Request for Applications: Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration Program (United States)

RSF encourages multi-disciplinary perspectives and methods that both strengthen the data, theory, and methods of social science research and improve the understanding of how to foster the ideals of a pluralist society. Proposals may focus on any one or more of the issues race, and/or ethnicity, and/or immigration.

RSF prioritizes analyses that make use of newly available data or demonstrate novel uses of existing data. They support original data collection when a project is focused on important program priorities, projects that conduct survey or field experiments and qualitative studies. RSF encourages methodological variety and inter-disciplinary collaboration. Proposed projects must have well-developed conceptual frameworks and rigorous research designs. Analytical models must be well-specified and research methods must be appropriate.

Focus Areas

• Racial and Ethnic Diversity, Intergroup Relations, and Social Inclusion:
  • To what extent has the prospect of a “majority-minority” population affected the political behavior of whites and of racial and ethnic minorities?
  • How does increased racial/ethnic diversity of organizations, schools, neighborhoods, communities, and the nation affect relations among members of different racial/ethnic groups?
  • How do race-related beliefs such as concepts of difference, prejudice towards other groups, and attitudes towards race-related policies evolve in the context of growing ethno-racial diversity?
  • How has growth in the Asian American population affected its economic, political, and socio-cultural status and influenced attitudes of other groups towards Asian Americans?
  • How have institutions such as labor unions, community– and faith-based organizations, schools, and the criminal justice system responded to increasing racial/ethnic diversity? To what extent have they affected social, economic, or political disparities between the foreign-born and the U.S.-born?
  • What are the sources of conflict, tension and accommodation between newcomers and long-term residents? What factors contribute to acceptance of new immigrants, and which lead to conflict?
  • What is the relationship between newer and older immigrant groups and between first-generation immigrants and citizen co-ethnics? How does the presence of the co-ethnics shape the integration, socialization, and socio-economic wellbeing of new arrivals?
  • How do changes in the level and distribution of economic resources affect the attitudes of the native-born with respect to the foreign-born and racial and ethnic minorities?
• Immigration Policy and Immigrant Integration Policies:
  • Some state and local ordinances attempt to exclude immigrants from access to schools, medical services, housing, and employment, but others attempt to facilitate immigrant integration. What are their various effects on immigrant outcomes?
  • To what extent do government policies affect who becomes naturalized? How does naturalization affect educational attainment, labor market outcomes, political participation, and civic life?
  • How has heightened immigration enforcement affected participation in safety net programs (e.g., Medicaid, Head Start, nutritional assistance programs)? To what extent has it had unintended economic or civic engagement effects on authorized immigrants and U.S. citizens?
  • To what extent have intensified apprehension and deportation policies affected the socio-economic outcomes of immigrant children, youth, and young adults?
• The Role of Legal Status in Immigrant Outcomes:
  • How does lack of documentation affect the social, economic, and civic integration outcomes of immigrants and their families?
  • To what extent does undocumented immigration affect how firms structure their hiring and employment practices?
  • How has the implementation of policies such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy or Temporary Protected Status designation affected the social, political, and economic outcomes of immigrants?
• Social Movements and Responses to Diversity:
  • To what extent have political mobilization and social movements protesting inequality, racism, policing, and criminal justice issues affected young people’s opportunities regarding education, employment, and income?
  • To what extent have political and social movements, such as Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate, affected political attitudes, behaviors, and economic opportunities?
  • How have the social, political, economic, and psychological consequences of the rise of white nativism and white supremacy affected the wellbeing and opportunities of immigrants and ethno-racial minorities?
• The Politics of Racial and Ethnic Competition and Coalition Building:
  • To what extent does material success translate into greater or less trust of racial and ethnic minorities in mainstream institutions, including the political process?
  • To what extent has demographic change affected racial politics, including attitudes towards particular policy issues?
  • To what extent has the movement by institutions, employers, and civic and social organizations to implement policies on diversity and inclusion affected the experiences of discrimination by racial and ethnic minorities?  Has the adoption of these policies increased anti-government sentiment and racial resentment?
  • Are young people from minoritized groups more or less likely to engage in mainstream political actions than the previous generation, and if so, what are the reasons?
• Criminal and Civil Justice in Law Enforcement:
  • To what extent do interactions with the carceral state affect opportunities for political participation?
  • How do experiences of policing or incarceration affect young people’s opportunities regarding education, employment, and income?
• History, Race, Immigration, and the Law:
  • How have race and the law shaped ideas about the state, citizenship, and claims-making?
  • How have government policies contributed to racial segregation and discrimination?
  • What are the effects on public safety and/or incarceration rates of adopting algorithmic risk assessments as an aid to judicial discretion in bail and sentencing decisions?
  • How have racial hierarchies changed in response to decades of civil rights legislation and reforms?
  • How does legal exclusion based on race or ethnicity affect the social, economic, and civic integration of minoritized groups?

Funding Information

• Trustee Grants are capped at $200,000, including 15% indirect costs, over a two-year period. Presidential Awards are capped at $50,000. However, when research projects have special needs for gathering data, gaining access to proprietary or restricted-use data, or when the proposal budget includes salary support for multiple assistant professor PIs, applicants may request up to $75,000.

Eligibility Criteria

• All applicants (both PIs and Co-PIs) must have a doctorate. In rare circumstances, RSF may consider applications from scholars who do not hold a doctorate but can demonstrate a strong career background that establishes their ability to conduct high-level, peer-reviewed scholarly research. Students may not be applicants.
• All nationalities are eligible to apply and applicants do not have to reside in the U.S., but the focus of the proposed research project must be on the U.S. as per the mission.

For more information, visit Russell Sage Foundation.