Trilateral Initiatives in Emerging Regions

TIER

Call for Trilateral Initiatives in Emerging Regions

The primary goals of the Alliance Call for Trilateral Initiatives in Emerging Regions (T.I.E.R) are to promote academic cooperation with out-of-the-network research and education institutions in other continents, in support of capacity building.

The initiative encourages projects of all disciplines aimed at innovative regional immersion/integration including, among others, citizenship and urban studies, management of natural resources, public health, statistical capacity or data analysis.

The Alliance Call for Trilateral Initiatives in Emerging Regions (T.I.E.R) invites faculty members to submit proposals for a jointly taught course, research, seminars or workshops to broaden educational opportunities and address the student driven demand for exposure to countries and territories outside Europe and North America. The call is only open to full-time officers of instruction of professorial rank.

In addition to partnering with accredited higher education institutions or research centers outside Europe and North America, the initiative must involve collaboration of full time faculty from Columbia University and at least one of the Alliance French partners: Sciences Po, École Polytechnique, and Panthéon-Sorbonne University.

The Alliance Program will fund project up to $15,000 for travel, materials, technological support, and other expenses in the design/implementation of the project. The grant cannot be used for salary, stipends, Per Diem, or teaching-assistant wages.

The initiative targets proposals that have found or will seek external funding from either two channels:

  • Philanthropy or International Organization focused on assisting capacity building, particularly in Africa and Asia (i.e. Carnegie Mellon, Rockefeller Foundation, SSRC, CODESRIA, EuropeAid, Agence Française de Développement-AFD, Institut de Recherche et de Développement-IRD, CIRAD, INRA, ADEME, PNUE…)

  • Local universities covering local expenses to benefit their faculty.

Application required documents must be sent in English to [email protected] in the following order:

  1. Cover page including the project title, e-mail, telephone number and affiliation of each principal investigator. At Least one from Columbia University, one from any of three Alliance French Partners, and one from an accredited higher education institution or research center outside Europe and North America

  2. Abstract outlining the joint project in a one-paragraph summary suitable for public reports, publicity materials, and the Alliance website

  3. Narrative (five pages maximum) describing the research question, theoretical foundations, existing literature, empirical and methodological facets, the relevance of transatlantic collaboration in the field and the project’s potential for encouraging future endeavors between the institutions. Please also mention if the project intends to attract external funding

  4. Curriculum vitae of project investigators

  5. One-page budget (one page) detailing the cost allocation of the joint project with amounts specified by category (travel, accommodation, catering etc.) and a provisional timeline.
    Please note that the Joint Projects Grant will not cover any types of salary, stipends, per diem or teaching-assistant wages

  6. Letters of support (required) from collaborating faculty, describing their commitments.

  7. Letters of support (as appropriate) from external collaborators, other institutions or investigators and from other external funding sources

APPLICATION DEADLINE: June 30, 2017

Applications are assessed by external reviewers in their disciplines.

The evaluation will take into account:

  • The academic quality of the project and relevance of pedagogical innovation

  • The relevance of the transatlantic partnership

  • The coherence and the consistence of the budget and the potential to attract external support

  • The consistency of the team and its addition to the broader research interest of applicants’ departments and research centers, as well as the strong potential for further collaboration.

Results will be announced in December of the same year.

Project Timeline

The first project-related expenses should be incurred within one year of the date of award. All expenses and activities should be incurred within one year from the date of the first expenses.

Project Report

Recipients are required to submit to Alliance a final Academic Report on the research conducted.

Acknowledgement

When recipients receive external grants based on the Alliance seed grant, they are expected to acknowledge the support of the “Alliance Program Joint Projects Grant” in any papers, publications or resumes and to provide the Alliance team with copies of these papers and publications.

Payment of the Grant

The funds will be transferred to the Department of affiliation of the Project Leader at Columbia University.

All Columbia University students and faculty members that will travel internationally with an Alliance granted project will refer to the International Travel Planning Policy, and are encouraged to register their travels through the University’s Global Travel website.