Spring 2009 Deadline: April 22, 2009

The Simpson Center seeks to support innovative crossdisciplinary research and to integrate that research both with teaching at the graduate level and with programs designed for a larger public. To this end we sponsor a wide range of activities, including collaborative research groups, scholarly conferences and symposia, graduate seminars, and a fellowship program for UW faculty and doctoral students. We also support public programs in the humanities, which we construe broadly to include projects and topics of humanistic interest in the social sciences, sciences, professions, and arts. Our support is intended not to provide permanent funding for ongoing programs but, rather, to assist in the development of new ideas and projects.

For the April 22, 2009, deadline we invite proposals for projects to take place in academic year 2009-10 which fall into these categories:

• Full Professor Crossdisciplinary Conversation Award

• Symposium, Colloquium, or Conference
• Crossdisciplinary Research Cluster
• Large-Scale Collaborative Research, Teaching and/or Public Project
• Proposal Writing Incentive Award
• Public Humanities: Engaging the Community

NOTE: All groups must designate one person as Primary Project Coordinator. The Primary Project Coordinator serves two important functions:

1. completes and submits all application materials. Do not delegate this function to collaborators or staff assistants.
2. acts as project lead and primary liaison between your group and the Simpson Center throughout the term of your funding. We require streamlined communications with a single group representative.

Proposals in the Digital Humanities, American Music, and Sustainable Cities are especially encouraged. 

Other Projects

If a project does not fall into any of the listed categories but does fulfill the broad goals of the Simpson Center, schedule an appointment with Center staff for help formulating a proposal. Please email project documents for review twenty-four hours before your appointment.

Please note the following exclusions:

• travel funding for individual research or conference participation
• honoraria for UW faculty and graduate students for on-campus programs

Submitting an Application: All applications must be submitted via the Simpson Center's online process. Follow submission instructions and links included within the category guidelines.

We encourage applicants to consult with Simpson Center staff when formulating proposals. Schedule an appointment by email or call 543.3920.

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Full Professor Crossdisciplinary Conversation Award

This award encourages full professors to pursue research projects that would benefit from crossdisciplinary engagement with a faculty member in another field. The collaborating faculty member may be of any rank and must belong to any department, discipline, or field other than the applicant’s own.

The faculty member initiating the project receives no compensation other than the formal recognition of the award and the intrinsic reward of crossdisciplinary collegiality and knowledge. (Full professors may hold a Conversation Award simultaneously with a Society of Scholars Research Fellowship.) An award in the amount of $1,500 for research will acknowledge the generosity of the faculty counterpart who gives time and expertise.

The Simpson Center can assist you in identifying potential faculty counterparts for your project.

Submission Steps:

Step 1: BUNDLE your proposal components into a single file. When naming this file, please use the Primary Project Coordinator's last name as the first word. We recommend PDF format, which ensures your document will look and print exactly as you intend. We also will accept a bundled Word document, but caution you to understand that materials submitted in Word may not represent you in the manner you most wish.

• A proposal narrative (limited to 500 words) that describes the research project and includes a description of what the faculty counterpart can bring to it.
• Curriculum vitae for the faculty applicant (maximum five pages)
• Curriculum vitae for the faculty counterpart (maximum five pages)

Step 2: UPLOAD your bundled proposal file to the Catalyst Collect-It Dropbox.

Step 3: SUBMIT your proposal identification information via the Catalyst WebQ. To complete this step, you will need the names and UWNet IDs of all key project collaborators.

Step 4: DOWNLOAD and complete the signature sheet. Return it to the Simpson Center (Communications 206/Box 353710) with the signature of your department chair and one (1) hard copy of your bundled proposal file.

Step 5: ASK your proposed faculty counterpart to write a letter indicating an understanding of the project and his/her specific intellectual contribution to its development. Your faculty counterpart should email this letter directly to red2@u.washington.edu.

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Symposium, Colloquium, or Conference

Submission Steps:

Step 1: BUNDLE your proposal components into a single file. When naming this file, please use the Primary Project Coordinator's last name as the first word. We recommend PDF format, which ensures your document will look and print exactly as you intend. We also will accept a bundled Word document, but caution you to understand that materials submitted in Word may not represent you in the manner you most wish.

• A proposal narrative explaining the significance of the subject of the conference or colloquium series, the activities to be funded (including when and where they will take place), participating persons or organizations, audience, a possible promotion plan, and anticipated results (such as a publication).
• A budget detailing anticipated expenses such as honoraria, travel, accommodations, promotional materials, hospitality, postage, and facility rentals.
• Curricula vitae for the key project collaborators (maximum five pages for each)

Step 2: UPLOAD your bundled proposal file to the Catalyst Collect-It Dropbox.

Step 3: SUBMIT your proposal identification information via the Catalyst WebQ. To complete this step, you will need the names and UWNet IDs of all key project collaborators.

Step 4: DOWNLOAD and complete the signature sheet. Return it to the Simpson Center (Communications 206/Box 353710) with the signature of your department chair and one (1) hard copy of your bundled proposal file.

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Crossdisciplinary Research Cluster

Crossdisciplinary Research Clusters are intended to bring together faculty and graduate students from different departments and disciplines with shared research interests. Projects in this category should seed new and vital research activity and should not underwrite the ongoing support of existing programs. Research clusters should meet regularly throughout the year. Clusters that engage emerging fields of inquiry and/or are linked to a crossdisciplinary or crossdepartmental curriculum are especially encouraged, as are cluster models other than a speaker series.

Funds can be used to support meeting costs, photocopying, visiting speakers, etc.

Awards normally do not exceed $7,000.

Submission Steps:

Step 1: BUNDLE your proposal components into a single file. When naming this file, please use the Primary Project Coordinator's last name as the first word. We recommend PDF format, which ensures your document will look and print exactly as you intend. We also will accept a bundled Word document, but caution you to understand that materials submitted in Word may not represent you in the manner you most wish.

• A proposal narrative detailing the focus of the cluster and the activities to be funded, participating persons or organizations, near-term goals, and longer-term ambitions if the cluster is intended to seed other forms of collaboration and project development.
• A budget detailing anticipated expenses such as honoraria, travel, accommodations, promotional materials, hospitality, postage, and facility rentals.
• Curricula vitae for the key project collaborators (maximum five pages each)

Step 2: UPLOAD your bundled proposal file to the Catalyst Collect-It Dropbox.

Step 3: SUBMIT your proposal identification information via the Catalyst WebQ. To complete this step, you will need the names and UWNet IDs of all key project collaborators.

Step 4: DOWNLOAD and complete the signature sheet. Return it to the Simpson Center (Communications 206/Box 353710) with the signature of your department chair and one (1) hard copy of your bundled proposal file.

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Large-Scale Collaborative Research, Teaching,
and/or Public Project

Large-scale Collaboration grants enable faculty and graduate students to pursue extended crossdisciplinary and crossdepartmental collaborative projects in research, teaching, and public engagement. Projects that incorporate these three dimensions are encouraged but not required.

Large-scale collaborations may include a series of linked crossdepartmental seminars or courses organized around a specific subject, accompanied by a complementary series of public lectures. These activities may be designed to develop new programs of study at the University of Washington.

If the project entails collaborative research, it is essential to note the form of the completed research (an edited book, a website, etc.).

For Spring 2009, consult with the Simpson Center staff about the scale of your project before finalizing your proposal for this category.

Submission Steps:

Step 1: BUNDLE your proposal components into a single file. When naming this file, please use the Primary Project Coordinator's last name as the first word. We recommend PDF format, which ensures your document will look and print exactly as you intend. We also will accept a bundled Word document, but caution you to understand that materials submitted in Word may not represent you in the manner you most wish.

• A proposal narrative that describes the project, explains its significance, and outlines plans for development, conduct, and publication or dissemination (if appropriate).
• A budget detailing anticipated expenses such as honoraria, travel, accommodations, promotional materials, hospitality, postage, and facility rentals.
• Curricula vitae for the key project collaborators (maximum five pages each)

Step 2: UPLOAD your bundled proposal file to the Catalyst Collect-It Dropbox.

Step 3: SUBMIT your proposal identification information via the Catalyst WebQ. To complete this step, you will need the names and UWNet IDs of all key project collaborators.

Step 4: DOWNLOAD and complete the signature sheet. Return it to the Simpson Center (Communications 206/Box 353710) with the signature of your department chair and one (1) hard copy of your bundled proposal file.

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Proposal Writing Incentive Award

This award encourages the development and submission of large-scale proposals in the humanities and humanistic social sciences to major agencies and foundations such as the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. Examples might include a proposal to host an NEH Summer Institute at the University of Washington, or a proposal to the Media, Arts, and Culture Division of the Ford Foundation to create an innovative curriculum across media.

Proposals for individual fellowship support from NEH, the Guggenheim Foundation, ACLS, and other foundations are not eligible. Priority is given to projects that would be housed at the Simpson Center.

Faculty who are granted a Proposal Writing Incentive Award will receive a $1,500 research award (to reimburse expenses for travel to archives and scholarly conferences, etc.) upon submittal of the grant proposal. The Simpson Center award applies for major foundation proposals that will be submitted between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010.  If the Simpson Center is to serve as fiscal sponsor for the grant, internal deadlines will be determined accordingly.

**Applications for Proposal Writing Incentive Awards can also be incorporated into proposals for other Simpson Center funding initiatives—for instance, as one aspect of a Large-Scale Collaborative Project. In this case, submit your application under the rubric of the other category and include plans for foundation/endowment submission in your proposal narrative, as well as the $1,500 incentive award in your proposed budget.

Submission Steps:

Step 1: BUNDLE your proposal components into a single file. When naming this file, please use the Primary Project Coordinator's last name as the first word. We recommend PDF format, which ensures your document will look and print exactly as you intend. We also will accept a bundled Word document, but caution you to understand that materials submitted in Word may not represent you in the manner you most wish.

• A proposal narrative outlining your project in detail, together with a timeline specifying all deadlines that the grant submission will require.
• Curricula vitae for the key project collaborators (maximum five pages each)

Step 2: UPLOAD your bundled proposal file to the Catalyst Collect-It Dropbox.

Step 3: SUBMIT your proposal identification information via the Catalyst WebQ. To complete this step, you will need the names and UWNet IDs of all key project collaborators.

Step 4: DOWNLOAD and complete the signature sheet. Return it to the Simpson Center (Communications 206/Box 353710) with the signature of your department chair and one (1) hard copy of your bundled proposal file.

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Public Humanities: Engaging the Community

These awards support humanities-based projects that promote dialogue, exchange, and collaboration between University of Washington scholars and the greater Seattle community, including the public schools. The Simpson Center encourages project collaborators to develop venues for reflecting upon these projects at conferences, workshops, or in publication.

Projects in engaged teaching and/or research may take multiple, diverse forms. Examples of previously funded projects include the following:

• Conducting reading and writing groups for women and youth in local shelters (Broadview University)
• Developing an accessible web archive and curriculum via community-based research (Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project)
• Developing a major exhibition featuring original research in collaboration with a local museum (American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music)

Submission Steps:

Step 1: BUNDLE your proposal components into a single file. When naming this file, please use the Primary Project Coordinator's last name as the first word. We recommend PDF format, which ensures your document will look and print exactly as you intend. We also will accept a bundled Word document, but caution you to understand that materials submitted in Word may not represent you in the manner you most wish.

• A proposal narrative outlining your project’s purpose(s), the community (and possibly university) constituents you will engage and/or collaborate with, your plans for doing so, including any local resources (networks, contacts, organizations) that will support your efforts.
• A budget detailing anticipated expenses such as honoraria, travel, accommodations, promotional materials, hospitality, postage, and facility rentals.
• Curricula vitae for the key project collaborators (maximum five pages each)

Step 2: UPLOAD your bundled proposal file to the Catalyst Collect-It Dropbox.

Step 3: SUBMIT your proposal identification information via the Catalyst WebQ. To complete this step, you will need the names and UWNet IDs of all key project collaborators.

Step 4: DOWNLOAD and complete the signature sheet. Return it to the Simpson Center (Communications 206/Box 353710) with the signature of your department chair and one (1) hard copy of your bundled proposal file.

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