REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS | Round Two: Seed Funding for Faculty, Doctoral Student, and Postdoc Travel and Research on Climate in Rio de Janeiro and Brazil

Purpose

Columbia Global is seeking applications for seed funding from Columbia University faculty, researchers, doctoral students, and postdocs 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. 

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

In early 2023, the Columbia Global Center in Rio de Janeiro launched its Climate Hub | Rio – a new public-private partnership – with seed funding from the City of Rio de Janeiro. The Climate Hub | Rio promotes 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 the Climate Hub | Rio with the goal of advancing knowledge and action related to all aspects of climate and climate change in Rio and Brazil. The Climate Hub focuses on three major components: 1) advancing education regarding climate and climate change, 2) supporting joint research and pedagogical collaborations between Columbia faculty and students with counterparts in Brazil, 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, sanitation, transportation, extreme weather events, and climate education;
• Climate finance: identifying means to leverage more domestic and global flows of finance for cities, including an emphasis on climate finance as development finance;
• 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;
• Ocean science: marine biodiversity, marine climate mitigation, sea-level rise, and coastal cities, and other risks to coastal cities;
• A focus on the effects of climate change on vulnerable populations and efforts to advance climate resilience among such populations.

Types of Awards

A. Awards for Columbia Faculty and Researchers

Full-time faculty and researchers at Columbia University are invited to apply for any of the following types of awards:

• Individual Faculty Research and Travel Support to Brazil: Awards will be made to support faculty to pursue research efforts with researchers and other stakeholders in Rio or Brazil. The Columbia Global Center in Rio will provide assistance, within its capacity, to facilitate in-country visits and guide potential collaborations. Funds may be used for travel to Rio and domestic travel within Brazil, with the goal of establishing partnerships to inform climate-related work in Rio. Faculty may propose meetings to advance this work during their visits. Columbia faculty and researchers must link and collaborate with the Global Center in Rio during their stay. The maximum award is $10,000 (per award) and a maximum of five awards will be made.

• Faculty Workshop/Small Conference Grants for Proposal Design and/or Preparation: Awards will be made to support small meetings or conferences that involve faculty, researchers, and students from Columbia University and local counterparts, 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 the priorities listed above. Meetings/conferences may be convened at Columbia University or in Rio de Janeiro. In-person meetings are preferred (hybrid format will be considered) and meetings must include Brazilian counterparts. The Global Center in Rio 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 future rounds of this funding source or other, external funding sources. The 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. The maximum award is $20,000 (per award) and a maximum of three awards will be made. 

• Faculty/Researcher/Student and Brazil Collaboration Research Award: Awards will be made for research projects that involve faculty or researchers and students from Columbia University working collaboratively with counterparts 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. The maximum award is $25,000 (per award) and a maximum of three awards will be made.

B. Research Award for Columbia Doctoral Students and Postdocs

• Full-time doctoral students and postdocs at any Columbia University school or Teachers College who are interested in pursuing climate research in Rio and Brazil are invited to apply. Research must relate to one or more of the priority focus areas listed above and must include conducting at least one week of fieldwork in Rio or elsewhere in Brazil. Priority will be given to doctoral students and postdocs with knowledge of Portuguese and who have experience in Brazil. The maximum award is $10,000 (per award) and a maximum of five awards will be made.

Eligibility and Review Criteria 

A. Eligibility and Review Criteria for Faculty and Researcher Awards

• The proposal lead must be a full-time faculty, research scientist, or research scholar at Columbia University with an interest in pursuing climate-related partnerships and research in Rio and Brazil. No prior experience in Brazil is required;
• The proposal lead must be eligible to serve as a Principal Investigator per Columbia University guidelines;
• Faculty/research scientists/research scholars may serve as proposal lead on only one proposal;
• Research topics must be relevant to the City of Rio (preferable) or Brazil;
• The 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 with clear evidence of interdisciplinary collaborations across Columbia University schools, institutes, and/or centers;
• Priority will be given to projects that can be completed by December 31, 2024. (Note that faculty or research scientists/scholars who receive an award may be eligible to apply for funding in 2025, based on an assessment of their progress and availability of funding.);
• 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;
• Participation by Columbia University students and students at Brazilian academic institutions is strongly recommended;
• Willingness to participate in relevant events in Rio that are organized by the Columbia Global Center in Rio or by partner 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.

B. Eligibility and Review Criteria for Doctoral Student and Postdoc Awards

• Applicants must be full-time doctoral students or postdocs at Columbia University or an affiliate (i.e., Teachers College or Barnard College);
• Research topics must relate to one or more of the priority focus areas listed above;
• Research must include at least one week of fieldwork in Rio (preferable) or Brazil;
• Projects must be completed no later than December 31, 2024;
• Projects must be completed before the student’s graduation from Columbia (for doctoral students) or before the conclusion of the postdoc’s appointment at Columbia;
• Projects must have a clearly defined research plan, including clear objectives, activities, and plans for measuring outputs and outcomes;
• Proposed research should be under the supervision of a faculty member of Columbia University and/or a Brazilian academic institution;
• Applicants must provide a letter of support from a faculty member who will serve as their mentor. This faculty member must be eligible to serve as a Principal Investigator per Columbia University guidelines;
• Doctoral student applicants must provide a copy of their Columbia University transcript;
• Postdoc applicants must provide a copy of their postdoc appointment letter from Columbia University;
• Priority will be given to applicants who speak Portuguese and have past experience in Brazil.

Application Process and Deadlines

Eligible applicants 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 Dec. 4, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Award announcements are anticipated in early 2024.

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

A. Awards for Columbia Faculty and Researchers

For faculty awards, budget requests may include research assistant costs, student stipends, research costs, travel (only economy class allowable), accommodation, meeting costs, and 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.   

B. Research Award for Columbia Doctoral Students and Postdocs

For doctoral student and postdoc awards, budget requests may include research costs, travel (only economy class allowable), accommodation, and 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 doctoral student/postdoc compensation, purchasing equipment, or other services.

Questions

A virtual event to answer questions about this request for proposals will be held on Tuesday, October 31, 2023, at 4 p.m. EDT. We encourage all potential, eligible applicants to attend. 

If you have additional questions, please contact the Columbia Global Centers | Rio de Janeiro at: [email protected].

Download this request for proposals as a PDF