Jacobs Research Fund -- For fieldwork with living peoples of North, Central and South America

Funding Agency:
University of Washington

The Jacobs Research Funds (JRF) funds research on aboriginal peoples of the Americas. Most grants are in the range of $3,000 USD, but projects up to $6,000 or $9,000 can be considered. 

The Jacobs Research Funds (JRF) supports projects involving fieldwork with living aboriginal peoples of North and South America. Priority is given to research on endangered cultures and languages, and to research on the Pacific Northwest (the Pacific Coast from Northern California to Alaska and the Columbia Plateau in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and Idaho). The JRF does not support research on non-aboriginal peoples, nor on peoples outside the Americas. 

Projects that produce new data are the highest priority, including proposals to digitize, transcribe and translate old materials that might otherwise become lost or inaccessible. Projects that only process, analyze, present, or publish previously gathered data, whether in an archive or personal collection, are of lower priority.  

Most funded projects fall within linguistics (including ethnolinguistics, sociolinguistics, and world view) or anthropology (including social-cultural anthropology, social organization, political organization, and folk taxonomy). Projects in religion, mythology, music, dance, and other arts are also eligible. 

Deadline: Feb. 15, 2024

Agency Website

http://depts.washington.edu/jacobsf/apply.php

Amount

$9,000

Amount Description

There are three categories of Jacobs Research Funds grants.

  • Individual Grants support research projects administered by a single investigator on a focused problem. The maximum award is $3,000 USD (or equivalent CAD).
  • Group Grants support work by two or more researchers who will be cooperating on the same or similar projects. The researchers should be sharing field expenses working with the same language, with the same speakers, and/or in the same geographical area. One person in the group should be designated as the Principal Investigator. The PI will serve as the contact person for the Jacobs Research Funds and will be responsible for use of funds, filing reports, and archiving materials. Normally, the PI will be the most senior scholar in the group, such as a faculty member or advanced graduate student. Projects involving collaboration between academics and non-academics are encouraged. Each member of the group should submit a CV. However, only one project description and budget should be submitted per group project. The maximum award is $6,000 USD (or equivalent CAD).
  • The Kinkade Grants honor the memory of the late Dale Kinkade, a linguist known for his work on Salishan languages. Kinkade Grants support projects requiring an intense period of fieldwork, such as research leading to a major work such as a dictionary, collection of texts, etc. They are intended for experienced researchers, such as Ph.D. students working on dissertations, faculty with sabbatical or other period of course release, or retired professors seeking to complete major research. If the researcher does not intend to work full-time on the project, this should be explained in the work plan. The maximum award is $9,000 USD (or equivalent CAD).

Funding Type

Grant

Eligibility

Faculty
Grad/Prof Students

Category

Arts & Humanities
International Opportunities
Social Sciences

External Deadline

February 15, 2024