APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN!

AASSREC is now accepting applications from social scientists for funding to support international research collaboration in the Asia Pacific region.

Online Information Session

AASSREC invited interested applicants to an interactive, online information session about the Priority Social Science Research Grant Program on Monday 2 September 2024. The session provided insights into the grant objectives, eligibility criteria, and application process, ensuring applicants have all the information needed to apply. You can watch the recording and download the presentation slide deck below.

Program Objectives

AASSREC’s Priority Social Science Grant Program supports international collaboration between social science researchers in the Indo-Pacific region to carry out and disseminate high-quality research on complex socio-economic problems of mutual interest. The purpose of the program is to forge meaningful regional research collaborations that generate knowledge to support evidence-based policy and innovation. It seeks to foster enduring relationships and cooperation between Indo-Pacific countries that advance and support inclusive and sustainable development in the region. Increasing and advancing gender equity and social inclusion is also a major objective of the program. This program is designed to support research activities involving researchers from at least two different countries in the Asia Pacific region working together on a social science research project. The proposal may include:

• Activities to support collaboration in an ongoing research project, where such activities are not possible with existing funding (details of the project and existing funding must be provided)
• Activities that help to develop or pilot a new collaborative research project.

Importantly, the research project must be led by a researcher from a low or middle-income country, and at least one of the project participants must involve a researcher from an AASSREC member country. All social science project proposals will be considered but priority consideration will be provided to projects aligned with one of the following five themes:

• Advancing Gender Equality
• Sustainability and Climate Change
• State and Social Transformations
• Indigenous knowledge systems
• Intergenerational inequality

The grants are being offered as part of AASSREC’s Boosting Social Sciences and their Contribution to Better Lives across the Indo-Pacific program; a partnership between AASSREC and the Global Development Network (GDN), managed by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) and supported by the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC).  

Grant Period and Funding

This program will fund a minimum of six (6) projects to a maximum of AU$57,750 per project.

Funding is available to support research projects within a 12-month (one year) timeframe, to be undertaken between 1 November 2024 and 31 December 2025.  

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply, the Principal Applicant must be a social science researcher and

• Living and working in a low or middle-income Asia-Pacific country/territory*; and 

• Either living and working in an AASSREC member country/territory OR proposing direct collaboration with one or more researchers living and working in an ASSREC member country/territory; and

• Employed by a research organisation (university, research institute or government research agency) with capacity to administer and support the proposed project.
  

Please note, applications must include social science researchers living and working in at least two different countries in the Asia Pacific region. 

A list of AASSREC members can be found on the AASSREC website here: https://aassrec.org/members/

*For the purposes of this grant program, the following Asia-Pacific countries/territories are considered low or middle-income:

Priority researcher categories

All applications from eligible social science researchers in the Asia-Pacific region are welcome. Priority, but not exclusive, consideration will be given to applicants designated as potentially underrepresented, under the intent of the Priority grant program including:

• Women Researchers
• People with a disability
• Researchers from other marginalised and/or disadvantaged groups. This includes communities that experience discrimination and exclusion on the basis of economic, political, social, and cultural dimensions.
• Researchers from low and lower-middle-income countries.

Please note that all social science researchers in low, lower-middle, and upper-middle-income countries are eligible to apply, however, priority will be given to Principal Applicants from low and lower-middle-income countries.

Priority will also be given to interdisciplinary research projects.

How to apply

Applications for funding will open on 1 August 2024 and close at 11.45pm AEST on 12 September 2024.

Grant applications must be completed in English and submitted via the online application portal.

The Application Portal can be found at the following link: https://portal.aassrec.org 

The following documents must be submitted via the online application form:

• The curriculum vitae (CV) of the Principal Applicant and Co-applicants
• A signed letter of support from the Principal Applicant’s institution, confirming that:
  • • The Principal Applicant is employed at or affiliated with the institution.
    • The institution will support the Principal Applicant’s participation in the proposed project and ensure that the required infrastructure is made available.
    • The support letter must be on the official letterhead of the institution, specify the name of the Principal Applicant and project title, and be signed by the delegated authority/management of the administering institution.

Applicants are strongly advised to read the Grant Funding Guidelines before applying.

Key dates

Contact for enquiries

If you have any questions or require further information about the Priority Social Science  Grants please contact the AASSREC Secretariat via email: info@aassrec.org or phone: +61 2 6249 1788.