Background

The National Council for Eurasian and East European Research (NCEEER) invites proposals for its Title VIII Short-term Travel Grant Program for Research on Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Balkans. This fellowship provides a maximum award of $3,000 for research on the countries of Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Balkans. To qualify, applicants must be U.S.-based scholars or researchers holding a Ph.D., or individuals with comparable research skills in any discipline of the humanities and social sciences or other professional terminal graduate degree.

Purposes and Requirements

Short-term travel grants are individual grants to scholars or researchers which may be used for up to two months for the following purposes: 1) enabling scholars and researchers to get quick access to research resources in the relevant subregions; 2) use the travel grant for refresher visits on particular topics for already established research work; 3) research planning with colleagues from the subregions on broader multi-year projects already funded or to be funded by other sources; 4) creation of databases or research aids such as archival guides; and 5) on an exceptional basis, inviting scholars or researchers from the subregions to the United States for conferences special collaborative research opportunities.

The Short-Term Travel Grant program is meant to support research that is relevant to United States policy towards Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Balkans. Applicants may apply a broad definition of "policy relevance." Research that is "policy relevant" does not necessarily need to focus directly on a matter of current and intense concern to U.S. government policy makers. Projects in fields such as history, popular culture, and other matters that may be outside the immediate purview of government officials are eligible for funding, as long as the applicant explains convincingly why the research is relevant at some level, even indirectly, to the formation of policy.

The Short-Term Travel Grant program supports research in the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Applicants should emphasize in no more than four pages, double-spaced, 12-point font, the following information:

1) the nature of research to be conducted;

2) need for research to be conducted in-country and feasibility;

3) level of language proficiency in vernacular languages of the subregion, and/or Russian and;

4) in the case of an invitation to an international scholar travel to the United States, the stated purpose of the visit and a detailed research justification for such a visit.

Cost-sharing by the applicant is strongly encouraged.

Successful applicants will be required to submit a final report to NCEEER, and may be asked to present the results of research and other programmatic experiences in a public forum sponsored by NCEEER and the Department of State. Costs associated with such a forum will not be borne by the applicant. Please note that research reports submitted to NCEEER for scholars’ projects may be considered for publication in the journal Problems of Post-Communism.

Awards will be made twice per year, in two separate competitions. The deadlines for the submission of applications are December 14, 2007and April 14, 2008. NCEEER’s peer review selection committee will judge the applications by February 1, 2008, and June 1, 2008, respectively.

About NCEEER

NCEEER was created in 1978 to develop and sustain long-term, high-quality programs for postdoctoral research on the social, political, economic, environmental, and historical development of the former Soviet Union and Southeastern Europe. From broad, cross-cultural analyses to more focused studies of particular economic problems that warrant attention, NCEEER supports research projects that facilitate an exchange of information between the scholarly and governmental communities that is mutually-beneficial. NCEEER emphasizes projects that produce readable analysis, reliable information, and lively debate about current economic, political, and international issues. Applicants must demonstrate, directly or indirectly, how their research impacts upon policy debates and research on such issues.

Funding

The Short-term Travel Grant Program for Research on Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Balkans is made possible by federal funds under the Program of Research and Training for Eastern Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (Title VIII), which is administered by the Department of State. Accordingly, grants are subject to Federal laws and regulations, including OMB Circulars A-21, A-110, A-122, A-128, and A-133. Grants are also subject to the availability of funds.

Forms and Guidelines
(in MS Word format) 

Announcement

Application Guidelines

Application Cover Sheet

Application Form