Nov 3, 2009

University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States

Annual Call for Proposals 2009
return to funding

Resources - FAQs, proposal writing suggestions
Mildred Mathias Award

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 research 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 located elsewhere in this material. 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 (2004-2008) 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 educa-tional 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, 2009 through June 30, 2010. 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 re-view 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, con-ference 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 re-search assistants in areas directly related to the project.
• Student fees or tuition 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

Proposals must be submitted by eligible UC Principal Investigators using the electronic submission site. The items required in a complete application are listed below and on the electronic submission application. Each of the items must be completed online before you will be allowed to submit the entire application.

In addition, three hard copy sets of one complete proposal packet (original plus two copies), including the Institutional Approval Forms with original signatures and letters of intent from additional academic participants, must be submitted to UC MEXUS at the address listed below within 10 days following the electronic submission deadline of March 30, 2009, for the application to be considered complete (i.e., by April 10, 2009). The proposal packets must include hard copies of all files uploaded to the electronic submission site.

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. An Institutional Approval Forms is available on the online application site and also included as a link in the list below. Principal Investigators are responsible for securing all appropriate approvals from their campus prior to submission of the proposal. Faculty participating in multi-campus projects with multiple Principal Investigators must obtain local approvals from each campus. Please note that campus offices may require that proposals be submitted for internal review well before the UC MEXUS deadline.

All proposals must include a complete set of the following items:

• Application Cover Sheet, providing summary information about the project and project personnel. For the hard copies to be sent after the electronic submission, the cover sheet can be printed out directly from the on-line application, where it says "print application." Keep in mind that the abstract should be understandable to a review committee of diverse academic expertise.
• Institutional Approval Sheet, completed and signed by the P.I. and the UC campus Research or Contracts and Grants Office. The form can be downloaded from the on-line application or from the pdf link here. The signed form should be sent with the hard copies.
• Project Plan. Do not exceed 10 pages. Provide detailed information about the project you propose to develop within a narrative statement. 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" in this Call for Proposals for additional aspects which should be addressed in the project plan. Note any previous UC MEXUS funding, including a description of the project results and the current status of the award. The project plan is uploaded to the electronic submission site and also included in the hard copies sent to UC MEXUS.
• Bibliography. Provide a list of key resources, cited in the language in which they were published. The bibliography is uploaded to the electronic submission site and also included in the hard copies sent to UC MEXUS.
• Budget Request specifying the cost to support the project activities along with a detailed ex-planation of all requested items. Refer to the budget section above regarding eligible expenses. Keep in mind that the budget is part of the criteria for the review process. For the hard copies to be sent after the electronic submission, the cover sheet can be printed out directly from the on-line application, where it says "print application."
• Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae, in English or Spanish, for each Principal Investigator and academic participant (except for students) in the project. Do not exceed five pages for each individual; list only current and/or most relevant publications. The c.v. is uploaded to the electronic submission site and also included in the hard copies sent to UC MEXUS.
• Letters of intent to participate from all academic participants, written in English or Spanish. (Letters of intent are not required from the Principal Investigators or students.) The letters are uploaded to the electronic submission site and the paper versions with signatures included in the hard copies sent to UC MEXUS. Faxes and e-mail messages will not be accepted.
• Attachments. These should be kept to a minimum. Attach only critical documents in the on-line submission, such as maps or sample survey instruments. If these items cannot be incorporated into the electronic submission site, please provide 10 copies for reviewers. Items that are not uploaded must be included with the hard copy set (they cannot be added in after the deadline) and should not exceed 10 pages in length. We will not forward lengthy reports, books, and articles to reviewers.
• Retain a copy of all application materials submitted.

UC MEXUS provides no pre-review of proposals nor will reviewer comments be provided following the competition. However, proposal writing suggestions specific to this program can be found in the Resources section of this website.

Within 10 days following the electronic submission deadline of March 30, 2009, send three hard copies (original plus two copies) of a complete application set with all required materials listed above, including the signed institutional approval sheet, in one package to the following address:

Deadline for Receipt of Proposals

To be considered, proposals must be submitted to the electronic site not later than 5:00 p.m. Monday, March 30, 2009, and the three hard copies of the complete proposal packet must be received by Friday, April 10, 2009. Hard copies of proposals not previously submitted electronically will not be accepted, nor will late submissions, faxes, e-mail attachments, incomplete, or subsequently revised proposals. The copies sent to UC MEXUS must match the text and information submitted in the on-line version of the proposal. The proposal will not be entered into the competition unless the hard copies and required institutional approval forms are received by the deadline. We strongly suggest that applicants get the required institutional signatures well before the proposal is submitted electronically.

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 keeping with the methodology, appropriate to the program goals, and within the allowable criteria set forth by UC MEXUS (see the Budget section above).

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 appropriate 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 hu-man 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.

As previously noted, 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 in the Resources section of this website.

For additional information contact

Proposals must be submitted using the electronic submission site. Instructions for uploading proposal items are available on the website.

Proposal checklist to be completed on the electronic submission website by Monday, March 30, 2009:

• Application Cover Sheet
• Project Plan
• Bibliography
• Budget Request - summary table and detailed justification
• Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae for each academic participant (except for students)
• Letters of intent from Additional Academic Participants (except for students)
• Attachments (optional)

Additional requirements to be included with the three hard copies of the proposal packet sent to UC MEXUS:

• Institutional Approval Form for the UC P.I., with the signature of the campus research or contracts and grants office.

A complete proposal packet with three hard copies (original plus two copies) of all the information listed above must be received by UC MEXUS at the address below within 10 days of the electronic submission deadline (i.e., by Friday, April 10, 2009).

Hard copies of proposals not previously submitted electronically will not be accepted, nor will late submissions, faxes, e-mail attachments, or incomplete proposals. The proposal will not be entered into the competition unless the hard copies and required institutional approval forms are received by the deadline. We strongly suggest that applicants get the required institutional signatures well before the proposal is submitted electronically.

• Retain a copy of all application materials submitted.

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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