Supporting new research and conceptualization on cross-regional trends by social scientists in Africa and the Arab region

Deadline for Initial Submission: December 2, 2019

Carnegie Corporation of New York is a private grantmaking foundation established in 1911 by Andrew Carnegie to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. Within its program areas, it aims to enhance the activity, connection, and impact of social science and humanities expertise to address critical global challenges.

This Request for Proposals (RFP) responds to a rise in multidisciplinary and multi- regional research exposing critical issues that are appearing across traditionally defined regions. As the UN Secretary General has noted, today it is increasingly difficult to identify problems that are limited to a single nation or region. Economic, social, technological, and governance issues are better understood by analysis from more than one region, illuminating a single trend through its manifestations in multiple contexts. Accordingly, transregional scholar collaboration plays a critical role in revealing and rethinking trends and stimulating innovative intellectual responses to the global transformations that are unfolding today.

This RFP is designed to support efforts within the social science and humanities communities in Africa and the Arab region to sharpen the analysis of emerging phenomena, extend the capacity and impact of social scientists, and create partnerships for present and future work. In addition to support for policy development and problem-solving, the RFP seeks to elicit historical analysis, innovative theories, and multi-regional examination of topics such as (but not limited to):

·        The quest for inclusive and effective citizenship andgovernance

·        New worlds of information, perception, technology, andsecuritization

·        Public goods, private sectors, and the political economies of governingelites

·        Economic participation, exclusion and critical approaches towards development

Applicants should propose their own issue area.

Through this RFP process, the Corporation will award three to four grants of upto $500,000 each for a two-year period that would begin no earlier than July 1,2020.

Eligibility, Criteria and Objectives

· This RFP is designed for universities and think tanks with strong programs in economics, political and behavioral sciences, sociology, history,anthropology, literature, and other social science and humanities disciplines. Institutions, not individuals, mayapply.

· Special consideration will be given to projects that involve both senior and early-career scholars, including Ph.D. candidates and Post-Docs in social science and humanitiesdisciplines.

· Proposed projects must include scholars from the regions involved, and are encouraged to pursue multi-institutional and multi-regionalpartnerships.

Supported Activities

· Multi-institutional partnerships including collaborative research andworking groups of scholars from different regions and institutions

· Salaries, research, conferences & meetings, travel, publications, and consultants

· Residential fellowships hosted or facilitated by applicant institutions for the purpose of advancing research andtheorization

· Other activities aimed at strengthening research and graduatetraining

Applications

Each applicant institution should submit a preliminary concept note of no more than five, double-spaced pages that includes:

· Contact information for the programprincipal(s)

· Project description, proposed objectives and performance measures, activities, deliverables, dissemination of research and deliverables, and strengths of the host institution

· Institutions should demonstrate their comparative advantage togenerate research, theorization or policy solutions on a particular issue area

· Requested amount and a summary of a budget, including salaries,fellowships, and other activities