Update: Thank you to everyone who has submitted proposals for inclusion in our upcoming Title VI National Resource Center (NRC) grant application. The priority deadline for proposals has passed, but if you have been in conversation with us and have not yet submitted your proposal, we will continue to work with you. If you have been working on a proposal but have not had a conversation with us, please contact Emanuel Rota (rota@illinois.edu) and Jonathan Larson (larsonjl@illinois.edu) by November 1. We will continue to consider new proposals but cannot guarantee their inclusion in our application.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS | Deadline: October 15, 2021 at 12 P.M. CDT

The European Union Center (EU Center) at the University of Illinois invites Illinois faculty, departments and units to submit proposals in anticipation of a forthcoming broader institutional call for proposals in early 2022 from the US Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center (NRC) area studies program.

As part of the EU Center’s larger and integrated proposal, the center is interested in funding initiatives from all fields of study that support research, teaching, and outreach activities that contribute to new ways of understanding Europe; the peoples, cultures, and languages that form Europe; the EU and the economic and scientific activities that take place there; and international affairs with a European dimension in time and space.

The funding period for this grant is expected to be August 15, 2022 - August 14, 2026. In past cycles, the Department of Education has awarded the EU Center up to $2 million to cover program expenses in support of research, teaching, outreach, and language fellowships and training. The center may be able to offer multiple grants to support faculty and unit projects, from small yearly grants to larger multi-year and more complex ones.

More information and the EU Center’s application form can be found here. For further guidance, questions, or exploratory conversations please contact Emanuel Rota, Director, EU Center (rota@illinois.edu) or Jonathan Larson, Associate Director, EU Center (larsonjl@illinois.edu).

Proposals must be received by 12 P.M. CDT on October 15, 2021 for full consideration. Project leaders of applications selected for inclusion in the EU Center’s Title VI NRC proposals will be notified by no later than November 1, 2021.

While not required, matching funds or expressions of other institutional support are strongly encouraged. Applicants whose proposals are successful with the EU Center for incorporation into the Title VI NRC may be asked to provide letters of commitment from other funding sources; such letters help strengthen the overall proposal. Full funding will be contingent on successful renewal of the EU Center’s Title VI NRC grant for the upcoming 2022-26 cycle.

Activities Eligible for Support

Applicants may propose activities for a single year during the grant cycle or annual/recurring activities that repeat or shift across four years. Applicants may also submit more than one proposal for a related or a separate project. The following list provides examples of activities supported and amounts awarded in past grant cycles: 

  • Research, particularly that informs curricular development and public outreach (including international/domestic travel, RA support, books etc.): up to $10,000
  • Development of new courses, minors, concentrations, certificates or their revision/enhancement to incorporate European/EU studies or perspectives (including education abroad or other experiential learning as well as integration of new technological approaches in the curriculum; RA/TA support or summer salary): up to $7,500 
  • Event programming (including lecture series, symposia and conferences): up to $5,000
  • Outreach, broadly conceived (K-12 teachers and students; community colleges, policy-makers, civil society, media, business, general public): up to $10,000
  • Economic development, including activities that develop public-private partnerships in academic research with the business sector: up to $10,000
  • Contributions to international partnerships that might involve students and other faculty: up to $10,000
  • Ineligible costs: Food and alcohol; student travel; equipment.

Priorities

Applicants are strongly encouraged to propose activities that will help meet the invited priorities of the Title VI grant. While those priorities have not yet been formally specified by the sponsor, the EU Center anticipates that the following current priorities will continue to be relevant proposals:

  • Languages and cultures of Europe, particularly bringing historically underrepresented populations and subject areas to the study of them, with potential to prepare for international careers in areas of national need, through pedagogical innovations with potential for lasting curricular impact.
  • EU and transatlantic (international) policy issues including but not limited to
    • trade
    • entrepreneurship
    • energy
    • radicalism
    • immigration
    • citizenship
    • culture
    • identity
    • environment
    • education
    • health
    • social inclusion
    • media
  • Foreign language training and instruction across disciplines; practical implementation of language expertise (translation and interpretation); innovative approaches to foreign language pedagogy development; language teacher training and assessment, especially for less commonly taught languages; bringing underrepresented populations to the study of Europe, European languages, and international/global affairs
  • Collaborations with Colleges of Education, especially incorporating European/EU studies into teacher training programs and curriculum (both for pre-service or in-service teachers)
  • Engagement with professional schools, community colleges, or minority serving institutions
  • Diversity and inclusion of populations historically underrepresented in higher education and careers with international dimensions
  • Educational diplomacy; strategic partnerships with European countries; multidisciplinary projects that lead to or strengthen existing broad-based institutional partnerships with European and North American universities or other organizations (corporations, non-profit etc.)
  • Outreach to K-12 teachers and students, civil society, business, media, policymakers, and general public

Evaluation Criteria
All proposals must broadly address and support the EU Center mission and have implications for incorporating perspectives on and from Europe and/or the European Union and international affairs into research, teaching, or outreach. Projects will be evaluated on a) creative work with the above anticipated priorities outlined in this RfP; b) expected lasting outcomes, broad impact, high visibility and tangible deliverables; c) intra- or extra-institutional collaboration; and d) appropriate budget plan, including potential for leveraging internal or external resources (although each proposal need not address all criteria).