Request for Proposals (2017)

This is an archived copy of the Request for Proposals from 2017. For the 2018 RFP, please click here. 

You may download the Request for Proposals as a PDF. Optionally, you may also use this MS Word template for submitting proposals. Proposals can be submitted via e-mail to reinventingcivildefense@gmail.com. Submissions are due by 5:00PM EST on Friday, October 20, 2017. Please feel free to submit earlier or get in touch earlier, if desired.

Reinventing Civil Defense:
Returning Nuclear Security to Civil Society

Request for Proposals and Guidelines

Description

Reinventing Civil Defense is a project at the College of Arts and Letters at the Stevens Institute of Technology, funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

The goal of the project is to develop new communication strategies and tools regarding nuclear risk that have high potential to resonate with a public audience. Building on the prior history of Civil Defense, we seek to identify what an effective, non-partisan, level-headed approach to nuclear risk communication looks like in the 21st century.

This request for proposals provides funding for research and creative projects to be presented at a one-day interdisciplinary workshop held at Brookhaven National Laboratory (Upton, NY) in May 2018. The purpose of the workshop is to bring new and diverse communities together to enhance our understanding of past lessons and gain new knowledge about current nuclear risk and its perception within the public. Many disciplinary and interdisciplinary endeavors fall within this scope, and therefore this request for proposals may apply to a wide range of projects, of different sorts and in different fields of study and the arts, provided they shed light on our fundamental questions: What ought Civil Defense look like in the 21st century? By what means can nuclear salience — the lived experience of nuclear risk — be meaningfully increased? Please feel free to review our website (https://reinventingcivildefense.org) for information about our goals, and to be in touch prior to submission if you have questions.

Deadline

Submissions are due by 5:00PM EST on Friday, October 20, 2017.

Funding Period

Awarded projects will be funded beginning December 1, 2017 until June 1, 2018.

Carry forward of unspent funds or extension of the award is by permission of the Advisory Committee only and requires application by April 2, 2018.

Eligibility

Individuals should submit no more than one proposal as PI (or Co-PI) per funding call for proposals. For any projects involving human subjects, funding will not be made available until IRB approval is provided. Please get in contact with the organizers if you have any other questions about eligibility. It is not a requirement that submitters be affiliated with any organizations, academic or otherwise.

Proposal Format & Submission

Proposals should be submitted electronically as an e-mail attachment to reinventingcivildefense@gmail.com. Documents should be submitted in .pdf format. Please use a 12-point font, with one-inch margins. (Click here for a suggested MS Word template.)

Proposals must contain the following elements:

    • Project Information
    • Proposal Title
    • Name of PI, Co-PI(s), and organizational affiliations
    • PI Contact Information (Note: Projects can have multiple Co-PIs, but only one should be listed as the primary contact.)
    • Proposed Budget Amount
    • Project Abstract (200 word limit)
    • Proposal Narrative and Description (1,000 word limit)
      • Please explicitly address the ways in which this project will help tangibly investigate one or more of the following:
      • lessons and insights from Civil Defense policies during the Cold War period,
      • the interaction of Emergency Management with the public (in the past or currently),
      • questions about nuclear salience and/or nuclear risk communication,
      • citizen attitudes about and/or knowledge of nuclear threats.
    • Potential Outcomes and Impacts (200 word limit)
    • Description of Qualifications of Investigator(s) (200 word limit)
    • Description of Work and Contribution of Investigator(s) (200 word limit)
    • Timetable (List) and Deliverables (3-5 total in bulleted format)
    • Budget and Budget Justification
      • For each component in your budget, provide a line item total and a justification. Your budget justification should detail how all grant funds will be expended by the June 1st deadline.
      • The typical funding amount will be in the $10k – $30k range, with a maximum of $50k.
    • Additional Considerations/Comments (optional) (200 word limit)
    • Additional Supporting Documents (if necessary) (CV(s), IRB, Letters of Collaboration, etc.)

Selection Criteria

A diverse and interdisciplinary review panel will evaluate all submissions. The following criteria will apply:

      • Scholarly merit – clarity of the research question or framework for inquiry, appropriateness of methods, qualifications of the performer(s) relative to the project
      • Significance – potential impacts, novelty, contributions to the field
      • Budget – clarity of justification, appropriateness of expenditures
      • Feasibility – likelihood of completion, sufficiency of funding, clarity of methodology and deliverables
      • Outcomes – Identification of new insights and diverse perspectives, targeting of different audiences, potential for follow-on proposals, publications, presentations, databases, models, exhibitions, performances, etc.

Contact

For more information on the project, see https://reinventingcivildefense.org/

Questions regarding the request for proposals can be sent to reinventingcivildefense@gmail.com