Request for Proposals – Call to Action to Address Racism & Social Injustice, 2022-23
November 3, 2021 1:02 PM

Dear Faculty and Staff,

I am pleased to announce the opening of the request for proposals for the 2022-23 Call to Action to Address Racism & Social Injustice Research Program. This program is a $2 million investment by our university to fund competitively awarded grants that enhance our exceptional cross-disciplinary scholarly strengths and expand community collaborations to build cultures of research and engagement that address structures of racism and injustice.

The full RFP along with the application details can be found here. For 2022, the focus of the research areas and funding tracks remain the same as last year:

• Systemic racism and social justice
• Law enforcement and criminal justice reform
• Disparities in health and health care

This year the maximum award amount is $75,000, which will allow us to fund a greater percentage of the proposals received. Proposals can be submitted along three different funding tracks, each with a maximum award level:

• Community-Based Innovation projects (up to $25,000)
• Systemic Institutional Change projects (up to $75,000)
• Societal Impact projects (up to $75,000)

To begin the competitive process, a brief pre-proposal describing the proposed project, the objectives and how it connects to the broader Call to Action goals is due by December 3, 2021. Projects selected to move to the full proposal stage will be invited to do so with a deadline of March 4, 2022.

Tenure-stream or specialized faculty (instructors and lecturers), or an Academic Professional with appointments (0 to 100%) in any Urbana-Champaign university unit are eligible to apply.

We will be holding an online, public information session about this year’s program and the proposal submission process on November 10 at 4 pm. Registration is required. For more information and to register for the information session, visit go.illinois.edu/AddressingRacism.

The Call to Action to Address Racism and Social Injustice Research Program is an important step forward as we continue the work needed to transform the way our own university supports, prioritizes, and recognizes the research of scholars working on issues of systemic racism and bias in the United States.

I hope that you will consider attending the information session, and I encourage you to look to others across this university and around our entire community to join you in submitting a proposal for this year’s round of funding.

Sincerely,

Sean C. Garrick
Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion