Nominations open for Seminar Series Awards

Successful proposals must be capable of generating scholarly exchange and outputs that are compelling and timely. The USF especially welcomes proposals engaging with the themes identified in the most recent or upcoming calls for papers by the Urban Studies Journal, as a recognised platform for exploring the diverse and dynamic nature of cities, their inhabitants, and the powers and policies that shape them.

The USF also encourages proposals that include novel and engaging training activities. Additional funding of £5,000 is available to proposals that incorporate training elements for early career researchers (defined here as doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows, and other scholars within five years of a PhD award). The USF especially welcomes proposals which include writing and publication workshops and mentorship, that may be combined with the thematic focus of each proposal to support further publication outputs from the proposal.

Aim

• The USF Seminar Series Awards aim to support the generation of pioneering global research in all areas of urban studies.

Objective

• The linked objectives of this award are to use event programming to stimulate collaboration and learning, build new scholarly networks, and generate and disseminate impactful publications and outputs.

Award Information

• The Urban Studies Foundation (USF) seeks to support up to twelve awards in the 2024 round of the scheme, in each case up to a maximum of £20,000 per award (or up to £25,000 for proposals containing eligible training elements).

Eligibility Criteria

• General guidance on applicant eligibility includes:
  • Up to three co-applicants may be named (e.g. one Principal Investigator plus two CoInvestigators). These should be the individuals who will be personally responsible for the application and, if successful, for the subsequent delivery of the proposed activities. The first individual listed will be the main point of contact for the application.
  • At least one applicant must be an academic, researcher, or educator currently working within the field of urban studies.
  • At least one applicant must have a secure position of employment with the primary host organisation for the duration of the proposed activities.
  •  Applicants may be based in any country worldwide.
  • Contact details for two referees should be provided. Referees should be suitable senior colleagues of the at least one of the applicants (e.g. department heads, supervisors, exsupervisors, etc.) who can vouch for that applicant’s professional track record, capacity to deliver the proposal, and suitability for the award. Please indicate in the ‘relationship’ field which applicant the referee knows, and is therefore prepared to support.
  • Referees should be prepared and willing to provide a letter of recommendation upon request, but will typically be contacted by the USF only in the event that the proposal is shortlisted for the award. Referees should not otherwise contact the USF.
  • Previous Seminar Series Awards recipients may not apply to this funding, and only one application may be submitted to this round of funding by any co-applicant.
• Proposals must be supported by at least one academic and/or non-profit organisation (the primary host organisation) who are willing and capable to receive and administer the total grant funding, without charging overheads (Global South institutions are exempt from this requirement, see information below regarding budgets).
• The primary host organisation who will administer the grant funding should typically be a university, but other public and/or non-profit research institutions will be considered if they can demonstrate a good track record of administering grant funding.
• The primary host organisation must certify their capable support under the award terms via a letter, authored by an appropriate member of the research finance administration (e.g. sponsored projects office, Dean, director of research, research officer, etc.).
• Events themselves may otherwise be hosted in any venue or organisation (whether public or private) provided there is a clear, relevant, and strong rationale for their involvement (typically this should be a linkage with the proposal topic).
• Host organisations, venues, and activities may be located in any country worldwide.
• Each host organisation and venue must supply a supporting letter indicating their intent, capacity and contribution to support the proposed activities. Supporting letters should not be more than two pages long, and should be authored by an appropriate representative on behalf of the organisation/venue.
• Supporting letters must not be authored by the applicants.

For more information, visit USF.