CENTRAL COAST REGIONAL EQUITY INITIATIVE

2023 CALL FOR PROPOSALS: CENTRAL COAST REGIONAL EQUITY INITIATIVE 

GRADUATE & FACULTY RESEARCH 

Application deadline: Friday, May 26th, 2023 

The UCSB Blum Center invites proposals for faculty and graduate student research on inequality in the Central Coast region of California, here encompassing Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura Counties. Projects selected for funding will contribute to the Central Coast Regional Equity Initiative, a collaborative project co-sponsored by the Blum Center and The Fund for Santa Barbara that promotes community-engaged research, policy analysis, and collective action to advance social, economic, health, environmental, and civic equity and justice in the region. Further information on the Initiative can be found by consulting the Executive Summary of the 2021 Central Coast Regional Equity Study.

We encourage proposals that explore equity from a variety of disciplinary (or interdisciplinary) perspectives, that address disparities across a broad range of indicators, including employment and wages, education, health, housing, climate risk, and political representation, and that foreground social justice, including (but not limited to) research on regional issues with disparate impacts by race, class, gender, indigeneity, and citizenship status. Research may focus on the causes, dimensions, consequences, and/or responses to inequality in the Central Coast. Research may span the three target counties or be located within a single county. Funds may also be used to develop a Central Coast regional component of an existing project that includes a broader geographic area. All proposals must specify how community engagement is part of the research design, dissemination, and outcome of the project that will be funded. Possible outcomes of funded research include academic publications, dissertation chapters, public-facing reports, new public data sets, and ongoing campus/community research collaborations. 

Budgets and Allowable Expenses

Applicants may request up to $10,000 to support original research projects but may be funded for less than the requested amount, depending on the number and range of applicants. All budget requests must be fully justified. Eligible expenses include costs related to original data collection, field work, or archival research; software and/or small equipment required for the proposed research; data acquisition; transcription; and research supplies. Award funds may not be used for the costs of tuition, fees, or insurance; replacement salary; participation in conferences or trainings; or non-expendable equipment. Proposals from faculty may request funding to support the costs of employing undergraduate and/or graduate students as research assistants (GSRs). If your project involves human subjects, please be sure that you are in compliance with the University guidelines, including Institutional Review Board approval. 

Applications will be reviewed by an interdisciplinary faculty panel and will be awarded based on the quality of the proposal, relevance to regional equity, degree of community engagement, and appropriateness of the budget.

Timetable and Research Symposium

The grant period for these awards is July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024. Award recipients will present their research at a symposium hosted by the UCSB Blum Center in spring 2024.  

Our First CCREI Symposium for last year's recipients will be held on Monday, May 22nd, 2023. Please use this link to learn more about the 2022-23 CCREI Award recipients. 

Eligibility

Graduate student applicants must be registered at UCSB at the time of application and for the duration of the project. Student proposals must be accompanied by a letter of recommendation from the student’s faculty mentor or graduate advisor.

Required Application Materials

Applicants must submit the application materials listed below as a single PDF:

·      A brief project description (maximum 750 words) discussing the project’s objectives, central research questions, approach and methodology, contributions and outcomes, and relevance to the themes outlined in the call for proposals.

·      A detailed budget

·      A curriculum vitae (no longer than 2 pages)

·      A letter of reference from the applicant’s faculty graduate advisor indicating support for the proposed research (if applicant is a graduate student)

·      Verification of IRB approval or pending approval (if required)

Zoom Information Sessions

Friday, April 28th @1pm

Wednesday, May 10th @1pm

Zoom Link

Submit Application

Submit your application file as a single PDF using the following Google Form: Application Link.

Proposals are due by Friday, May 26th, 2023 at 11:59PM PST.

Additional Questions

Please contact Tim Perez: tperez@ucsb.edu