Highlights

• The Weatherhead Center supports faculty-directed conferences with grants up to $25,000.
• The WCFIA Steering Committee evaluates the proposals.
• Within the same year, professors are eligible for support for either a medium grant for a faculty conference or a medium grant for faculty research in the range of $25,000, but not both.

The Weatherhead Center encourages faculty-directed conferences, particularly those with expected research results. The Weatherhead Center provides logistical and organizational support for conferences, as well as financial assistance, to bring scholars and practitioners to Harvard from around the country and the world to participate with Harvard faculty in conferences and workshops designed to advance research. The Center will consider support for approximately 20 to 30 participants to meet for a day or more to present and discuss current research. Typically, Center funds cover travel and hotel expenses for speakers, conference space, meals, materials, and a conference Web site for posting papers.

Proposals for conferences should relate to the core interests of the Center. This research focuses on international, transnational, global, and comparative national topics and may address contemporary or historical topics, including rigorous policy analysis as well as the study of specific countries and regions besides the United States.

Who is Eligible

Only Faculty Associates of the Weatherhead Center may apply for this faculty conference funding, but proposed research may include other scholars and practitioners inside and outside Harvard. Preference is given to proposals by faculty who have not been funded previously. The Center has no funds to support projects with conferences that meet every year, however, and in general the expectation is that such endeavors will seek external funding. Faculty are eligible for the medium research awards once every three years.

How to Apply

Any Weatherhead Center Faculty Associate interested in applying for a medium grant for a faculty conference should submit a three- to four-page narrative proposal describing the project and its significance, a list of primary and secondary participants and their affiliations, a proposed draft agenda, and a detailed budget.

Questions and proposals should be submitted to Adelaide Shalhope. She can also provide assistance in developing a budget.

Proposal Evaluation

The WCFIA Steering Committee evaluates these proposals and makes recommendations to the director and the executive director.

Deadlines

Proposals for conferences are normally considered three times a year by the Steering Committee. The deadlines for 2007–2008 are October 1, February 1, and April 1. Only in exceptional circumstances will the Steering Committee consider a request at other times.

Terms

Faculty who receive support from the Center should acknowledge it in future publications of their research. It is also essential to work out specific dates and staffing expectations with the Weatherhead Center so that conflicts with other Center events do not occur. All grant recipients are requested to submit a one- to two-page memo at the end of the academic year reporting on the use of Weatherhead Center grant funds. This report should focus on the intellectual and scholarly results of the project. Reporting memos are due June 30. Faculty may defer organizing a conference for only two years, after which they must reapply.

Funding Available

Funding varies based on the type, size, and length of the conference and does not generally exceed $25,000. In the case of conferences that require considerably more funding, the Center’s role will usually be to provide seed money unless the proposal is eligible for funding under the Weatherhead Initiative.