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Weatherhead Initiative Selection Criteria

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Primary Criteria

Priority will be given to proposals that:

  • are large-scale innovative research projects conducted at Harvard University;

  • are interdisciplinary and involve members of multiple Harvard faculties and departments in collaborative research;

  • focus on topics principally in the social sciences, which may reside in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences or in the University’s professional schools;

  • focus on international, interregional, transnational, global, and comparative topics, both contemporary and historical;

  • aim to generate theoretically grounded research questions and/or rigorous policy analysis;

  • seek to develop or apply new theoretical insights to the collection or analyses of data;

  • complement the Weatherhead Center’s ability to cover emerging topics of importance; and

  • encompass work to be completed within three years.

The proposed research output may include a combination of the following: a scholarly book, an edited volume, a series of monographs or articles, and a more widely broadcast analytical policy report. It may also include a combination of conferences and workshops and plans for broader diffusion through op-eds, websites, the use of social media, etc.

What Makes a Cluster?

Proposals should have a clear integrative core—they should not merely link a series of loosely-related projects. They should also honor the idea of joining scholars intergenerationally by dedicating:

  • an in-residence faculty leave of one semester;

  • Graduate Student Associate positions;

  • undergraduate summer research awards to students who will then become research assistants;

  • one or two dissertation completion grants;

  • postdoctoral scholarships; and

  • a visiting faculty position.

Other Criteria

  • Clusters must be based at the Weatherhead Center, although individual faculty members need not be in full-time residence at the Center for the life of the cluster.

  • Proposals may involve faculty members from outside research institutions.

  • Funding may be sought to complement faculty research leaves.

  • Funding may build on or complement additional grants, including long-term funding plans.

  • Funding should not be used for expenses normally covered by university funds.

Eligibility

Faculty do not have to be formally associated with the Weatherhead Center to apply. All assistant, associate, and full professors with continuing regular appointments in all of the faculties and schools of Harvard University who are engaged in research pertinent to the Weatherhead Center’s mission may apply.