Grant Opportunities

Faculty Research Grants

The Kennedy Center encourages high-quality research with an explicit international focus and recognizes that seed monies are often important in incubating such research. Consequently, a limited number of research grants are made available each year to full-time BYU faculty to help them jump-start international-focused research. The committee may support such activities as archival research, surveys, field study, archaeological digs, or small meetings to help faculty collaborate with experts in other countries.

Priority will be given to faculty who participate in Kennedy Center programs. Faculty who have received Kennedy Center research grants in the past will not be considered for additional funding for the same research project unless they demonstrate they have made significant progress on their research. This will be measured by, but not limited to, the following criteria:

1. Evidence of seeking other funding for continuation and/or expansion of the research.
2. Evidence of outcomes, including articles submitted for publications, research presentations at professional meetings, student mentoring, etc.

Grants are capped at $5,000 per proposal but may vary in actual amount. Faculty may not be awarded more than two grants on the same or related topic over a period of three years.

Funding is not available for part-time, retired, or adjunct professors. Applications must be for future research; requests for reimbursement for research already completed will not be considered. Requests for travel to countries on the State Department’s Travel Warning List must have prior approval from the international vice president.

Faculty who receive research grants are expected to contribute to the intellectual life of the Kennedy Center. Future publications should acknowledge support of the center, and faculty should be willing to report their research as part of the Kennedy Center lecture series. All grant recipients are required to submit a one-page memo at the end of the year reporting on the use of Kennedy Center funds. Funds are available for use in the year awarded.

Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1. The significance/innovation of the research; its potential to significantly add to the intellectual dialogue, including but not limited to, how it might refine, improve, or apply new applications, theoretical concepts, methods, or interventions to that dialogue.
2. The approach. The merits of the design for accomplishing the specific aims of the project. The appropriateness and feasibility of the method, including, where applicable, measurement and data analysis plans.
3. The ability of the investigator to carry out the project in the specified time period.
4. The research environment. Are all the tools necessary to fulfill the research available to the applicant?

Applications for Faculty Research Grants will be considered twice a year: after the 1 April deadline and then again after the 1 November deadline.  Out-of-cycle applications will not be considered.

International Vice President Research Grants

Conference Travel Grants

In recognition of the expense associated with international travel, a limited number of conference travel grant awards are made available each year to BYU faculty. Priority will be granted to faculty who participate in Kennedy Center programs.

The awards are capped at $1,000 and are available to faculty presenting papers at conferences with both an International location and focus.  Traditional paper presentations as well as invited performances or exhibits are eligible for funding.

In considering applications for conference travel grants, decisions will be based on the following principles:

• Internationality:
  • Is the conference international in that it takes place outside of the United States?
  • Is the topic of the proposed paper International in its scope?
• Scholarly contribution:
  • Is the conference an important venue that will allow both for the exposure of the scholar’s work as well as collaboration with international scholars?
  • Will the presentation result in publication in a peer-reviewed journal or other peer-reviewed venue?
  • Does the proposed paper promise to make an important contribution?
• Need
  • Pre-CFS faculty will receive first priority.
  • We will prioritize applications from faculty who have not received Kennedy Center funding in the past while also recognizing those faculty who make regular contributions to the Kennedy Center and its mission.

The Kennedy Center recognizes that many faculty produce creative rather than scholarly work, and so many of the specifics of the above policies may not apply. Every effort, however, will be made to judge such applications according to the same set of principles used for evaluating scholarly work. These principles may be adjusted for creative work in the following ways:

• Internationality: is the performance or exhibition in an international venue and involve collaboration and, where possible, peer-review with and by internationally recognized peers?
• Scholarly contribution: is the proposed exhibition or performance at a recognized venue? Has the invitation been the result of peer-review? Will the exhibition or performance be peer-reviewed?
• Need: same as above.

Funding is not available for part-time, retired, or adjunct professors. Applications must be for future travel; requests for reimbursement for travel already completed will not be considered. Requests for travel to countries on the State Department’s Travel Warning List must have prior approval from the international vice president.

Faculty who receive travel grants are expected to contribute to the intellectual life of the Kennedy Center in some way. Future publications should acknowledge support of the center, and faculty should be willing to report their research as part of the Kennedy Center lecture series. All grant recipients are required to submit a one-page memo at the end of the year reporting on the use of Kennedy Center funds. Funds are available for use in the year awarded. Travel grants may not be deferred.

Applications for Conference Travel Grants will be considered twice a year: once after the 15 March deadline and once after the 15 October deadline. Out-of-cycle applications will not be considered.

WomanStats Data Project

The Kennedy Center invites applications for a new BYU faculty grant for research on the status
of women worldwide in conjunction with the WomanStats data project. Full-time BYU faculty
are eligible to apply for a grant of up to $5,000 in 2019 to support research relevant to the
WomanStats project. Relevant research may include projects that analyze information (both
qualitative and quantitative) already available in the WomanStats database and/or research
that aims to create and contribute additional cross-national data on the status of women to the
WomanStats database.

The WomanStats data project was founded at BYU in 2001 with the aim of investigating the
link between the security and behavior of states and the situation and security of the women
within them. Since that time, it has grown to include principal investigators at universities across
five countries, representing six fields of study: international relations, geography, psychology,
sustainable development, statistics, and sociology. The dataset tracks over 350 variables in 175
countries, including issues such as rape, sex trafficking, maternal and child mortality, family law,
women in government and the military, and many others.

For more information about the WomanStats project or to consult the codebook and existing
database, please consult the web site (www.womanstats.org). For additional questions about the
project, contact the BYU faculty co-PIs on the project Celeste Beesley (political science; celeste_beesley@byu.edu) or Chad Emmett (geography; chad_emmett@byu.edu).

Grant recipients will be asked to meet with and present their project to the on-campus
WomanStats working group. If desired, grant recipients may use some of the funding to access
student research assistants with rigorous prior training in WomanStats data collection.

How to Apply

Open the appropriate application linked on the right column.