2013 Small Grants Program - YSU Center for Gender and Leadership Studies

Center for Gender and Leadership Studies

Request for Proposals

2013 Small Grants Program

YSU Center for Gender and Leadership Studies

Yerevan State University’s Center for Gender and Leadership Studies is pleased to announce its “2013 Small Grants Program” (SGP), which will provide up to $5,000 for public policy research addressing issues of gender equity and women’s empowerment in Armenia. The SGP goal is to build research capacity in the field of women and gender studies. Proposals that address issues of public policy leading to informed public debate and practical policy-making will be particularly welcomed.  

SGP Awards

The YSU Center for Gender and Leadership Studies (CGLS) will award up to ten grants, with the maximum award being $5,000.  Grant funds may be used only for activities directly related to the implementation of the proposed research project. CGLS reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted.  Proposals must be the original and sole work of the applicant. Plagiarism will result in disqualification from the grant competition.  CGLS will retain all materials and documents submitted by applicants, but will not use this information for purposes other than proposal review and will not share it with other persons, except when requested by USAID. Applicants wishing further clarification may contact CGLS – cgls@ysu.am or visit the center at YSU (A. Manoukyan str,1, entrance from Applied Mathematic Department), forth floor, room #436, Tel: (37410) 57 06 73, e-mail: cgls@ysu.am.

  

The duration of project activities should not exceed 12 months.

Deadline for the submission of application

The deadline for receipt of completed applications is 6 p.m., October 1, 2013. Completed applications must be submitted in English, and must include the following: a) a completed cover sheet; b) the formal “Project Proposal” (see below); c) an itemized budget; and d) current curriculum vitae of the applicant (if it is a group project CVs of group leader(s).  Before making final award decision, CGLS reserves the right to request additional documentation from applicants. Award announcements will be made and research funding will be available by November 1, 2013.

Eligibility

All professors and post-baccalaureate students enrolled in programs of study at Armenian post-secondary institutions are eligible to apply. Armenian think tanks and other civil society organizations working on issues of gender equity and women’s empowerment will also be eligible to apply.  The following activities will not be eligible for SGP support:

·         Lobbying on behalf of a particular political party.

·         Humanitarian or philanthropic activity.

·         Individual or group travel to conferences.

·         Purchase of equipment.

Project Proposal

Applicants must provide a five-page project proposal (font: Arial, size: 11, single space) identifying the following:

·         Title of the project.

·         Clear, logical presentation of the research problem being addressed.

·         Clarification of the methodology to be employed in the project.

·         How the research may relate to other comparable research in the field.

·         Wider significance (including potential public policy significance) of the research.

Selection

All applications will be peer reviewed by a SGP selection committee composed of CGLS experts and USAID personnel.  The SGP selection committee will assess proposals based on the following criteria:

·   Relevance of the research to the overall SGP themes of gender equity and women’s empowerment;

·         Clarity and logic of research problem being presented and methodology being proposed;

·         Potential public policy significance of the research;

·   Past performance and/or demonstrated capacity of the applicant to complete proposed research; and

·         Cost-effectiveness of proposed budget, including any proposed matching support.

Mentoring

CGLS will be hosting two pre-award informational sessions for potential applicants.  The sessions will address proposal preparation and research expectations.  The informational sessions will be held at the following places and times:

·          YSU, September 16, 2013

·          YSU, September 23, 2013

In addition, CGLS will offer awardees the opportunity to benefit from an optional mentoring opportunity arranged with colleagues from the Arizona State University Women and Gender Studies Program in the ASU School of Social Transformation.  Awardees participating in the mentoring program will share insights with their Arizona State University colleagues on issues ranging from research and advocacy skills to the special subject-area interests of the awardee’s research.

Research Product

All awardees will be expected to submit their research findings in the form of a final research report or paper or not less than twenty-five A4 double-spaced pages (12 point font) within 12 months of the start of the project.  The research paper should be a professional presentation of the research undertaken with SGP support.  If the paper involves public policy-related research, practical policy recommendations arising out of the research should be highlighted.  Research papers should be of publishable quality, incorporating the methodologies outlined in the original project proposal. Final research papers may be submitted in either English or Armenian.

CGLS will also require all awardees to complete a final report form no later than October 31, 2014.

For details please contact us by e-mail: cgls@ysu.am or our center number +37410570673 

Cover Sheet for CGLS 2013 Small Grant Program Application

Name of Applicant: ___________________________________________________

Contact Number of Applicant:___________________________________________

E-mail Address of Applicant: ___________________________________________

Position and Address of Applicant:________________________________________

Title of Research Proposal for which funds are being requested:___________________

Dates of Proposed Research: ____________________________________________

Do you anticipate follow-on international donor or other research funding for this research activity? How so, or why not? Which agencies?


Does this application come with any civil society or other institutional matching support? If so, what is the source and amount of that support?


Do you have a recommended plan for presentation of this research, or potential policy advocacy in the case of public policy-related research? What is that proposed plan?


Signature ____________________________________ Date _________________