FY10 Call for Proposals:
Harvard China Fund Faculty Grants

The Harvard China Fund, under the Office of the Provost, is pleased to announce its FY’10 grants program for Harvard faculty, programs and schools. The purpose of the Fund is to support interdisciplinary research and teaching about and in China, focus Harvard’s considerable strengths in the field towards directly tackling challenges that face China, and improve communication and collaboration between Harvard’s Faculties and Schools and Chinese universities and research institutes.

Proposals may be in any field, but preference will be given to those projects that are interdisciplinary and novel. Priority will be given to projects that advance the research goals of Harvard faculty or improve the education of Harvard students. Collaborative projects which have the potential to be supported financially by Chinese universities or other relevant institutions are welcome.

Proposals shall be judged on the basis of academic excellence, innovation, feasibility, organizational support and the potential for impact in China. During this phase of the program, the Harvard China Fund expects to fund several proposals at the $150,000 to $250,000 range, and encourages applicants to consider this support as seed money or to seek matching funds.

COURSE DEVELOPMENT GRANTS (new this year):
After two successful years supporting the faculty research projects mentioned above, the Harvard China Fund is launching a second grant program to support the development of new curriculum with a China focus. Proposals may be in any field, but preference will be given to those courses that address areas where Harvard's China curriculum is comparatively weak. During this phase of the program, the Harvard China Fund expects to fund one to two faculty members for summer research in China, and encourages applicants from any school, department, or discipline. These course development grants will offer support for summer salary and other research/travel expenses as appropriate. Such grants may also be used to support the teaching of a Harvard course in China.

For both types of grants, preference may be given to proposed projects for which funding might not be otherwise available from traditional sources. All proposals will be reviewed by the Harvard China Fund Steering Committee. Final proposals will be subject to external, peer reviews by readers familiar with the proposed field of work.

The competition is open to all Harvard faculty at the assistant, associate or full professorial rank who will be continuing at the university in that capacity for the duration of the research project/course development phase and who can demonstrate the endorsement of their school, department, or program for this project. Projects may include other researchers or participants, but these individuals may not serve as the principal applicant.

Applicants interested in submitting proposals should e-mail a one-page abstract including a list of key participants and one-page preliminary budget to jdowning@fas.harvard.edu by Monday, December 1, 2008. Potential applicants are also welcome to contact the Harvard China Fund to discuss their ideas further.

Following a review of the proposed projects, finalists will be asked to submit a formal proposal by Friday, February 6, 2009. Final decisions will be announced on Friday, May 1, 2009.

  download as PDF

back to top