[WSIS CS-Plenary] SSRC Collaborative Grants CFP

[mediahub]

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*** Collaborative Grants in Media and Communications: Call for Proposals
***

Social Science Research Council
Necessary Knowledge for a Democratic Public Sphere Program 
http://www.ssrc.org/programs/media

WHAT: 
The SSRC is pleased to launch the first round of its small grants
project for academic-advocacy collaboration in the media and
communications field. The first round will provide grants of up to
$7,500 for research that supports advocacy, organizing, policy and/or
campaign uses in the media and communications field in the US.  The
grants are intended for short-term work, completable and usable by
advocacy partners within the next 4-12 months. Up to 5 grants will be
awarded in this first round.  In future rounds, the submission process
will be conducted online, with awards made on a rolling basis.  

DEADLINE: 
Proposals for this first round of grants must be received by email by 5
pm, Aug.9   Selections will be announced by Aug.28.  Proposals submitted
after Aug.9 will be considered in a subsequent round.


WHO: 
In this first round, proposals must be:

(1)	Submitted by a US-based nonprofit advocacy, organizing or
community group working on media and/or telecommunications issues.
(Groups with nonprofit fiscal sponsorship are also eligible.)   
(2)	Structured as a partnership with an academic researcher based at
a university, college or other research institution. This can include
advanced graduate students.  

There are no citizenship requirements for participants in these
projects.  


CRITERIA: 
Please review the attached list of criteria carefully BEFORE preparing
your proposal. 

All projects must:
*	Be strategically useful in their proposed advocacy and/or
organizing context.
*	Produce scholarship that meets academic standards.
*	Have a realistic workflow and timeframe.


The selection committee will also favor proposals that: 
*	Address issues of disparate impact on communities on the basis
of race, class, gender, ethnicity, age or other identity/status
category. 
*	Build capacity-skills, tools, experience, access to data
sets-within the "user" organization and/or community. 
*	Have a clear plan for the dissemination of the research to
target audiences.
*	Have uses outside the immediate intended context.
*	Use methods or models of research that have proved effective in
similar contexts.
*	Reflect diversity in the staff or group involved with the
project.

Bonus points for proposals that:
*	Involve collaboration between two or more advocacy/community
groups in the project design and the plan of use for the research.
*	Use participatory methods to engage community and/or advocacy
group members in framing the questions, data collection, and/or
analysis.

See also sample topics below.


PROPOSAL STRUCTURE:
Please submit proposals to mediahub at ssrc.org . Please send a project
outline of no more than 5 pages including:

*	A short description (max. 100 words) of how the research will be
used to advance public-interest change in the media/communications
arena.
*	A description of the research project (max. 1000 words),
covering both process and outcomes, and addressing the criteria above. 
*	A description of the proposing organization (max. 200 words),
including mission, constituency, geographical scope of work, and annual
budget. 
*	The name, institutional affiliation(s) and research experience
of the academic partner.
*	A project timeline.

Plus:
*	The researcher's CV.
*	A budget of up to $7500, with itemized major expenditures.  If
the project draws on other resources or financing, please indicate them.


REVIEW COMMITTEE:
Applications will be reviewed and selected for funding by our Panel:

*	Saskia Fischer, Media Empowerment Project
*	Hernan Galperin, Annenberg School of Communications, University
of Southern California
*	Dorothy Kidd, Media Studies, University of San Francisco
*	Gene Kimmelman, Consumers Union
*	Mark Lloyd, Center for American Progress



BACKGROUND: 
The Collaborative Grants project is part of the Necessary Knowledge for
a Democratic Public Sphere (NKDPS) Program of the Social Science
Research Council, working in partnership with CIMA: Center for
International Media Action and the McGannon Center for Communications
Research at Fordham University. The program is funded by the Media, Arts
and Culture program of the Ford Foundation.

The NKDPS program is launching a series of funding opportunities to help
increase the production, use and capacity for research to serve
public-interest advocacy and organizing around media and communications.
These mini-grants for collaborative advocacy- academic partnerships have
been initiated to meet the short-term research needs of advocacy and
policy actors.  

Several other funding projects will be launched in the next months,
including a "Research Bounties" project that place prizes on
advocacy-defined research and a larger program to support longer-term
advocacy-academic research partnerships and training.

For more information on the program, see
http://www.ssrc.org/programs/media.  

For all program-related inquiries, please write to mediahub at ssrc.org 

Subscribe to MediaResearchHub-News for program updates, research funding
opportunities, and conference information:
http://listserve.ssrc.org/mailman/listinfo/mediaresearchhub-news



SAMPLE PROJECT TOPICS:
Proposals might seek to:

1.	Measure the success or failure of mainstream media in advancing
different public interest goals or values. 

	2.	Measure the impact of existing "alternative"/ community
media systems on communities, public discourse, or democratic processes.

	3.	Develop better, actionable accounts of the role of 'new
media' in people's lives.  

	4.	Analyze policymaking and/or regulatory systems.

	5.	Analyze emerging systems, frameworks, or models of media
and communications that transcend the current regulatory framework.

	6.	Analyze economic models, industry structure, markets, or
audiences for different kinds of media.

	7.	Create analytical tools or research resources for use by
advocates, communities, or the public.

	8.	Document or evaluate advocacy or organizing strategies
around communications and media issues.

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