Collaborative Grant in China Studies

Overview

Luce/ACLS: Collaborative Grant in China Studies

Between 2021 and 2023, ACLS engaged in a series of strategic planning activities bringing together more than 100 scholars, administrators, journalists, librarians, curators, artists, and readers of research and writing on China through steering committees, focus groups, institutes, and more. In response to the challenges identified in these consultations, ACLS is offering a collaborative grant for innovative pilot activities that initiate long-term transformative change in the field of China studies.

The collaborative grant will serve to test and refine promising solutions; to produce recommendations for those activities to be adopted at scale in universities and colleges; and to establish clear strategies for long-term sustainability. Outcomes may include a pilot program, a new cross-institutional network, a plan for scaling, or a white paper. Recommendations for action produced by grant-funded activities will be shared with the ACLS Board and the ACLS Research University Consortium.

Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals in response to the following prompts. Applications that prioritize international and cross-institutional partnerships, support under-resourced institutions, and strengthen the next generation of China scholars, are encouraged. ACLS will also consider applications that address challenges not described below.  
•    Enabling Productive Engagement with China 
•    Teaching and Curricular Resources 
•    Open Access Resources 
•    Language Training 
•    Digital Research Methods

The project’s principal investigator must have a PhD in the humanities or interpretive social sciences or equivalent AND be based at an institution (e.g., college, museum, university, library) in the US or Canada.

Project teams must represent more than one institution.

NOTE: If interested in pursuing this opportunity, please first reach out to Ashley O’Brion (ASUF/MLFTC) in advance to discuss.

•    Grant amount: Up to $150,000 (approximately $25,000 per group member for up to six members)
•    Grants may support projects of 12-18 months in duration. Projects must be initiated between September 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025, and completed no later than June 30, 2027.
•    Grant funds may be used for planning activities, living expenses, or research costs, including, but not limited to:
•    workshops or convenings for project teams
•    research leave, course releases, or summer salary
•    funds for research (e.g., research assistants, database access, travel to libraries)
•    Grant funds may be disbursed in one of two ways: as a single grant to a host institution which will then administer all grant funds; or as separate awards (up to six) to each individual team member. If the grant is made as a single award, the host institution must be a US- or Canada-based institution.
•    No indirect costs or institutional overhead is permitted.
•    Other support may be accepted for the proposed project.
•    A final report is required on completion of the grant period.