REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
In the interest of fostering relationships that may yield future research, conservation and educational collaborations, the Living Earth Collaborative announces the “Bring Your Own Idea” program. The idea behind the program—shamelessly “borrowed” from the WU Provost’s office—is to encourage individuals with shared or complementary interests to meet, get to know each other, and find out whether there is common ground for developing new biodiversity related activities. With particular thought to collaborating across programs, ideas which span biodiversity and climate change are welcome and will be supported jointly with the Climate Change Program (CCP).
The Bring Your Own Idea Program:
- One or more Biodiversity Fellows will propose contemporary topics of research, conservation or teaching interest that are likely to engage Biodiversity Fellows and others. Topics should be broad enough to draw a critical mass of interested fellows, but sufficiently specific that they might lead to meaningful collaborations in research, conservation and teaching (e.g., pollinator biology; Indonesian biodiversity; ratite biology and conservation; climate change effects on biodiversity)
- The Biodiversity Fellow(s) proposing the topic will assume responsibility for suggesting a core group of fellows and others with interest in the area who should be invited, and for organizing the discussion. The minimum number of fellows involved should total at least 4, and preference will be given to groups crossing departmental (at WU) and institutional boundaries.
- The LEC (and CCP if appropriate) will fund a series of gatherings for each successful group, held in 2020. Gatherings may be structured as breakfasts, lunches, coffees, or late afternoon cocktail hours. Regardless of structure, the purpose of the gatherings will be to connect fellows working in similar or complementary areas and to build relationships that may serve as the foundation for future research, conservation and educational collaborations.
- The LEC office will assist with scheduling the gatherings and arranging meals. Upon request, the LEC Director will attend your group’s final gathering to learn more about your group’s agenda.
- Discussion at the gatherings should be informal. This program is not designed to fund a paper-based workshop series, but instead to acquaint faculty working on common or related subject matter areas with the research and conservation agendas and teaching interests of others and to find common ground.
To apply, please submit (1) a one paragraph description of the topic, (2) a second paragraph explaining why the topic is important and appropriate for emphasis at the LEC, and if appropriate the CCP, and (3) a list of fellows and others whom you plan to invite (at least 4, but no more than 15). Please also indicate your preferred style of gathering (breakfast, lunch, coffee or cocktail hour).
Please send proposals to livingearth@wustl.edu. This will be an open call for proposals, but the first round of awards will be announced at the end of November, 2019.
Questions? Contact Jonathan Losos at losos@wustl.edu.