2012 Social Science Research Council China Environment and Health Initiative Collaborative Grants Program
Request for Proposals
 
            The China Environment and Health Initiative (CEHI) of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is pleased to announce the fifth round of its Collaborative Grants Program to stimulate the generation and dissemination of policy and practice-oriented research on environment and health in China. 
            Up to fifteen grants in the amount of $5,000-15,000 (total of $100,000) will be made to applicants located at Chinese institutions.  Grants will provide funds to enable policy- or action-oriented research, including collaboration between research institutions and government or civil society organizations.  
            The Funding Criteria for this round include a special focus on initiatives that engage with policies generated by the 12^th Five Year Plan (see below for details).
           
Proposal Preparation Workshop/Summer Institute
The Collaborative Grant Program has 2 application streams:
1) Through the Forum On Health Environment and Development (FORHEAD)  Summer Institute/Proposal Preparation Workshop with a draft proposal; and
2) Direct application to the Collaborative Grants Program.  Although participation in the Institute is not required, and will not guarantee proposal acceptance, applicants are encouraged to consider applying in order to strengthen their research proposals before submission.  
The deadline for applications to the Summer Institute is May 15, 2012.
The deadline for direct applications to the Collaborative Grants Program is August 28, 2012.
 
 
Funding Criteria
Please review these criteria carefully BEFORE preparing your proposal

• Projects must address environment- health risks associated with development, for example those stemming from extractive or industrial processes, agricultural production, animal husbandry and aquaculture, or urbanization (construction, transportation etc).
• Projects must address environmental health risks that have already been identified. Although we encourage collaboration between natural, medical and social scientists, grants will not be made for substantial new data collection in order to demonstrate the existence of a health risk.
• Projects must be clearly useful in generating or disseminating knowledge that will inform policy or the work of government or civil society actors. As such, they must involve the analysis, using appropriate methods, of some aspect of governance. This might include relevant laws, policies or regulations, and/or challenges to their implementation; perceptions of environment-health risks by relevant actors; access to information and the role of government, media and civil society in generating and circulating information about risks; the interests of relevant stakeholders, etc..  Proposals must explain how the project will inform policy or other responses, indicating the specific channels through which it will do so.
• The program is interested to support projects that engage with environment and health related policies introduced as part of the 12^th Five Year Plan.  This might include but is not limited to projects which examine the implications for environmental impacts on health of the upgrading or transfer of industry associated with regional economic development and land zoning policies; the introduction of new systems for monitoring and responding to environmental health risks by the environmental protection system; and the effectiveness of the health system in responding to environmental health risks. A summary of relevant policies is available on the FORHEAD website (www.forhead.org).
• Applicants must demonstrate that they have the necessary access to data and working relationships with local NGOS, communities or government agencies, to conduct the project successfully. Evidence of this must be provided in the form of letters of support from the relevant institutions.
• If the project is being carried out at the local level, researchers must either live and work in the same province, or otherwise demonstrate how the project will build local capacity to work on environment and health issues.
• Grants will be awarded for work in the 9 provinces covered by the Rockefeller Brothers Funds’ South China Program (Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Hainan). Proposals for work in other parts of China and in Hong Kong and Macau will be considered only if they have clear relevance for national level policy.
• Applicants must demonstrate the potential to produce research or materials for dissemination that meet professional standards.
• Projects should have a budget and timeframe appropriate for the work that is to be conducted (see details below).  

 
Applicant Criteria
Proposals must be:

• Submitted by a Chinese academic institution (university, college or other research organization) or civil society organization with a demonstrated commitment to working on environment and/or health issues. 
• Structured as a collaboration that involves researchers with different disciplinary expertise, including at least one social science discipline (Anthropology, Economics, Geography, Law/Legal Studies, Political Science/Government, Social Psychology, Sociology), OR as a collaboration between a research institution and a government department or NGO.
• Projects may but do not have to involve collaboration with an international partner with relevant expertise.

All applicants must demonstrate how the results of the project will inform the initiatives of government agencies or NGOs, or contribute directly to improving the public’s ability to understand and respond to environment-related health risks.
 
 
 
 
The selection committee will favor proposals that:

• Address issues of disparate impact on communities that are vulnerable to environment-related health risks as the result of their ethnicity, gender, age, geographical location or occupation.
• Develop methods or models of research or interventions that have the potential for application beyond the current project. 
• Provide opportunities for the professional development of young researchers or staff. 

 
Terms of the Grant
Grantee workshop. Grantees will be expected to revise their initial proposals based on feedback from expert resource people. This will be organized either through a two-day grantee workshop, or through individual consultations as appropriate in light of the topics covered.  
Reporting. At the end of the grant period (August 30, 2013), grantees will be required to provide 1) a report on the findings of their project for publication on project’s web-based platforms, and 2) a short account of the challenges they faced in the process of collaboration and what they have learned. 
Resource mapping. Grantees will map the people, institutions, and writings associated with the project topic into the online Resource Hub (ceh.resourcehub.ssrc.org) of the China Environment and Health Initiative in order to provide a review of relevant existing research on the topic.
 
Application Process
Proposals may be submitted in Chinese or English.  There are 2 application streams:
1) Through the FORHEAD Summer Institute/Proposal preparation workshop with a draft proposal.
2) Direct application to the Collaborative Grants Program. 
Although participation in the Institute is not required, and will not guarantee a proposal’s acceptance, applicants are encouraged to apply in order to strengthen their research proposals before submission
The deadline for applications to the Summer Institute is May 15, 2011.
The deadline for direct applications to the Collaborative Grants Program is August 28, 2011.
Applicants should be available to answer questions about their proposals the week of September 3. Successful applicants will be announced on or before September 17.
Questions should be sent to forhead@forhead.org.  Please read the funding criteria above and proposal structure below carefully first. 
 
Proposal Structure
The proposal should include:
A. PROJECT OUTLINE (250 words)
A short description of how the project will generate or disseminate research that can inform government or civil society responses to environment-related health risks.  Indicate the budget amount requested.
 
B. PROJECT DESCRIPTION (5 pages)
The narrative description of the project should address the following questions:

1. What is the problem the project seeks to address? Who is affected by it?
2. What are the key questions the project will address? If the proposal is for collaboration between researchers and NGOs or government departments, what kind of knowledge will be shared and for what purpose?
3. Why is collaboration of different disciplines or organizations necessary to the success of the project?
4. What is the collaborative process and who are the people involved? At what stages and in what ways will they participate?  How will their particular disciplinary or professional training contribute to the success of the project?
5. How will this project build upon existing research and/or advocacy on this issue?  
6. What data will be used and how will project staff collect or gain access to it? If the cooperation of local communities, government agencies or other actors is required, are the necessary relationships in place (please provide letters of support from the relevant organizations)?
7. How is the project innovative, for example in developing new methods or frameworks for collaboration?
8. What will be the project outcomes? Through what specific mechanisms is it expected to inform policy or other action on environment and health?
9. How will the success of the project be assessed?
10. What is the broader significance of the project?

 
C. ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND

• A description of the proposing and collaborating organization(s) (max. 200 words each), including mission, constituency, geographical scope of work, and annual budget.
• The relevant knowledge, data or skills that each partner brings to the collaboration?
• The name, institutional affiliations, research experience, and CV of the lead partners in the proposing and collaborating organizations (maximum 2 pages each).

 
D. PROJECT TIMELINE
 
E.   BUDGET
A budget of up to $15,000 may be submitted, with itemized major expenditures.
The budget should be appropriate to the work to be conducted, and indicate:

1. Other funding support – amount and source, including in-kind contributions
2. Personnel and consultant costs

Salary should generally be costed as a percentage of actual salary with the time commitment for each individual indicated as a percentage or number of months/weeks/days.  Consultancy fees for international partners will only be paid under exceptional circumstances.

3. Fieldwork expenses (including honoraria for respondents)

Cost estimates should be provided for flights, lodging and food and other expenses.

4. Other relevant travel

This should indicate destination and purpose of trips, which must be directly related to project activities. Reasonable travel expenses for international partners may be included.

5. Dissemination, outreach costs

Funds will be provided only for dissemination activities directly related to the project.  Grantees will be invited to participate in program-wide dissemination activities (including the Annual FORHEAD Conference and topical seminars). The program cannot pay for the establishment of new websites but will assist in dissemination of project materials through the FORHEAD website.

6. Administrative overhead

This item must not exceed 8% of the total budget

7. Other

 
 
If applicants are unsure about whether other particular costs may be included they should consult with CEHI Program Staff at forhead@forhead.org. 
In the event of funding, CEHI may request adjustments to project budgets.  
 
Please click here for online application.
 
This program is supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.