Advancing Social Equity (ASE) Research Grants[1] provide opportunities for scholars to actively engage in research around emerging or re-emerging social issues and disseminate findings quickly to the public.

Sponsored by the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion (OIDI), ASE Research Grant requests for proposals are released throughout the year. Some RFPs may focus on addressing specific themes or topics. Applications are open for a brief period of time and are evaluated on a rolling basis.

All tenured, tenure-track, clinical and research faculty (including lecturers), participating faculty, research staff, and postdoctoral fellows at Marquette University are eligible for this opportunity. Scholars may apply for up to $1,500 for RFPs with a single PI or $3,000 for RFPs with multiple PIs for a 6-month grant period.

Given the timeframe and goals of this opportunity, we strongly recommend that scholars use existing data, images, text, historical artifacts, and/or video, including archival data, publicly available information such as social media or online statements, and previous literatures. Applicants must have IRB approval, if necessary.

Project Guidelines

ASE Research Grant projects address social issues related to identity, culture, representation, power, oppression, or inequality (based on identities including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, social/economic class, culture, sexual identity, ability status, linguistic heritage, and religion, as well as the intersections of those identities).

We are particularly interested in scholarship that:

• seeks to understand the experiences of members of marginalized populations, whose narratives have historically been excluded from traditional research agendas; centers their assets and community cultural wealth; acknowledges their accumulated wisdom and experiential knowledge as legitimate forms of knowledge; and challenges prevailing deficit-based narratives in order to promote empowerment and self-determination;
• Contextualizes inequality within broader historical, economic, political-legal, interpersonal and intrapersonal contexts;
• reflects an inclusive approach to methodology, including inter- or trans-disciplinary approaches that can offer a more nuanced and comprehensive picture of social phenomena, as well as non-traditional modes of inquiry, including those that authentically engage with students and community members as co-collaborators;
• is committed to social transformation and improving conditions for marginalized populations by promoting a critical consciousness and informing practices, policies, and structures that result in unequal outcomes. The end goal of this research is to advance equity throughout our society.

Reporting & Dissemination Guidelines

Within 30 days of completing the project, a paper draft (1000-1500 words) should be submitted to the OIDI to be published on the diversity website, posted in the Raynor Memorial Libraries Institutional Repository, and disseminated through other Marquette communication channels (for example, Marquette Today, the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion newsletter, etc.). The paper draft should:

• Provide an overview of the specific current issue related to diversity, equity, and/or inclusion.
• Describe the significance of the issue to the author’s target audience (scholars, practitioners, leaders, and policymakers across the higher education community).
• Succinctly present argument, including findings from your research.
• Include specific recommendations or action steps to guide policy, practice, or future research (as appropriate).
• Tables and figures are encouraged to engage the reader and support the discussion.

Grant recipients may be invited to participate in the Symposium on Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice to discuss their project topic and/or asked to share their expertise and project outcomes in formal or informal ways (e.g., give a talk based on the project, participate on a panel, present in a webinar, etc.).

In addition, we encourage recipients to explore other publicly accessible publication outlets to disseminate findings in a timely manner, such as social media campaigns, news articles, blog posts, and policy briefs. Faculty are also strongly encouraged to use this research as a springboard toward conference presentations and submitting work to refereed publications. 

Administration of Funds

The recipient is responsible for working with the OIDI staff to arrange for good stewardship of the funds and all related documentations and receipts will need to be submitted. Funds may be used for travel to research or action sites, student assistant stipends, supplies, and other expenses related to the research needs. No more than 50% of budget should go towards travel, and ineligible expenses include salary (for faculty or full-time staff), travel expenses not directly related to research/scholarship activity, and curricular development. Please also see current University travel guidelines for research from the Step 4 protocols, found on page 51 of this document. 

Each grant stipulates an expiration date, after which any balance remaining is returned to the OIDI. Any changes in budget items or project period must first be approved by the OIDI.

Application Process

Please read through all guidelines and eligibility and send the following information to Jacki Black at jacqueline.black@marquette.edu:

• Project title
• 100-word abstract of the project
• Statement of the project (no more than 3 pages) that includes:
• The objectives and scope of the proposed project, including a description of why the project is important in addressing the social issue(s)
• Proposed study methology, including projected timeline
• Specific products/deliverables (in addition to the paper for the OIDI website)
• Budget justification

The 2021-22 grant cycle will open in August with a deadline of Oct. 1st, 2021, for a grant period of October 15, 2021 - April 15, 2022.  

For more information, contact jacqueline.black@marquette.edu.

 

[1] Framework based on the Pop-Up Grants of the National Center for Institutional Diversity in the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and used with permission (November 2020).

 

Past Recipients

2020-21

Dr. Simon Howard and Kaylen Vine, When Black Death Goes Viral: The Relationship Between Exposure to Racialized Police Violence via Social Media and Black Americans’ Race-Based Traumatic Stress

Dr. Lee Za Ong, Describing the Status of Faculty with a Disability in Rehabilitation Counseling Education in the U.S.: Barriers and Strategies for Success

Dr. Gabriel Velez and Dr. Rob Smith, Navigating Higher Education in Milwaukee: Black and Brown Student Perspectives