Proposal Information

Please read the following information carefully. All scholars applying for funding, a Junior Scholars Training Workshop, or a Slavic Reference Service Research Practicum are required to submit a one- to two-page research proposal. The proposal must clearly indicate the policy relevance of the proposed research and include a short statement summarizing the work. Special conditions exist for senior scholars applying for funding.

Policy Relevance

Funding for the Summer Research Lab and the Slavic Reference Service is provided by the U.S. Department of State Title VIII Program. The award stipulates that all recipients of funding provided through this grant be engaged in policy relevant research. According to the Federal Register (Vol. 69, No. 230, Dec. 1, 2004), Title VIII supports research that provides "knowledge related to current U.S. policy interests in the region, broadly defined. This includes, but is not limited to, such topics as resolution of ethnic, religious, and other conflicts; terrorism; transition economics; access to information; women's issues; human rights; and citizen participation in politics and civil society . . . . The Title VIII Program supports research topics that strengthen the fields of Eurasian and East European Studies, and that address U.S. policy interests in the region, broadly defined. Historical or cultural research that promotes understanding of current events in the region is acceptable only if an explicit connection is made to current policy relevant issues, broadly defined."

The goal of the Title VIII Program and by extension the SRL is to facilitate and fortify the fields of Eurasian and East European Studies. SRL grant applicants as asked to "think deeply and articulate the possible policy connections that can be made from their unique on-the-ground experiences, data, methods, and conclusions” ( August 2004 memorandum from the Title VIII Program committee). Applicants might consider, for example, how their projects could assist U.S. government policymakers in understanding the countries or peoples with which they work, how they pertain to international relations, or how their findings might contribute to policymakers’ knowledge of cultural heritage.

Although applications from all disciplines are welcome, graduate students and junior scholars working in anthropology, business, economics, education, law, political science, sociology are especially encouraged to apply.

Senior scholars (those other than graduate students and assistant professor) may only receive funding if they are conducting direct policy relevant research.