This list is a selection of frequently asked questions regarding the Digital Borderlands project's call for proposals, and it may be updated with additional information as we receive inquiries from applicants.
Who is eligible to apply?
The project PI must be a full time University of Arizona employee with an appointment that extends past the period of the grant. We welcome applications from tenure-line faculty, career-track faculty, and other research staff interested who are conducting humanistic research on the U.S.-Mexico borderlands.
The project team may include students, staff, and faculty from multiple institutions. Community partnerships and cross-border collaborations are encouraged, and we ask applicants to provide evidence that these collaborations are reciprocal and mutually beneficial.
How many awards will be given?
There will be two rounds of funding, and we will provide four awards during each round at up to $60,000 per award. The call for proposals for the first round of funding was released on November 30, 2020. A second call will be released in November, 2021.
Is there a budget range?
Proposals may request a maximum of $60,000. We anticipate award budgets will be in the range of $50,000-$60,000.
Can applicants be involved in multiple projects?
An individual may be involved with multiple projects but may only be listed as PI once in each round of funding.
What information is required for the letter of attestation?
The letter of attestation serves as evidence of your consultation and engagement with the employees of the libraries who will contribute to your project. The letter should provide an assessment of the project’s feasibility and include a description of the staffing and material resources that will be committed from the libraries if the project is funded. A single letter of attestation may be co-signed by multiple library employees.
How will grant teams make use of library services?
Working with the Libraries may look different for each grant team. During the proposal development period, members of the libraries are available to consult on how best to incorporate library services into your project. For these awards, members of the library may serve in an advisory capacity or may provide a well-defined set of services. To mitigate capacity constraints, library employees may not be integrated as members of the project team. If you have questions and don’t know who to contact, please contact Project Coordinator Alana Varner alanav@arizona.edu for further guidance and referrals.
How should the budget for the proposed project be calculated?
The University of Arizona Research Gateway includes a helpful guide to building a project budget. Please note that indirect costs (i.e., Facilities and Administration rates) are disallowed for this proposal, as are costs associated with tuition remission.
How should external partners be included in applications?
Funded partners who are external to the University of Arizona should draft a one-page statement of work describing their contributions to the project along with a separate budget and budget justification. The total amount of the external partner’s budget request should be incorporated as a line item in the main project budget.
External partners who do not require funding must provide a letter of commitment describing their contribution to the project.
To whom is the proposal being submitted?
The proposal is being submitted to the University of Arizona Libraries. Please address your application materials to the Members of the Review Board.
Who determines who receives funding?
The project team has assembled a review board composed of campus leaders with expertise in research administration, humanities scholarship, borderlands research, and/or digital scholarship. The review board will evaluate each application on its individual merits and also consider high-merit proposals in conjunction to balance disciplinary and topical coverage as well as capacity within the libraries to meet the needs of all proposals during the performance period.
Members of the review board will be asked to recuse themselves from evaluation for any application that may represent a conflict of interest.
What are the reporting requirements?
Awardees will be required to provide a brief interim report halfway through the project and a final report 90 days after project completion. The project coordinator will also arrange monthly meetings throughout the performance period, and the project team may request that awardees present their work to stakeholders, including members of the Libraries and prospective applicants for the second round of funding.