Call for Proposals - ACSS Research Grants Program on Inequality, Mobility and Development in the Arab Region- Cycle III 2015-2016

Deadline for Submission: 20 November 2014

NOTE: As a general rule, an ACSS grantee cannot re-apply for the same program for at least two cycles after successfully receiving a grant.

The Arab Council for the Social Sciences (ACSS) is pleased to announce the third round of its Research Grants Program competition on the theme of “Inequality, Mobility and Development in the Arab Region.” The ACSS Research Grants Program (RGP) is a funding opportunity that aims to support research across disciplinary boundaries and methodological approaches on key themes of concern to the Arab region.

This competition is funded by a grant provided to ACSS by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Grants will be available to both individual researchers (up to USD $20.000) and teams of researchers (up to USD $50,000) from the Arab region, whether currently resident in or outside the region, and whose research focuses primarily on Arab societies. Grants are intended to support a maximum time-line of 15 months.

Theme of the Competition

The theme of the competition for 2015-2016 is Inequality, Mobility and Development in the Arab Region. The competition aims at canvassing a broad range of research proposals from across the different countries and localities of the region. Proposals may focus on any of the three sub-themes of (1) inequality; (2) mobility; (3) development, but the most competitive proposals will be those that examine linkages across at least two of these themes. We also encourage comparative studies that look at more than one country or location in the region. While the focus of the theme is largely contemporary, historical studies that examine these processes over the long term are also welcome. Quantitative as well as qualitative projects are eligible and mixed-methods, as well as interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged. Finally, successful proposals will also critically examine whether current social science frameworks are adequate to conceptualize and empirically study these issues in the Arab region and suggest new approaches and methodologies.

Please note that the ACSS second Conference to be held on March 13-15, 2015 will be on a similar theme of ''Questioning Social Inequality and Difference in the Arab Region'' and the call for papers may be helpful in suggesting themes and topics. 

Inequality

The theme of inequality can be understood broadly to encompass regional inequalities (between states and localities), inter-regional inequalities (the economic and political status of the Arab region in global context) as well as societal inequalities including those based on class, gender, race, and ethno-cultural collective identities. Topics can cover any facet of disparities within and between societies; including income, education, health, employment, housing and access to public and private goods and natural resources, such land and water. Inequality has become one of the prominent themes in the social sciences of the 21st century and the proposed projects may examine the theme from different angles, for example: issues of measurement and comparison, cultural understandings of social inequality, manifestations of inequality in urban and rural space and so on. In addition, current upheavals in the Arab region point to the urgency of analyzing the relationship between inequality and social movements.

Mobility

Mobility is broadly used here to refer to different types of movement, both social and physical. Social mobility is a concept that has long been associated with education and employment opportunities. However, an increasing number of studies have shown that in practice, education and employment institutions may reinforce rather than dissolve social inequalities and/or produce new inequalities. This theme particularly lends itself to an examination of the relationship between physical and social mobility, especially among youth seeking to escape increasing inequality at home and the failing dreams for social mobility. Migration was well studied in the period of the 1960s - 1980s in the Arab region, whether in terms of rural/ urban migration, or migration to the oil-producing countries. However it has fallen into relative neglect in recent decades. While advances have been made in the study of transnational migration and in the study of Arab communities in Europe, the U.S. and Australia, these are often not linked back to the dynamics in the home countries and to the newly emerging ‘push factors’. Likewise, migration within the region and migration into the region (e.g. domestic worker migration) are generally understudied.

Development

This theme takes up the impact of prescriptive concepts and planning associated with the powerful “development industry” on Arab societies in their national, regional and international contexts. Despite the proliferation of literature on development plans, visions and projects in the Arab region, this field of study lacks convincing frameworks and compelling arguments especially concerning the specificity and/or comparability of the region and countries within it. This theme especially raises the important issue of the complex sources and agents that produce prevailing notions of modernity and development as well as ‘solutions’ to issues that are seen as symptomatic of underdevelopment. In other words, the theme requires an examination of the relationship between international organizations, states, NGOs and academia in producing powerful discourses and practices (such as those encapsulated by the term “neoliberalism”) with immense impact on peoples’ lives. Proposed projects could focus on actors and agents engaged in producing such discourses and practices in particular localities, or could focus on regional dynamics, including the changing economies of the oil-producing countries, or could take up particular “sectors” and social groups that constitute a focus of development projects, such as poverty, youth, women, education, public sector reform, corruption and governance, environmental issues, urban and rural planning and infrastructure development. Proposals may also engage with issues around ‘political development’ initiatives such as training and support to political parties, advocacy groups or labor unions and collectives. As with the other themes, successful proposals will engage with these issues through a critical perspective, evaluating the literature and prevailing concepts as well as examining specific case-studies and examples.

Eligibility Guidelines

- Nationality

o Researchers from, and currently resident in, an Arab country.

o Researchers originally from an Arab country who reside outside the Arab region.

Individuals and teams: the competition is open to both individual researchers and to teams of researchers. We encourage collaborative research, especially teams composed of researchers residing in and out of the region.

- Educational Degree

o Applicants must hold a PhD degree in a social science field. Individual researchers in the early stages of their professional post PhD careers are especially encouraged to apply. Individuals who expect to obtain their doctorate degree by January 2015 are also eligible.

o In case of collaborative research, the team Principal Investigator must hold a PhD degree in a social science field and demonstrate successful research experience. Researchers with a master’s degree only may join research teams as co-investigators, but may not apply individually.

o Discipline: any social science field and allied fields. The core social science field includes disciplines such as anthropology, demography, economics, political science, psychology and sociology. Allied disciplines include art, architecture, geography, history, law, literature, linguistics, philosophy and public health and interdisciplinary fields include gender studies, cultural studies, media studies, development studies and urban studies. Interdisciplinary proposals and multidisciplinary collaborative proposals are encouraged.

Program Aims and Outputs
This competition is open to supporting research projects at any stage of their development. Proposals may suggest preliminary, “pilot” phases of a project, or longer-term projects combining fieldwork and analysis, or the analysis and write-up of previously concluded data collection. Projects may be extensions of previous projects that seek to bring in new cases and examples, or of comparative projects extended to include the Arab region. The proposed outputs of the project must be commensurate with the research plans. The output of preliminary research may be a fully developed research proposal, while projects including data analysis and writing up may have full-length book manuscripts as outputs. Acceptable outputs include publications (web and print); scholarly resources (e.g. websites, curriculum development, bibliographies), visual representations including exhibitions, film and other media. The Selection Committee may give preference to research projects that commit to submitting at least one output for publication in a reputable academic journal- or other appropriate forum- before the end of the project duration. This does not exclude producing other outputs as part of the same project.

Application Process

Applicants will be required to submit both an online application form and a narrative proposal (including appendices). The online application form will be available on the ACSS website from 4 August 2014. Completed proposals can be uploaded to the application form at any time once this becomes available and before it is submitted electronically by the application deadline of 20 November 2014.

Proposal materials can be submitted in Arabic, French or English. Only fully developed proposals will be examined by the Selection Committee. Final proposals should include all information and details necessary for the selection committee to understand the research ideas and plans. Every proposal should be self-contained and not dependent on supporting documents. The final proposal should not exceed 15 typed double-spaced pages in length (12-point font). This 15-page limit does not include the proposal appendices, including the project time-line and outputs, budget request and curriculum vitae (see below).

Please consider the following checklist as you prepare your proposal.

I. The body of the proposal should include the following components:

Background and Rationale (Evaluation Criterion 1: Contribution to Knowledge): This section should explain the significance of the research and what new knowledge will be generated as a result of the project. It should describe the context and key background information about the issues and research sites being explored. It should identify the research questions explored by the project, the significance of exploring them in the identified research sites and the methodology that will be used to investigate these questions. You may wish to state clearly here the central argument, contribution or hypothesis of the research.

Literature Review and Theoretical Framework (Evaluation Criterion 2): This section should include an evaluation of previous research on the subject and current gaps in the literature. The review of the literature should demonstrate the applicant’s knowledge of international as well as regional research on the subject. It should explain the contribution of the proposed research to the current state of scholarship on the region, and possible contribution to larger theoretical and conceptual debates. Quotations and bibliographic references should be fully documented. The Committee does not welcome literature reviews that are made up of sets of abstracts of relevant research (even if this is an accepted practice in some universities in the region). The Committee will look most favorably on literature reviews that integrate the relevant research; bringing together the key arguments and themes that relate to the Research Questions at hand; situating the research in its wider theoretical, conceptual and empirical context.

Methodology (Evaluation Criterion 3): This section should explain the methodology and detailed steps for carrying out the research over the duration of the project. In addition to explaining the methodological approach and its rationale, it should specify the research operations that will be undertaken and how their results will be interpreted in relation to the key research questions. This includes specifying, wherever relevant, the archives, the secondary sources, the respondents, the sample, the selection of research sites, the proposed techniques of analysis and the different phases of the research, including transcription, writing, preparation of dissemination activities and preparation of manuscripts for publication. For field data collection, the researcher's prospects for obtaining necessary permits should be addressed. For secondary analysis, sources of information or data and their accessibility to the investigators should also be identified in the proposal.
 

II. In addition to the above, the proposal must address the following issues:
a. Significance of the expected results.
b. Plans for the write-up and dissemination of research results.
c. Provisions made for the protection of human subjects and the protection of confidentiality as well as an assessment of the impact of probable findings. These should be discussed in conformity with the ethical guidelines of each discipline. Accepted applicants will be expected to comply with ACSS ethics guidelines and sign the relevant ethics forms.
d. Utilization of existing research facilities at the researcher’s institution or other institutions.

III. The proposal must contain the following appendices:

• Appendix 1: A completed Project Time-Line and Outputs Form. A time-line for the research project should be presented in a maximum of 2 pages (single-spaced), outlining the unfolding of the proposed research in reasonable detail and the outputs expected to be produced in each phase of the project. For Group Projects, the timeline should identify the responsibilities of different group members in different project activities. The project can be completed over the 15 month Grant period from 15 March 2015 to 15 June 2016, or over a shorter time period. Outputs include interim products; such as working papers, drafts of dissemination material or film story boards, and final products; such as papers submitted for publication, final audio or visual material or other products depending on the nature of the project.
• Appendix 1: The final version of Appendix 1 will become part of the Grant Contract.
• Appendix 2: A curriculum vitae with a list of publications for every investigator.
• Appendix 3: A completed Project Budget Request Form
• Appendix 4: (for Group Projects only): A completed Group Member Acknowledgment Form. All team members are requested to sign this form (electronic signatures or scanned hard copy) to express their commitment to the project and their roles as identified in Appendix 1.

Online Application
In addition to uploading the project narrative and appendices described above, applicants will need to provide the following information using the on-line application form(ONE application per project):

- Project Details (title, 250 word abstract, duration and location(s) of research)

- Project History (if relevant) including earlier phases of the project and future expectations as well as collaborators who may not be participating in this phase of the project

- Proposed Outputs of the Project which may include publications (web and print); theses and dissertations, scholarly resources (e.g. websites, curriculum development, bibliographies), visual representations including exhibitions, film and other media.

- Project Budget Request Form. The budget should be reflective of the extent of fieldwork and number of researchers and can range up to a maximum of $20,000 USD for individual researchers and $50,000 USD for collaborative team applications. The Selection Committee will only approve budget requests that are commensurate with the planned activities and expected outputs of the project. Estimated budgets may only be submitted using the form provided. Incomplete forms will not be considered. If you are not sure of any of the details, e.g. when you expect to conduct a field trip, please provide as accurate an estimate as possible (e.g. September 2015). Budgets may include: fieldwork expenses (including accommodation away from the home location, travel and transportation related to the research, living expenses), honoraria for short-term consultants providing specific technical advice, and meetings/workshops costs (especially in the case of collaborative, team research), as well as purchase of research equipment, software, books, stationery and other supplies. Budgets may not include: university/research center overhead, or travel expenses/registration fees for conferences and workshops. Under exceptional circumstances, the Selection Committee may approve the dedication of a portion of the grant to stipends or salary replacements. The budget should clearly indicate whether other sources of funding are already available or have been applied for and which items would be fully or partially covered by other sources. The selection committee and ACSS staff will review each budget on a case by case basis and the total as well as the detailed awarded budget may not necessarily correspond to the one requested. Please review the Budget Request Form carefully for the full details of allowable expenses and instructions for filling out the form.

- Personal and professional details on each researcher (including name, countries of citizenship, contact email, current position/institution, brief bio (up to 150 words), education, language proficiency, employment history, relevant publications).

- The names and contact information for two academic references who can attest to the significance and feasibility of the proposed project

Application Material

• Application Form to be completed Online.
• Appendix 1: Project Time-Line and Outputs Form.
• Appendix 3: Project Budget Request Form.
• Appendix 4 (for Group Projects only): A completed Group Member Acknowledgment Form.
• Prospective applicants should consult the list of Frequently Asked Questions for further clarifications on Eligibility, Application Process and Grant Details.

Selection Process
A multi-disciplinary Selection Committee composed of distinguished Arab scholars with established research and publication records and experience in regional research and teaching will review and select proposals for funding. The committee selection procedures abide by the highest standards of academic and ethical judgment. Final decisions are based on the following evaluation criteria:

1- Contribution to Knowledge (Research Question/ Significance and Originality),
2- Theoretical and Conceptual Coherence and Literature Review,
3- Methodology,
4- Outputs (Dissemination/ Potential Impact) and
5- Feasibility (CVs/ Researchers’ Qualifications/ Timeline).

By submitting the electronic application, applicants affirm that they agree without any objections to the evaluation and selection results as decided and announced by the selection committee and the Arab Council for the Social Sciences.

Results will be communicated to applicants by 29 January 2015. Successful applicants will receive provisional Award Letters confirming their selection and, if applicable, requests for clarification and elaboration from the Selection Committee. They will then be expected to: 1) Submit a final revised proposal, timeline and budget addressing any issues raised by the Selection Committee, by 24 February 2015; and 2) Attend a workshop on March 11-12, 2015 where they will meet the Selection Committee members, present their projects for feedback and receive orientation about ACSS reporting, financial and ethics guidelines and sign their grant contracts. The workshop is part of a larger ACSS event, the second ACSS Conference to be held on March 13-15, 2015 where there will be an opportunity as well to meet grantees and coordinators from other ACSS programs, such as Producing the Public and New Paradigms Factory. By submitting a grant application, applicants are expressing their commitment to attend this workshop and the ACSS Conference in the case that their proposal receives provisional acceptance. Below is an overview of the main commitments of selected grantees.

Overview of Grant Conditions

Awarded individuals and teams of researchers are expected to abide by the following project requirements:

- Submit a revised proposal, timeline and budget request, by 24 February 2015, responding to requests for clarification or elaboration put forward by the Selection Committee in its preliminary acceptance decision.

- Attend the first RGP workshop on March 11-12, 2015 in Beirut, Lebanon (details above).

- Submit interim narrative and financial reports every four months (number of reports will depend on project duration). Financial reports should include the original receipts for all project expenses.

- Submit final narrative and financial report within 60-days of the end of the grant term

- Produce project related content for the ACSS website (such as project descriptions and profiles of researchers)

- Produce the outputs identified in the submitted proposal in accordance with the project timeline (Appendix 1).

- Attend at least two ACSS organized events/workshops. Grantees are required to attend the RGP workshop on March 11-12, 2015 and the ACSS Conference in March 13-15, 2015 as well as the second event in 2015 or 2016 that will be announced well in advance. (Costs of attendance at these events should not be budgeted for in the proposals. They will be covered directly by ACSS.)

Timeline

- 4 August 2014: Application material available online

- 5 August - 19 November 2014: Prospective applicants may approach ACSS with questions about any aspect of the competition.

- 20 November 2014: Final and complete research proposals are due before 11:00 pm (Al-Quds/Beirut Time). Only candidates whose proposals are ready for examination by the Selection Committee will be contacted by the Secretariat. Incomplete proposals will not be considered for funding.

- 29 January 2015: Decisions will be communicated to applicants

- 24 February 2015: Submission of Final Proposals based on Selection Committee comments

- 11-12 March 2015: RGP Workshop in Beirut, Lebanon

- 15 March 2015: Projects may begin

- 15 June 2016: Projects end

The ACSS secretariat encourages prospective applicants to get in touch with any questions or queries concerning proposal preparation, the selection process or conditions of the grant. Kindly read the list of Frequently Asked Questions  carefully before contacting ACSS with queries.

Questions should be directed to: grants@theacss.org |For more information about ACSS, please visit: www.theacss.org