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FACULTY & STUDENT RESOURCES

Faculty Research Funding

HUCE Faculty Seed Grants
The Harvard University Center for the Environment (HUCE) awards faculty seed grants to support preliminary explorations of environmental issues that show promise for further scholarship. The awards are intended to seed the most exciting and innovative projects that could not be tackled without support from the Center. Since 2003, the Center has awarded 37 faculty seed grants worth nearly $1 million.

The awards are available through a competition open to all Harvard faculty members, regardless of any past affiliation with the Center. A portion of the funding will be reserved for faculty members who have not done prior environmental research. The Center has budgeted $200,000 for awards this academic year, and expects the average award to be about $25,000 per faculty member. There is no limit to the size of an individual proposal, although smaller requests are encouraged as they will allow the Center to support a broader diversity of projects.

In order to provide faculty members with as much flexibility as possible, the Center will accept proposals twice per academic year. The deadline for the first round of funding in FY 2009 is November 3, 2008. The Center will announce awards within two months after each deadline.

All successful proposals must address significant environmental problems. The primary selection criteria will be the importance and innovativeness of the proposed work. Risky projects that might be difficult to fund through federal agencies or private foundations are particularly encouraged. In general, the awards cannot be used to support faculty salaries, although exemptions for junior faculty are possible.

Interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged as some of the most exciting environmental research involves several disciplines. However, proposed work within a single discipline is also encouraged if it represents a significant departure from previously funded research. Proposals may involve collaborations between two or more faculty members, but this is not a requirement.

More information on these grants, including how to apply, can be found here: (link to PDF announcement)

Past Faculty Research Project Awards