FY 2017 National Service and Civic Engagement Research Competition
Solicitation Title: FY 2017 National Service and Civic Engagement Research Competition
Funding Amount: CNCS expects to make awards in the range of $20,000 to $150,000.
Sponsor Deadline: Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Solicitation Link: https://www.nationalservice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017_CNCS_Research_Competition_NOFO_updated.pdf
Solicitation Number: CFDA 94.026
Overview
<p>CNCS’s Office of Research and Evaluation (ORE) is seeking applications that build on existing research in the field, address gaps in knowledge, and provide new ideas and methodological approaches to the study of civic infrastructure, civic engagement, volunteering, national service, and other related concepts such as social capital.<br>For the purposes of this competition: • “Civic infrastructure” is defined as the “invisible structures and processes through which the social contract is written and rewritten in communities,” “the formal and 2 informal processes and networks through which communities make decisions and solve problems”1 , or “the network that exists among local groups such as community development corporations (CDCs), foundations, other nonprofits, local governments, public housing authorities, businesses, and voluntary associations” <br>2 . • “Civic engagement” is defined as a cluster of individual efforts and activities oriented toward making “a difference in the civic life of … communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes” 3 and through informal or formal networks. <br>• “Volunteering” is unpaid, noncompulsory work, specifically, time one gives without pay to activities performed either through organizations such as schools, nonprofits, churches, civic, or political organizations (e.g., formal) or directly for others outside one’s own household (e.g., informal). <br>• “National service” is defined as a structured opportunity for individuals to serve their communities for an extended period of time through volunteering with or without a stipend. CNCS is the largest supporter of national service, though other avenues for national service exist and this competition is not exclusive to opportunities funded by CNCS. <br>• “Social capital” can be understood as the “shared norms or values that promote social cooperation, instantiated in actual social relationships” (Fukuyama 2002) or as the facilitating agent for social cohesion and civic engagement. For examples of previous research, see the 2015 awardees of the National Service and Civic Engagement Research Competition (<a href="https://www.nationalservice.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2015/national-s…; ).</p> <p>CNCS seeks to support research in three broad areas of equal priority:<br>How are civic infrastructure and civic engagement defined, measured, developed, and hindered? How does an individual’s civic engagement change over the course of a lifetime? What are the impacts associated with civic engagement, volunteering, or national service?</p>
Solicitation Limitations: <p><span>Please note that CNCS will not fund studies that are duplicative of current CNCS studies.</span></p> Other Information:<p><span>CNCS strongly encourages a Notification of Intent to Apply for this competition, by Friday, June 9, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. There is no cost share or matching requirement. CNCS anticipates funding projects in two categories: Dissertation and Scholars. Dissertation Category targets research that may support doctoral dissertations. The dissertator’s advisor will be the primary Program Director (i.e., Principal Investigator) and the Dissertator will be the co-Program Director (i.e., Co-Principal Investigator). Legal applicants (i.e., Institution of Higher Education) must select one or more Program Director(s) (i.e., Principal Investigator) who will actually be conducting the research on behalf of the legal applicant, although the institution of higher education will be responsible for meeting the performance objectives and other agreed upon criteria set forth in the Cooperative Agreement (see B.4.). Award amounts for Dissertators are expected to be lower than in the Scholars Category. Scholar Category: This category targets established academics, researchers, and postdoctoral researchers, with a proven track record and standing in their respective fields. The legal applicants must select one or more established academics, researchers, and postdoctoral researchers who will actually be doing the research on behalf of the legal applicant, although the institution of higher education will be responsible for meeting the performance objectives and other agreed upon criteria set forth in the Cooperative Agreement (see B.4.). Research studies are expected to be of larger scope and higher award amounts than those submitted to the Dissertation Category. These larger studies are expected to include a team of researchers including a graduate student(s) and substantial primary or secondary data collection. Results for the Scholars Category are also expected to have wider dissemination than those from the Dissertation Category.</span></p>Last Updated:
RODA ID: 261