TRILATERAL INITIATIVES IN EMERGING REGIONS (TIER)

The Alliance Call for Trilateral Initiatives in Emerging Regions (T.I.E.R) invites faculty members to submit proposals for a jointly taught course, research, seminars or workshops to broaden educational opportunities and address the student driven demand for exposure to countries and territories outside Europe and North America. The call is only open to full-time officers of instruction of professorial rank.

The primary goals of the initiative are to promote academic cooperation with out-of-the-network research and education institutions in other continents. The initiative encourages projects of all disciplines aimed at innovative regional immersion/integration including, among others, citizenship and urban studies, management of natural resources, public health, statistical capacity or data analysis.

In addition to partnering with accredited higher education institutions or research centers outside Europe and North America, the initiative must involve collaboration of full-time faculty from Columbia University and at least one of the Alliance French partners: Sciences Po, École Polytechnique, and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University.

The Alliance Program will fund up to $15,000/project for travel, technological support, and other expenses in the design and implementation of the project. The grant may not be used for Per Diems, stipends, or salaries. It may be used for a teaching assistant's salary, provided that it represents no more than 20% of the amount of the grant awarded.

Principal investigators from Columbia University must inform the Dean/Chair, and the Director of Administration and Finance of their School/Department of their application to this grant. Applications must be submitted by an individual with the authority to serve as a principal investigator, who will assume primary scholarly, administrative, and financial responsibility for the project at Columbia University.

Applicants with projects that include student travel are required to consult with The Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement (UGE - for programs that involve undergraduates), or the Dean of Students of the associated School (for programs that involve graduate students). Please note that if your project involves course work or seeks to grant credit, and the project is funded, proper approvals from all committees and academic offices will need to be obtained.

Eligible projects include:

• The creation and delivery of joint courses (including, specifically, online courses) between Columbia and one of the three French Alliance partner institutions, in all disciplines. We are inviting proposals that aim to challenge and reinvent traditional teaching methods through the creation of joint courses (including through online, face-to-face and hybrid methodologies)
• Thematic doctoral workshops with students and faculty members from both institutions
• Joint conferences, and seminars. Although grants may not be used to produce a publication, we strongly encourage project proposals that lead to the publication of articles in peer-reviewed journals

We accept applications in all subject areas. However, applications in the following priority areas are particularly encouraged:

• Climate change and sustainable development
• AI and the social and ethical impact of digital technology
• Race relations, inequality and social justice
• Democracy and human rights
• The Humanities (including digital Humanities and the promotion of Humanities research and teaching)

The initiative targets proposals that have found or will seek external funding from either two channels:

• Philanthropic or international organization focused on assisting capacity building, particularly in Africa and Asia (i.e., Carnegie Corporation of New York, Mellon Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, SSRC, CODESRIA, EuropeAid, Agence Française de Développement-AFD, Institut de Recherche et de Développement-IRD, CIRAD, INRA, ADEME, PNUE…)
• Local universities covering local expenses to benefit their faculty.

Special consideration will be given to projects which aim to promote sustainable relationships between departments or schools in the Alliance network.

APPLICATIONS MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS

Application materials include the following documents and must be submitted in English on the application form at https://alliance.columbia.edu/form/trilateral-initiatives-in-emergi:

1. Cover page, including project title, e-mail, telephone number and affiliation of each principal investigator and link to their CV online. There should be at Least one principal investigator from Columbia University, one from any of the three Alliance French partner institutions, and one from an accredited higher education institution or research center outside Europe and North America.
2. Abstract outlining the joint project in a one-paragraph summary suitable for public reports, publicity materials, and the Alliance website.
3. Narrative (suggested length of two pages, five pages maximum) describing the research question, theoretical foundations, existing literature, empirical and methodological facets, the relevance of transatlantic collaboration in the field and the project’s potential for encouraging future endeavors among the institutions. Please also mention whether the project intends to attract external funding.
4. A one-page budget detailing project costs, including amounts by Category (travel, accommodation, catering etc.) and a provisional timeline. Please note that the grant may not be used for Per Diems, stipends, or salaries. It may be used for a teaching assistant's salary, provided that it represents no more than 20% of the amount of the grant awarded.
5. Letters of support (required) from collaborating faculty, describing their commitments.
6. Letters of support (as appropriate) from external collaborators, other institutions or investigators and from other external funding sources.

REVIEW PROCESS

Applications are assessed by external reviewers in their disciplines.

The evaluation will consider:

• The academic quality of the project and relevance of pedagogical innovation
• The relevance of the trilateral partnership
• The coherence and the consistence of the budget and the potential to attract external support
• The consistency of the team, their expected contribution to their research field, and the strong potential for further collaboration.

Results will be announced by April 2024

REQUIREMENTS OF GRANT RECIPIENTS

Project timeline: The first project-related expenses should be incurred within one year of the date of award. All expenses and activities should be incurred within one year from the date of the first expenses.

Project report: Recipients are required to submit to Alliance a final Academic Report on the research conducted. Acknowledgement: When recipients receive external grants based on the Alliance seed grant, they are expected to acknowledge the support of the “Alliance Program T.I.E.R Grant” in any papers, publications or resumes and to provide the Alliance team with copies of these papers and publications.

Payment of the grant: The funds will be transferred to the department of the principal investigator at Columbia University, who will assume primary scholarly, administrative, and financial responsibility for the project. Only flights in Economy/Coach are allowed except for a documented medical condition that requires a reasonable accommodation that has been approved by the University’s Leave Management office.

All Columbia University students and faculty members who travel internationally under an Alliance funded project should refer to the International Travel Planning Policy, and are encouraged to register their travels through the University’s Global Travel website.