REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS | Seed Funding for Faculty Travel and Research on Climate in Rio de Janeiro and Brazil

Purpose

Columbia Global is seeking applications for seed funding from Columbia faculty and researchers interested in pursuing climate-related research in Brazil as part of a collaboration between the Columbia Global Center in Rio and the City of Rio de Janeiro. No prior experience with work in Brazil is required. 

The Columbia Global Center in Rio de Janeiro has more than 10 years of experience facilitating Columbia faculty and student work in Brazil and has extensive partnerships in Rio and Brazil overall. The Columbia Global Center in Rio will play a major coordinating and supporting role facilitating and monitoring the work supported by these awards.

Background

Columbia Global Centers | Rio de Janeiro recently launched its Climate Hub | Rio, a new public-private partnership with seed funding from the City of Rio de Janeiro. The Climate Hub | Rio will promote mutually beneficial collaborations between Columbia faculty and researchers with stakeholders in Brazil, with a special emphasis on work and collaborations with stakeholders in the City of Rio de Janeiro.   

The City of Rio de Janeiro is supporting this Climate Hub project with the goal of advancing knowledge and action related to all aspects of climate change in Rio and Brazil. The Climate Hub will enable focus on three components: 1) advancing education regarding climate and climate change; 2) supporting joint research and pedagogical collaborations between Columbia faculty and students with counterparts; and 3) organizing conferences and public events. 

Priority Areas for Collaborative Research

The Climate Hub | Rio seeks to encourage training, research, and events that focus on a variety of areas related to urban sustainability, the green economy, and land use in Brazil (with priority given to the City of Rio de Janeiro).

Key themes of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Urban sustainability: public health and climate, climate resilience, sea-level rise and coastal cities, sanitation, transportation, and climate education
• Innovation for the green economy: energy and the energy transition, nature-based solutions, carbon markets, renewable energies, biomass alternatives, and the bioeconomy of the future   
• Land use and forest preservation in Rio: Protection from urban density and climate events of forests, rivers, lakes, beaches, and bays in the City of Rio de Janeiro (which include the largest remaining fragments of the Atlantic biome) 
• A focus on effects of climate change on vulnerable populations and efforts to advance climate resilience among such populations

Types of Awards

Full-time faculty or research scientists at Columbia University may apply to any of the following types of awards:

• Individual Faculty Research and Travel Support to Brazil: Research and travel awards are intended primarily to support faculty and researcher travel to Rio de Janeiro for the purpose of pursuing new or re-establishing contact with researchers and other stakeholders in Rio or Brazil. The Columbia Global Center in Rio will provide assistance within its capacity to facilitate such in-country visits and to guide potential collaborations. Funds may be used for travel to Rio and domestic travel within Brazil, with the goal of establishing partnerships to inform potential climate-related work in Rio. Faculty may conduct meetings to advance this work during their visits. Columbia faculty and researchers must link with the Global Center in Rio de Janeiro during their stay. Maximum award is $10,000 (per award) and a maximum of five awards will be made.
• Faculty Workshop/Small Conference Grants for Proposal Preparation: Awards will be made to support small meetings or conferences that involve faculty, researchers, and students from Columbia University, with the following objectives: 1) to advance partnership with  faculty, researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders in Rio and Brazil; and 2) to discuss and prioritize potential collaborative educational and research work related to priorities listed in the section above. Meetings/conferences may be convened at Columbia University or in Rio de Janeiro. In-person meetings are preferred (hybrid format will be considered). The Rio Global Center must be prioritized as the location of any conferences/meetings taking place in Brazil. Priority will be given to meetings/conferences that aim to result in proposals for pursuing research grants from future rounds of this funding source or external funding sources. Involvement of Brazilian climate stakeholders is required. Engagement of students is strongly recommended. Faculty may apply for funding to cover customary meeting/conference costs, such as travel costs and modest honoraria for external speakers, room rentals, and other conference materials. Maximum award is $15,000 (per award) and a maximum of five awards will be made. 
• CU Faculty/ Researcher/Student and Brazil Collaboration Research Award: Awards will be made for projects that involve faculty or researchers and students from Columbia University working collaboratively with faculty/students from Brazilian universities and other relevant stakeholders in Rio or Brazil, focusing on the priority areas listed in the section above. Priority will be given to research projects that engage Brazilian faculty and students in Rio de Janeiro and that focus on issues relevant to Rio. Maximum award is $20,000 (per award) and a maximum of three awards will be made.

Eligibility and Review Criteria 

• Proposal lead must be full-time faculty or research scientist at Columbia University with an interest in pursuing climate-related partnerships and research in Rio and Brazil. No prior experience in Brazil is required.
• Proposal lead must be eligible to serve as a Principal Investigator per Columbia University guidelines.
• Research topic must be relevant to the City of Rio (preferable) or Brazil.
• Faculty lead is required to spend time in Rio or Brazil to conduct project activities (time commitment may vary)
• Priority will be given to projects that can be launched no later than September 1, 2023 and completed by April 30, 2024. (Note that faculty or research scientists who receive an award may be eligible to apply for funding in 2024, based on an assessment of their progress.) 
• Partnership with a faculty member, researcher, or institution in Brazil is strongly encouraged and, if not evident, will be required as part of the proposed work.
• Evidence of interdisciplinary collaborations at Columbia University across disciplines,  schools, institutes, and/or centers.
• Participation by Columbia and Brazilian students is strongly encouraged.
• Willingness to participate in relevant events in Rio that are organized by the Columbia Global Center in Rio or by Brazilian organizations. 
• Willingness to provide mentorship to researchers and students from Brazil.
• Evidence of clear objectives, defined activities, and rigorous approaches and plans for measuring outputs and outcomes.
• Articulation of plans to pursue other funding (beyond this seed funding) to expand on the work accomplished. 

Application Process and Deadlines

Eligible faculty and research scientists are asked to submit proposals via the Submittable Platform, which can be accessed here. A PDF outlining all proposal components and questions is available here. 

Proposal submissions are due June 9, 2023, at 11:59 pm EDT. Award announcements are anticipated in July 2023.

Templates

Templates to be used for developing your project workplan, budget, and budget narrative are included below:

• Project workplan template
• Budget template
• Budget narrative template

Budgetary Guidelines

Permissible budget requests may include research assistant costs, student stipends, research costs, travel (only economy class allowable), local travel, accommodation, meeting costs, vendor payments (e.g., translation, printing, etc). Travel support requests must abide by general University policies regarding permissible travel expenses. Funding cannot be used for faculty compensation, purchasing equipment or other services.

Questions

A virtual event to answer faculty questions about this request for proposals will be held on May 16, at 2 pm EDT. Registration is open here. We encourage all potential applicants to attend it. If you have additional questions, please contact the Columbia Global Center in Rio de Janeiro at [email protected].