The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is an independent nonprofit organization devoted to the advancement of social science research and scholarship. Founded in New York City in 1923 as the world’s first national coordinating body of the social sciences, it is today an international resource for interdisciplinary, innovative public social science.
As in many other countries, environmental change in China presents a growing threat to public health. There is an urgent need to develop the knowledge base on which to formulate responses to environment-related health risks, and to forge stronger links between research and policy and practice. Although greater resources are now being committed to natural science research on the relationship between environmental change and health, informed decision-making also requires an understanding of the economic, political and social contexts in which environment-related health problems are embedded, and of the constraints and opportunities they present. This calls for greater engagement by social scientists and for bridging existing disciplinary and professional boundaries.
The China Environment and Health Initiative (CEHI) of the SSRC has announced the fourth round of its Collaborative Grants Program to stimulate the generation and dissemination of policy and practice-oriented social science research on environment and health in China.
Up to fifteen grants in the amount of $5,000-15,000 (total of $100,000) will be made available to applicants located at Chinese institutions. Grants will provide supplementary funds to enable collaboration across disciplines and between research institutions and government or civil society organizations.
Scope of Activities
Grants may be used to:
1) integrate environment or health perspectives into research currently focused on a single domain by sharing existing data or conducting limited additional data collection;
2) develop a new focus on environment and health within the context of ongoing research on development, whether in rural, urban, or peri-urban contexts;
3) broaden the scope of analysis through collaboration with partners who bring additional disciplinary perspectives or international experience; or
4) work with NGO or government partners to make existing research more accessible and useful.
Applicant Criteria
Proposals must be:
– Submitted by a Chinese academic institution (university, college or other research organization) or civil society organization with a demonstrated commitment to working on environment and/or health issues.
– Structured as a collaboration that involves researchers with different disciplinary expertise, including at least one social science discipline (Anthropology, Economics, Geography, Law/Legal Studies, Political Science/Government, Social Psychology, Sociology), OR as a collaboration between a research institution and a government department or NGO.
– Projects may but do not have to involve collaboration with an international partner with relevant expertise.
Deadline for submitting the proposals for this round of funding is August 22, 2011
For more information and details, please visit this link.
