Research Support
The research priority area (RPA) Global Digital Cultures critically explores how digitization is transforming cultural practices around the world, from friendship, intimacy and sexual relations, to the construction, targeting, and surveillance of publics. More information can be found here.
The RPA invites seed grant proposals that focus on questions of the digital in relation to the Corona crisis, Covid19 and health-related measures, broadly understood. The Corona crisis has given rise to continued and intensified investments in the digital, for example in the form of contact tracing apps, digital health devices, e-learning environments, and video-chatting services. The Corona-related investments in the digital are partly economic, but also cultural, political and sociological. They give rise to questions and research agendas related to the three themes of Global Digital Cultures, including 1) consumption and participation, 2) production and labor, and 3) security and citizenship. This includes but is not limited to assessments of cultural, socio-economic, and political implications of these types of digitization, as well as a critical assessment of the agendas and efforts of Big Tech companies in this domain.
The grants have a duration of max 1 year and a value of max EUR 20.000. They can be used for example for data collection, research assistance, as well as extra research time for writing an article, book chapter, or interdisciplinary grant application (NWO, NIAS, KNAW, ERC). Extra research time can lead to a temporary reduction in teaching or to a temporary (additional) research appointment. The grants are available to all assistant, associate and full professors as well as postdocs. External PhD researchers already registered at the UvA may apply for temporary research time. At least one applicant must have an UvA position at the time of the application. The grants must lead to clearly specified results, for example a grant application, a publication, a dataset, an exhibition or other results.
Application procedure:
- Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until September 15 2020, via e-mail to gdc@uva.nl.
- Applicants should use this application form.
- Decisions are made by the RPA Directorate using the criteria below.
- The grants will be allocated by the financial system SAP for the cost allocation.
- The research can take place between September 2020 and December 2021.
Terms and conditions
- Minimum of 2 and a maximum of 3 researchers (Assistant/Associate/Full Professors or Post-Doc/PhD) with main affiliation at the UvA.
- Involvement of applicants of minimal 2 different faculties at the UvA.
- The grants have a maximum value of EUR 20.000 and max 15.000 per applicant per year (for example 2 x 10.000 = 20.000, or 1 x 15.000 + 2 x 2.500 = 20.000 etc. can be applied for).
- Applicants have to use standard FGW hourly rates as provided by the RPA. Please contact us for a table with the fixed hourly rates.
- Funding requested should be proportional to the objectives and projected output. The selection committee reserves the right to award less than the amount requested.
- Proposals that combine applying for a major grant with carrying out research activities leading to publications are also accepted.
- Extra research time can be applied for, with a maximum of 0,1fte for a full year. Applicants should make sure in advance that the time that will be applied for can be used in full for research activities, without requiring a 60/40 split between teaching and research.
- Successful applicants will be expected to report on the results achieved and to acknowledge Global Digital Cultures support explicitly in any publications resulting from the grant.
Evaluation criteria include:
- Quality, originality, and feasibility of the proposal
- Interdisciplinary nature of the research
- Added value to the applicant’s research
- Alignment with one of the three RPA domains
- Clear output (publication and grants) and outreach and contribution to the RPA Global Digital Cultures plan
- The committee may also apply additional macro criteria such as disciplinary, gender, thematic and programmatic diversity
