OARS funding Economics

As part of broader university-wide diversity and inclusion efforts, the Office of the President and the Office for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship (OARS) have issued a special call for proposals to conduct research, scholarship, or creative activities in the areas of social justice, human rights, diversity, and inclusion. Proposals may be submitted in any of these areas, but must address a scholarly question that will lead to testable objectives or measurable outcomes.

The Data Incubator is a Cornell-funded data science training organization. We run a free advanced 8-week fellowship (think data science bootcamp) for PhDs looking to enter industry. A variety of innovative companies partner with The Data Incubator for their hiring and training needs, including LinkedIn, Genentech, Capital One, Pfizer, and many others. The program is free for admitted Fellows. Fellows have the option to participate in the program either in person in New York, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Boston, Washington DC, or online.

There are no limitations on the disciplinary background of the principal investigator, and the proposed research may address any topic in behavioral economics. However, projects must contribute to the Foundation's mission to improve the social and living conditions in the U.S. Appropriate projects will demonstrate explicit use of psychological concepts in the motivation of the research design and the preparation of the results.

The International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) program supports development of globally-engaged U.S. science and engineering students capable of performing in an international research environment at the forefront of science and engineering. The IRES program supports active research participation by students enrolled as undergraduates or graduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation. IRES projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects specifically designed for the IRES program.

The goals of the Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes (CRISP) solicitation are to: (1) foster an interdisciplinary research community of engineers, computer and computational scientists and social and behavioral scientists, that creates new approaches and engineering solutions for the design and operation of infrastructures as processes and services; (2) enhance the understanding and design of interdependent critical infrastructure systems (ICIs) and processes that provide essential goods and services despite disruptions and failures from any cause, natural, technological, or malicious; (3) create the knowledge for innovation in ICIs so that they safely, securely, and effectively expand the range of goods and services they enable; and (4) improve the effectiveness and efficiency with which they deliver existing goods and services.

This initiative will assist communities in attracting more foreign direct investment (FDI) to strengthen their local economies by helping them identify and adopt economic development and workforce best practices related to attracting FDI, and fostering a supportive environment for local exporting communities. Through this funding opportunity, EDA seeks to continue to build on its strong foundation of connecting communities to best practices.

Historically, grants through the program have supported research projects on a range of topics and disciplines, including education, psychology, sociology, economics, history, and anthropology; they also employ a wide range of research methods. Examples of recently funded projects include an experimental study of how college students use visual representations in solving math problems; a study exploring the process of racial and rural identity formation among African American high-school students who attend de facto segregated schools in the rural South; and a mixed-methods study focusing on the different types of knowledge novice and experienced teachers draw on in teaching for reading comprehension.

Applications are due no later than 11:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), on August 31, 2017 by email to HoughtonCD@state.gov under the announcement title "YSEALI Social Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth Regional Workshop" funding. Please attach proposals and required forms in Microsoft Word or .pdf format to an email with "YSEALI Social Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth Regional Workshop Proposal_Your Organization's Name" in the subject line.

This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) seeks opportunities to co-create, co-design, co-invest, and collaborate in the research, development, piloting, testing, and scaling of innovative, practical and cost-effective interventions to address Zimbabwe's Development Challenges. Those Development Challenges may include opportunities to increase the number of Zimbabweans who live longer, healthier lives. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) invites individuals, organizations, and companies to participate with the USAID Mission in Zimbabwe (USAID/Zimbabwe) to create more strategic, focused and results- oriented solutions to respond to the development challenges in Zimbabwe.

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), U.S. Department of Labor announces the availability of approximately $4 million total costs for up to two cooperative agreements of up to $2 million total costs each to fund technical assistance project(s) in two different countries to improve implementation of social compliance systems that promote acceptable conditions of work and the elimination of child labor and forced labor in coffee supply chains. Each cooperative agreement will fund a project in one of the following countries in the Latin America/Caribbean region, where DOL's List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (TVPRA List) documents child labor and/or forced labor concerns: Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or Nicaragua. Project outcomes include: 1) Adoption of a robust and sustainable social compliance system by private sector stakeholders in coffee supply chains; 2) Strengthened capacity of private sector stakeholders to implement a robust and sustainable social compliance system in coffee supply chains; and 3) New social compliance tools on child labor, forced labor, and acceptable conditions of work piloted in the coffee supply chain. The duration of the project will be a maximum of 4 years (48 months) from the effective date of the award. Applicants may apply for one or two of the cooperative agreements listed above. No more than two applications per applicant will be accepted. If applying for two cooperative agreements, applicants should not combine countries in a single application, but must submit separate applications for each country. Each application should request no more than $2 million total costs in funding.

The Institute for Research on Innovation and Science is accepting applications for its 2018 IRIS Awards, an annual program that supports researchers who use IRIS data to address questions about the social and economic returns of investments in research. Through the program, IRIS seeks to enable fundamental research on the results of public and private investments that support discovery, innovation, and education on the campuses of U.S. universities. Up to $15,000 for dissertations awards and up to $30,000 for early career and established researcher awards will be awarded to the recipient's institution. Funds can be used for personnel (e.g., research assistance, salaries, or stipend if recipient is a student), equipment, supplies, travel (may include travel mandated by the award), and other expenses (e.g., professional development and training). Awards may include 15 percent overhead or indirect costs to be paid as a part of the award total. Proposals must emphasize the use of IRIS data in projects that address open issues in the study of science and technology and science policy. Topics of particular interest include but are not limited to new methods to estimate social and economic return on investment for funding from various sources (federal, philanthropic, industrial, and institutional); the relationship between research training, career outcomes, and the downstream productivity of employers; the relationship between different funding sources and mechanisms and the structure and outcomes of collaboration within and across campuses; the distinctive contribution university research makes to regional economic development and resilience; and the effects different funding sources and mechanisms have on research teams and the productivity and efficiency of the academic research enterprise as a whole

One of the oldest American foundations, the Russell Sage Foundation was established by Mrs. Margaret Olivia Sage in 1907 for "the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States." In pursuit of this mission, the foundation now dedicates itself to strengthening the methods, data, knowledge, and theoretical core of the social sciences as a means of diagnosing social problems and improving social policies. The foundation's program on Social Inequality supports research on the social, economic, political, and labor market consequences of rising economic inequalities in the United States. The program seeks Letters of Inquiry for investigator-initiated research projects that will broaden current understanding of the causes and consequences of rising economic inequalities. Priority will be given to projects that use innovative data or methodologies to address important questions about inequality. Examples of the kinds of topics that are of interest include, but are not limited to, economic well-being, equality of opportunity, and intergenerational mobility; the political process and the resulting policies; psychological and/or cultural change; education; labor markets; child development and child outcomes; neighborhoods and communities; families, family structure, and family formation; and other forms of inequality.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in Colombia is making a special call for the submission of Concept Papers focused on leveraging private sector investment and expertise that results in enhance sustainable and inclusive development in Colombia's conflict-affected areas. Subject to the availability of funds, USAID/Colombia may allocate up to $10,000,000 to fund a portfolio of GDA alliances with the private sector, with funding for individual applications estimated in the range of $1,500,000 to $5,000,000 to be implemented over a period of 3-5 years through 2 to 3 awards, depending on the approach of each individual application.

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA) is pleased to invite eligible organizations to submit applications for a cooperative agreement to conduct third party monitoring of U.S. funded explosive remnants of war (ERW) clearance operations in Iraq during fiscal year 2018. Specific goals, objectives, and technical requirements for application packages are detailed below. PM/WRA anticipates awarding up to $1,000,000 under this competitive funding opportunity.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Administration for Native Americans (ANA) announces the availability of Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 funds for the Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS) program. This program is focused on community-driven projects designed to grow local economies, strengthen Native American families, including the preservation of Native American cultures, and decrease the high rate of current challenges caused by the lack of community-based businesses, and social and economic infrastructure in Native American communities. Native American communities include American Indian tribes (federally-recognized and non-federally recognized), Native Hawaiians, Alaskan Natives, and Native American Pacific Islanders.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Administration for Native Americans (ANA) announces the availability of Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 funds for community-based projects for the Social and Economic Development Strategies-Alaska (SEDS-AK) program. SEDS-AK is designed to provide targeted support for Village-specific projects to improve and enhance the core capacity of Alaska Native Village governments, who are central to fulfilling social and economic self-sufficiency in Alaska. This program promotes economic and social self-sufficiency for Alaska Natives and is intended to respond to the unique governmental structures and needs in Alaska. The SEDS-AK supports the principle that social and economic development is interrelated and essential for the growth of thriving Native communities. ANA is interested in supporting community-driven projects that build and strengthen core governmental capacity in the areas of administration and project management at the Alaska Native Village level.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) invites eligible entities to submit competitive grant applications for funding under the Refugee Family Child Care Microenterprise Development Project (RFCCMED). Through the RFCCMED program, ORR will provide funding for applicants which, through internal capacity and partnerships, will provide refugee participants with training and technical assistance in professional child care, microenterprise development, and financial literacy; assist refugee participants in navigating the child care licensing process; and provide direct financial assistance as needed to enable participants to prepare their homes for child care business operation. The three main objectives of RCCMED are to 1) help refugees to achieve economic self-sufficiency by establishing licensed FCC businesses; 2) help refugee families gain access to licensed FCC businesses which will meet the early care and developmental needs of refugee children; and 3) assist refugees in learning how to navigate mainstream child care services.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) invites eligible entities to submit competitive grant applications for projects to establish and manage Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) for low-income refugee participants. Eligible refugee participants who enroll in these projects will open and contribute systematically to IDAs for specified Savings Goals, including home ownership, business capitalization, vehicles for educational or work purposes, professional certification, and education (limited to postsecondary and/or continuing education, college entrance exam fees, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and GED preparation and test fees). Grantee organizations may use ORR funds to provide matches for the savings in the IDAs of up to $2,000 per individual refugee and $4,000 per refugee household. Applications will be screened and evaluated as indicated in the published funding opportunity announcement. Selection of awards will be contingent on the outcome of the competition and the availability of funds. The “match” mentioned in this announcement does not refer to the applicant finding additional funds to match funds being provided by the Federal government; it is the portion of federal funds to be allocated for matching clients' IDA savings. Successful grantees will be expected to coordinate their policies and procedures for developing and administering refugee IDA projects with ORR and with the existing refugee IDA network.

The Russell Sage Foundation's program on Behavioral Economics supports innovative research that uses behavioral insights from psychology and other social sciences to examine and improve social and living conditions in the United States. We seek investigator-initiated research proposals that will broaden our understanding of the social, economic and political consequences of real-life behaviors and decisions that deviate from the neoclassical economic standards of rationality. RSF is especially interested in behavioral economics research that contributes to our understanding of topics of interest under its other programs-Future of Work; Race, Ethnicity and Immigration; Social Inequality.

The Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) Grant Program for fiscal year (FY) 2018 to support projects to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables among low-income consumers participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by providing incentives at the point of purchase.