BRES Research Seed Grant Program

April 11, 2024 Amanda Rajnauth

BRES Research Seed Grant Program, AY 2024-25

Proposals due Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at 5 p.m.

Awards will be announced on Monday, July 1, 2024

Established in Spring 2023, the BRES Collaboration Hub is an intellectual home for convening faculty and doctoral students interested in interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research in BRES across CUNY. The Hub is a component of BRESI—a CUNY-wide initiative that aims to reimagine and transform University programs in Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies. Under the generous support of the Mellon Foundation, BRESI has awarded $1.9 million in grant funding to support and seed promising work to advance BRESI’s mission across the University since 2022. In 2024, the Hub was awarded funding from the Chancellor’s Strategic Investment Initiative Fund to establish the BRES Research Seed Grant Program to support faculty research across the University. For AY 2024-2025, BRES anticipates supporting up to 30 projects in the amount of $5,000.

The BRES Research Seed Grant Program provides funding to tenure-track or tenured faculty at CUNY community colleges, senior colleges, and graduate schools. A primary goal is to seed research that will become the basis for external funding applications. As such, proposals with a clearly defined research question, a strong research design, and a plan to apply for external funding from a specified grant agency or call for proposals will be prioritized. They also seek to support interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research with a focus on one or more of the following six major BRES research themes, broadly defined to include a range of scholars from the Humanities and the Social Sciences.

•Race, gender, sexuality, and intersectionality
•Race, ethnicity, and migration studies
•Race, diasporas, and transnationalism
•Race, equality, and social justice
•Race, indigeneity, and decolonial studies
•Race, representations, and cultural studies

Eligibility and Expectations
•Only tenure-track or tenured CUNY faculty are eligible to apply.
•Lecturers, adjunct faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and Higher Education Officers are not eligible.
•Faculty who received BRES funding from prior rounds (2020-2024) are not eligible to apply.
•A faculty member may participate in and submit only one proposal for this round of competition.
•Proposals must include a clear research question, data and methods, and a detailed research plan.
•Proposals involving human subjects must receive IRB approval before the release of any funds.

Evaluation Criteria
•Potential of the proposed research to transform BRES scholarship.
•Clarity and significance of the research question and research plan.
•Strong interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, or transdisciplinary emphasis.
•Strong research design, project feasibility, and potential impact on the field.
•Plan to pursue future external funding to extend the current research program.
•Record of scholarly achievement or potential contributions to BRES at CUNY.

The awardees will be designated “BRES Faculty Fellows” during AY 2024-2025 and affiliated with the BRES Collaboration Hub. Note that this is not a formal faculty appointment to the Graduate Center. The BRES Faculty Fellows are invited to the BRES Seminar Series and other activities.

Application Components
•A cover sheet: See page 3 of the attached document.
•Curriculum vitae: From each participating researcher (5 pages max/each).
•Project summary: 300 words maximum, including the project title (1 page max).
•Research proposal: Research questions, data/methods, research plan (5 pages max).

Submission Instructions
•Combine cover sheet, CV, transcript, research, and personal statement into a single PDF file.
•Use the following format when naming your document: Last Name, First Name, Campus, Discipline (e.g., “Hillery, Allen, Hunter, History.pdf”)
•Submit the PDF via Formstack: link here.

Funding Guidelines
•Funds will be available from Sep. 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.
•The PI can choose from one of the following three options. The faculty stipend can be split across multiple PIs, but the course release can only be awarded to a single PI.
•A $5,000 stipend. This award will be transferred to the PI’s home campus as a tax-levy fund to be disbursed as an NTA payment (i.e., taxable income) to the PI. Please budget accordingly.
•A course release (equivalent to $6,500). This $6,500 award will be transferred to the PI’s home campus as a tax-levy fund for a course release. To utilize this option, the PI must seek prior approval for course release from the department chair, dean, or provost. The PI must submit this approval in writing to the BRES Collaboration Hub by August 1, 2024.
•A $5,000 fellowship (for a graduate student research assistant). The graduate student must be a Ph.D. student at the Graduate Center, and the $5,000 award will be paid directly to the student as a fellowship stipend for Fall 2024. This option allows the PI to utilize the full award amount. The PI must identify the research assistant by September 1, 2024.
Award Requirements
•Awardees must present their research in the Spring 2025 semester. Research presentations will discuss plans and opportunities to apply for external funding to extend research projects.
•Awardees must submit a 2-page report by July 1, 2025. An external grant proposal from this research can be accepted instead of a written report.
•Publications or presentations from this research should acknowledge the Chancellor’s Strategic Investment Initiative Fund and BRES Collaboration Hub.

Information Session
•An informational sessions on this RFP will be held via Zoom on Monday, April 15, 1 to 2 p.m. Register to attend: link here.

If you have questions, please contact Allen Hillery at Allen.Hillery23@login.cuny.edu.