The Illinois Global Institute invites proposals for international research projects and collaborations. Funded by the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences INSURE program, we welcome proposals that support both new and ongoing international research, with the aim of sustaining and strengthening the international agenda of research by LAS faculty.
The program is open to all LAS faculty regardless of the impacts of funding cuts to their research, but we particularly welcome proposals that support research that faces other funding constraints in areas such as Fulbright, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and initiatives supported by the IGI area and global studies centers that have faced the loss of Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center Funding.
Each grant will offer up to $5,000 (or, $10,000 for teams of two or more) in research support with the aim to keep LAS faculty’s international research on track and globally competitive.
Applications will be accepted for a May 1, 2026 deadline.
Eligibility
- Open to full-time LAS faculty, including tenure-stream faculty, teaching and research professors, and lecturers.
- Open to faculty at all levels; preference will be given to early-career scholars
Application Requirements
- Application form. You will be able to upload all of your application materials via the application form.
- A brief descriptive title and a 200-word summary of the project.
- A double-spaced 1,000-word proposal, plus a bibliography. The proposal should discuss hypotheses, relevant theories and methods, and the data employed. Include any interruptions, funding loss, or impediments to the project due to the disruptions in Title VI NRC or other federal funding. See additional proposal instructions below.
- A detailed budget, using the required budget template, for the research and the amount requested from IGI.
- A current curriculum vitae of the principal investigator (faculty member) and other research team members, if any.
- An itinerary for any travel.
- Evidence of a sufficient command of any language necessary to conduct the project.
- A list of previous awards for the project, the dates of the awards, and any publications that have resulted from such awards.
- A letter of support from either the faculty member’s unit head or the director of the IGI center with which the work is aligned.
The proposal
Applicants should explain in the proposal what they plan to do and why, making clear the relevance of the project to their professional experience and the significance of the project for international research as well as within their field of scholarship. They should bear in mind that the selection committee is interdisciplinary and composed of scholars who are not necessarily specialists in the applicants’ area.
Candidates should give a brief summary of the progress already made on the project and explain how it contributes to the present research. If the project is part of a cooperative undertaking, the relationship should be explained. Finally, candidates should include information on any publication arrangements already made.
The bibliography should be no longer than two pages and should be attached to the project description. Each page of the proposal and budget should be consecutively numbered, with the PI’s name in the upper right corner of each page. The proposal should be headed with a brief descriptive title.
Applicants should combine materials into a single PDF titled “Last Name_2026 IGI INSURE Proposal” and submit it via the online application form. For additional information, contact IGI deputy director Maureen Marshall (memarsh@illinois.edu).
Allowable costs
- Expenses related to research travel
- Research materials and supplies
- Graduate research assistants
- Travel expenses to disseminate research findings
- Subvention costs for scholarly publications (where external sources are unavailable)
Not allowed
- Summer salary
- Activities already supported by another LAS internal program
- Funds to be sub-awarded to other organizations or individuals
Evaluation
Applications will be evaluated by an interdisciplinary committee of faculty directors from IGI’s centers and programs and a representative from the LAS Office of Research.
Reporting
Awardees must submit a 1,000-word report no later than six weeks after the tenure of their fellowship. Reports should detail use of funds, outcomes, and next steps. Awardees must also acknowledge the support received from the IGI and LAS in publications flowing from the grant. They may also be invited to share their experiences through LAS research development programming.
Grantees may be asked by the center making the award to present their research in the center’s workshop or brown-bag series.