For Faculty and Researchers

Faculty Policy Fellow Program

The 2024 faculty policy fellow application is now closed. Please contact c2c-impact@northeastern.edu if you have any questions.

C2C is inviting applications for Policy Fellows for projects that begin during the summer of 2024. The grants will support Northeastern faculty engaging in research-practice partnerships to conduct research with a city agency, state department, or community-based organization with the goal of using research evidence to change a policy or practice. The goal of the faculty policy fellow program is to invest in large-scale projects with the goal of seeking more significant support from external sources.

Proposals should seek to address an urgent but long-standing policy challenge facing cities and states in areas such as housing, crime, public health, and workforce development, though we accept applications on all themes relevant to cities and communities. Special consideration will be given to projects that examine or address questions with regional significance at one of our global university system locations, particularly Boston or Oakland. For all funded projects, a summary of the findings will be published on the C2C web portal when the project is completed.

Applicants may request up to one course release and one month of support in addition to $5,000, which can be used for project-related expenses such as travel, purchase of data or software, materials, participant recruitment, and funding for students as research assistants. In rare instances, these funds may be used to purchase hardware if the hardware is necessary for the development of project. Fellows may also request up to 10 hours per week of research support from a C2C post-doc or PhD student. Fellows will be funded for twelve months; all unexpended funds will be returned to C2C after 18 months (from date of notification).

Applicants will be required to demonstrate a commitment by their home department to provide support for their project, in any appropriate form: faculty time, promotion, convening, matching funds, etc. Applicants will be required to submit a letter from a sponsor at their home department detailing this support. C2C has a strong commitment to diversity–we encourage applications from persons with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Applying for the Policy Fellow Program

The application includes the proposal, unit head endorsement, letter of support from an external partner, and a curriculum vitae.

Proposal

A five page narrative (single-spaced with 12 point font and 1” borders) that includes:

• a strong description of the rationale and potential scholarly and practical impact of the proposed project;
• the external partners that will be engaged during the course of the project;
• an explanation of the data collected or used and the methodology for the proposed project;
• an outline of a specific work plan that connects to the budget narrative as well as a description, if appropriate, of how students will be involved in the project;
• A detailed budget (no more than $5,000) and budget narrative (no more than two paragraphs) that specifies each requested expenditure; Please be sure to adhere to University standard pay rates, estimated at $17 per hour for most undergraduate positions and $20 per hour for positions held by Masters students;
• A brief endorsement from your unit head;
• A letter of support from your external partner;
• An updated curriculum vitae

Repeat Awards

This program exists to provide one-time support to help researchers develop large-scale projects with the goal of seeking more significant support from external sources. Therefore, a successful applicant will generally not be re-funded for the same project from this initiative. Researchers who are not funded in one cycle are eligible to submit an application for funding during the next round.

Funding Timeline and Final Report

Applicants will be notified by March 8, 2024 and awards will begin no earlier than May 1, 2024. All funds are expected to be used during the 12 month period. All awardees are expected to submit a final report within one year of project funding. This report should include a description of project activities and accomplishments, impact on policy or practice, barriers faced and strategies to overcome them, any dissemination activities including papers or conference presentations, and finally a description of external funds applied for and notice of which have been received. This report should be sent to the C2C director no later than April 30, 2025.