options.)

Funds may be used for:

1. trav­el;
2. maintenance;
3. data collec­tion/ana­lysis—in­clu­ding laboratory anal­y­sis, com­puter time, participants' fees;
4. release time/salary re­place­ment (only for re­search proj­ects by junior CLAS Core facul­ty in the ten­ure stream when the re­search results in publi­ca­tions that will improve the likelihood of the facul­ty mem­ber's attain­ment of tenure);
5. translation of publications to make it more accessible.

Contact Luis Van Fossen Bravo (bravo@pitt.edu) if your project does not fit the above utilization of funds.

Funds CANNOT BE USED for

1. publication costs;
2. atten­dance at pro­fessional meet­ings (see travel to professional meetings small grants);
3. the pur­chase of major ­equip­ment (e.g., cam­eras, com­put­ers, or any equipment costing more than $500);
4. salary supplements/summer salary (except as indicated under #4 above).

If the grant is awarded, the funds will be transferred to the relevant department. Upon completion of their research, faculty must submit a Concur report to CLAS and a brief (two to four pages) written report* explaining how the funds were used. Arrangements for transferring the awarded funds must be made by time the grant is awarded. Funds should be expended during the award year; for any exceptions, please contact us.

The order of funding priority is as follows:

1. New faculty (first two years at Pitt)
2. Junior faculty (pre-tenure, with special emphasis on faculty with junior research leaves)
3. Faculty from the Humanities or disciplines in which external funding is less abundant
4. Senior faculty starting new projects/changing research foci
5. Senior faculty requiring start-up funds for research projects that have a high probability of being funded externally in the future

Consideration of these priorities in making awards is still contingent upon the overall quality of the proposal.

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Proposal Requirements

(Only electronic submissions will be accepted)

All proposals must include:

• a completed CLAS Faculty Research Grants application form (see under application)

• a full description of the project not to exceed five (5) double-spaced pages (MS Word or PDF format), which should include sections on—(We also recommend that you have a contingency plan in case you must adjust your project due to issues like COVID-19—Please make sure that the plan reflects both options.)

1. the Topic/Problem [how the research relates to the purposes of the fund as specified in the application],
2. Significance of/Need for the project,
3. Methodology,

• a detailed budget (MS Excel or PDF format);
• a curriculum vitae of the principal investigator (MS Word or PDF format).

If the proposed project is a continuation of one for which funding has previously been awarded by CLAS, please indicate in the project description that this is the case.

Note: The full description of the project may be supplemented by appendices (such as examples of questionnaires, a list of field contacts, more detailed information on any of the sections) that should be referred to in the basic text. However, appendices should be kept to a minimum.

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Application

Grant recipients must provide CLAS with a brief (two to four pages) written report within three weeks following the conclusion of the research.  The report should indicate:

1. how grant funds were expended;
2. if applicable, your travel schedule (where you went and how much time you spent in each locale);
3. what you accomplished; and
4. how you will utilize your research results. 

Recipients must acknowledge the assistance of the Center for Latin American Studies, University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh, in any publication, film, or other product resulting from research supported by this grant. We can provide you with the CLAS logo upon request.

If you have questions about the grant, please contact:

Luis Van Fossen Bravo (Interim Associate Director) at bravo@pitt.edu

Funding for the CLAS Faculty Fund Competition is provided by the Center for Latin American Studies and the University Center for International Studies at University of Pittsburgh.