2023 Announcement

Call for Applications & Criteria

The Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies (ANHS) is accepting applications for a Small Grant Program. Proposed activities should support the broad mission of ANHS: 

The Association’s mission is to promote research, teaching, and outreach activities to increase the understanding of the Himalaya and adjacent mountain regions and to promote scholarly exchanges between the United States and citizens of countries in the region. 

This opportunity is supported by two sources.  Successful projects prepared and submitted by U.S. citizens will be funded by a grant from the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC), funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).  Successful non-U.S. citizen applicants will be funded by ANHS.

Application Deadline : 01 October 2023
Submission: Application Form

Supported by

Amount and number of expected awards:

ANHS anticipates awarding approximately 3-5 awards averaging $800-1,500 USD, with no single award exceeding $2,500 USD. The final program budget, number of awards, and average award size are subject to the availability of funds. ANHS reserves the right to modify the number and average size of awards.

Eligibility:

ANHS members currently in good standing and/or teams of individuals that include at least one ANHS member in good standing. This includes student members. Projects can be individual or collaborative.

Current ANHS Executive Council (EC) members may be involved in team projects as participants or advisors, provided that they do not receive direct financial compensation from this award to carry out the proposed activities. Former EC members are eligible to submit proposals as long as at least one calendar year has passed since they ceased being members of the EC.

Timeline:

• ANHS will begin accepting applications on 05 September 2023.
• Applications must be received by 01 October 2023.
• Awardees will be informed by email before 15 October 2023. Awardees must acknowledge acceptance in writing and will be required to sign an award terms document prior to disbursement of funds.
• Awardees will be required to provide banking information (name on bank account, bank address, account number, routing number, SWIFT/IFSC codes as applicable). Awardees are responsible for providing accurate banking details.
• Grant activities must commence before 31 December 2023, and should be completed by 31 December 2024, at which time a final report on the project must be submitted to ANHS.

Proposal review criteria:

A selection committee comprised of at least 1 current ANHS EC members and 2 other general members will review the proposals according to these criteria:

• Affinity with the ANHS mission
• Clarity, merit, and feasibility of the proposal
• Potential benefits for local communities in the Himalayan region
• Priority consideration for: women-owned, women-focused, and/or women-led initiatives; activities that benefit rural and underserved populations; open-access publications or resources; landscape and the environment; preservation of tangible or intangible cultural heritage and traditions
• Projects that support documentation or preservation of, or education about, imperiled traditions, communities, places, and languages
• Events or resources that build or enhance relationships across borders in the Himalaya (political, linguistic, landscapes, etc.)
• Interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary collaborations encouraged; all disciplines eligible
• Location of project activities, with priority given to those that take place within Bhutan, China, Nepal, northeast India, and Sikkim. To avoid overlap with other Overseas Research Centers (ORC), projects proposed to take place elsewhere in India will be considered on a case by case basis and may require consultation with other ORCs.

Proposal Process:

Proposals should be submitted in English by using this application form and includes the following sections:

• Basic information:
• • Applicant name
  • Affiliation (if any)
  • Country of citizenship
  • Email address
  • • If email access is an issue, please provide a WhatsApp or WeChat ID where you can be contacted
  • Location of proposed activity
  • Names of project collaborators, if any
• Proposed activities and work plan: What will you do? How will you do it? Who will do it? (750 words or fewer)
  
• Deliverables/Results: Who are the targeted beneficiaries? How will this activity create a positive impact? What will be the results and how will you measure them? (750 words or fewer)
• Timeframe: How long will the proposed project take to complete? (250 words or fewer)
• Budget: Provide a budget breakdown, including calculations and brief rationale. Note: Receipts will be required for all expenses over US$100 or local currency equivalent.
• Program impact statement: How would this small grant impact your career, your research, and/or your community? (250 words or fewer)
• Project participants: Please provide a brief (100 word or fewer) biography for each team member

Reporting requirements:

• Recipients will be required to submit financial accounting and a closing report. Failure to provide the finished report on time will constitute a violation of the grant terms.
• 1. Final reports (1000-1500 words) should include the following sections: Project Summary, Activities, Project Outcomes, and Lessons Learned.
  2. Grantees should plan to submit documentation (photographs, videos, etc.) in their final reports, as well as copies or links to any social media posts, and press/media coverage of grant-supported activities.
• ANHS must be acknowledged as project sponsor, including in publications, presentations, and associated web and social media.

Contact information: Queries can be directed to: awards@anhs-himalaya.org

Examples of supported activities:

• Special events (lectures, symposia, fine arts programming, etc.)
• Professional development activities (workshops, trainings)
• Targeted field or archival research
• Collaborative research projects
• Subsidy toward publication, including making new research available open access?

Unallowable activities and expenses:

• Travel-only proposals will not be considered. Travel costs must be part of a larger activity.
• Expenses related to conference participation or attendance
• All travel (train, plane) must be economy class. Costs for private hired vehicles must be explicitly requested and approved by selection committee in advance)
• • Note: U.S. citizen awardees using CAORC funding for air travel must adhere to the Fly America Act
• Lodging must be in 3 or fewer star accommodations (unless explicitly requested and approved by selection committee in advance)
• Grant funds may not be used for: alcohol; childcare; employee salaries or wages; gifts; personal enrichment; or any other purpose that is not specifically defined in the call
• No costs associated with family, friends, or others who are not full-time employees of the business or non-profit are allowed
• Expenses for electronics, machinery, technical or computing equipment, or other materials/supplies are strictly limited to no more than 10% of the total award. In rare cases, exceptions may be granted if there is a strong justification and the purchase is approved by the selection committee in advance.
• Failure to follow these restrictions will constitute a violation of the grant terms. Those not in compliance will be required to repay the grant in full.

Failure to follow these restrictions will constitute a violation of the grant terms. Those not in compliance will be required to repay the grant in full.

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