Reporter 8/8/01: Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities: Notice

Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities: Notice

PROJECT PROPOSALS

The Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (CRASSH) intends to support a number of interdisciplinary research projects in the arts, social sciences, and humanities with the assistance of outside funding bodies. Proposals are considered twice yearly, in April and October, by the Centre's Project Committee, a sub-committee of its Policy Committee.

The next deadline for submission of project proposals is 31 October 2001. Application forms and details will be found on the Centre's website (http://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/).

The Project Committee, chaired by Professor John Laver of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, will examine the proposals in the light of referees' reports, and identify the projects most suitable for adoption by CRASSH. In judging these projects, the Committee will consider in particular:

(a)	the degree of compatibility between the project's aims and those of CRASSH;
(b)	the project's academic quality, and potential to attract external funding;
(c)	the project's likely impact on future work on the proposed topic, whether by the applicant or others, and its other possible benefits and outcome; and
(d)	whether the project can be made more viable by scaling the proposal up or down.

When first examined by the Committee, all proposals will be regarded as provisional, and judged essentially on their promise. The proposals considered by the Project Committee to be most promising in relation to the above criteria will then be recommended to the Centre's Policy Committee for formal adoption as CRASSH projects, conditional on their attracting adequate external funding. These projects may then be more fully developed in the light of referees' reports and other comments. The Centre is willing to help bring together interested parties for further discussion, and to advise on the preparation of applications to funding bodies, working in close consultation with the Research Grants and Contracts Section of the University's Research Services Division. The Centre will provide office space (from January 2003) and basic support for these projects, once they have attracted funding, and will assist in the management of their grants.

The Centre is also prepared to advise and assist with proposals that are not formally adopted as CRASSH projects. In some cases it may be appropriate for these proposals to be adopted instead by a particular Faculty, Department, or Institute. In other instances, projects might be reconceived, e.g., as the subject for a conference or symposium, organized either through CRASSH or some other body.

For additional information, please contact the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, DAMTP, Silver Street, Cambridge, CB3 9EW (tel. (+44) (0)1223 766886, fax: (+44) (0)1223 765276, e-mail crassh-admin@lists.cam.ac.uk).

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