Emerging Scholars International Research Fellowship
Introduction
IASSCS seeks to strengthen the field of social and cultural research on sexuality globally, including the development of research capacity, giving priority to the crucial need for diversity in this field of inquiry. Its mission is informed by the principles of social justice and human rights, with a focus on sexual rights and gender equality, as expressed in documents such as the Cairo Programme of Action, CEDAW and the UNGASS Declaration on HIV/AIDS.
IASSCS is pleased to announce a small research grants competition for emerging researchers, with the objective to promote research capacity development and research dissemination, prioritizing research issues in the Global South.
The IASSCS Emerging Scholars International Research Fellowship
A total of 10 small grants will be offered to early career researchers in each of the five regions constituting the Association (two per region, see regions below). These grants are intended to develop research in, or related to, the Global South and to encourage diverse methodological and theoretical approaches to understanding sexuality. .
For the purposes of this program, early career researchers refers to graduate students within academic institutions, or to individuals based within organisations that have existing research capacity. Each applicant is required to demonstrate that her/his submitted proposal will either result in the completion of a Ph.D. degree, a peer-reviewed journal publication, or (for non-academically based applicants) is likely to contribute to strengthening sexuality research capacity in a host institution. .
This research grants program will:
• Assist early career researchers in the: .
o Completion of a graduate degree, the subject of which focuses on sexuality-related issues, or.
o Undertaking of research that contributes to the strengthening of research capacity within their organisation. .
• Support and encourage early career researchers to share their research results, and broaden knowledge on sexuality issues at an international level. .
• Support the development of social and cultural approaches to sexuality research in the five regions constituting the Association. .
• Promote the development of diverse methodological and theoretical approaches to understanding sexuality. .
Expected outcomes:
All grant recipients will be required to present their research findings at either the 2015 or 2017 IASSCS conference. In preparation for submission of the research abstract to the conference program committee, the IASSCS Conference Abstract Mentoring Program will be available to provide feedback on the draft abstract. IASSCS will also give each grantee a registration fee waiver for the chosen IASSCS Conference if their abstract has been submitted on time and has been accepted by the Conference Program Committee. .
IASSCS regions are: .
1. Southeast Asia, South and Central Asia and the Middle East.
2. Latin America.
3. Africa.
4. North America and Europe.
5. Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and East Asia.
IASSCS especially encourages the submission of applications by participants of previous Post-Conference Training sessions (Buenos Aires 2013, Madrid 2011, Hanoi 2009, Lima 2007, San Francisco 2005). .
Successful applicants will receive:
1. Minimum of USD 3,000 to maximum of 5,000 USD (a minimum of USD 500 of the grant money should be reserved towards IASSCS conference attendance costs). .
2. Mentoring from experienced researchers in the sexuality field as part of the IASSCS Conference Abstract Mentoring Program ; .
3. Venue for dissemination and/or publication of research results at the forthcoming IASSCS conferences in 2015 and 2017. The conference programs will include specific sessions on research from IASSCS grantees. .
Application Requirements
• IASSCS Emerging Scholars International Research Fellowship welcomes proposals from early career researchers whose research focuses on social and cultural research on sexuality, with a particular emphasis on the Global South; .
• Applicants are expected either to be affiliated with a university and progressing toward a Ph.D. degree, or to be based within an organisation that has existing research capacity. .
• IASSCS will fund research proposals representing new work, or ongoing research projects; that is at a very early stage of its fieldwork, e.g. beginning to recruit research participants, or starting field observations, or beginning document or text collection for literature reviews. However, IASSCS will only fund ongoing research when a complete budget for the project is submitted and the research item that will be addressed with IASSCS funds is clearly specified. .
The IASSCS Emerging Scholars International Research Fellowships will have duration of nine (09) months. IASSCS will only award grants to sole investigators;proposals from co-investigators are not eligible. Funds awarded may be used to cover expenses relating to: fieldwork travel; enacting research plans; analysis and communication/dissemination. Scholarship funds cannot be used for the purchase of equipment, institutional overheads or any other expenses not directly related to conduct the research.
Application Process
Application documents must be written in English only. To apply to the IASSCS Emerging Scholars International Research Fellowship, please send by e-mail the following documents:
1. A brief research proposal (no less than 4 pages and no more than 8 pages) including:
- Research subject (topic or title)
- The research question(s) (please clearly answer the question: what are or will you be researching?)
- Proposed research methodology (clearly define if you will be working with human research participants subjects, or conducting textual, archival, or secondary analysis of existing database)
- Expected research outcome (what do you expect the research to achieve?)
- Detailed information as to what the grant will be spent
- Statement from either a research supervisor or work-based supervisor, stating that she or he will mentor you throughout the research process (see Requirements during the Research Grant Period below)
- A statement clarifying how human research ethics approval will be sought, granted and from which institution and which body (e.g. Internal Review Board, Human Ethics Committee, IRB, HEC)
- A statement on how this application prioritizes research issues in the Global South
- A statement on how this project will assist in developing sexuality research capacity at your host institution.
- Reference list (no more than one page, in addition to the 4-10 pages of the proposal). Your proposal can include photographs and/or charts.
2. A nine (09) month timeline detailing activities and expected periodic accomplishments;
3. An estimated budget (between a minimum of 3,000 USD and a maximum of 5,000 USD), which should identify any and all additional funds that have been obtained to support the research project and should include the following budget items:
- A maximum of USD 1,500 for researcher’s stipend
- A maximum of USD 3,000 for research expenses as outlined above
- A minimum of USD 500 for attending the 2015 or 2017 IASSCS conferences
4. An electronic, signed letter of recommendation from the institutional research advisor, supervisor, or a senior researcher activist in your field of interest, indicating the institution’s support for the research and attesting to the applicant’s skills and capacity to carry out the research project effectively.
5. Your Curriculum Vitae (maximum 3 pages long)
Submit all documents to iasscs.secretarait@iasscs.org by October 15th 2013 with a subject line stating: IASSCS Emerging Scholars International Research Fellowship. IASSCS reserves the right to decline proposals if authors do not strictly follow the submission guidelines or applications are incomplete.
Scholarship awards will be announced in April 2014.
Requirements during the Research Grant Period
During the Research Period, each grantee will be expected to maintain close communication with their local (university or workplace based) mentor. Regular supervision sessions need to be planned (e.g. every 2 weeks or monthly), and a supervisor’s report (one page only each time) needs to accompany the reports from the grantee required below.
A member from IASSCS Research Development and Training Committee will provide initial feedback on the successful proposal.
Grantees will be required to provide one progress report due 6 months after receipt of award and one final report upon completion of the project, due 30 days from project end date as stated on the timeline. The progress report should include a report from his or her supervisor and a narrative and financial report identifying specific expenses covered by the grant, in accordance with the budget submitted by the grantee with the proposal application.
Funds will be provided in two equal installments: the first will be released upon the awarding of the scholarship and the second following the review of the progress report.
Each grantee is expected to submit an abstract to, and present at, an IASSCS conference either in 2015 or in 2017 depending on the progress and timetable of the research project.
Grantees will be required to acknowledge IASSCS Emerging Scholars International Research Fellowship in all presentations and publications of research results.
Further inquiries can be directed to the IASSCS Secretariat on iasscs.secretariat@iasscs.org
