Home Members Conference Schedule Newsletters Grants

Environmental Policy Initiative May 2002 Newsletter   Email:  epi@osu.edu                                                                 Phone: (614) 688-0234 Visiting Speaker: Professor Emilio Moran, June 3-4 Working Group Request for Proposals Seed Research Grant Request for Proposals Seed Research Grant Successes EPI Summer Dissertation Prospectus Writing Award EPI Summer Workshop: Tae-Kyung Kim and Philip Hisnay Graduate Student Professional Travel Grant Wanted: Your Suggestions for Future Visitors or Workshop Speakers Coming Soon: EPI Web Page Update Visiting Speaker: Professor Emilio Moran, June 3-4  The Environmental Policy Initiative is pleased to have Emilio F. Moran as a visiting speaker on June 3-4, 2002. Dr. Moran is the Rudy Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University. He is also the Director of the Anthropological Center for Training and Research on Global Environmental Change ACT, and the Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Institutions, Population and Environmental Change CIPEC. For more information, visit his web page at: http://www.indiana.edu/~anthro/faculty/moran.html.  Environmental Policy Initiative Seminar "Population and Environment Surprises in the Amazon: Deforestation, Land Cover Change, and the Structure of Households" Monday June 3, 2002 4:30-6:00 pm 200 Campbell Hall Followed by a reception at the Faculty Club 6:00-7:00 pm  OSU Wooster Campus Seminar "People and Pixels: Advances in Linking Social Sciences and Spatial Data through Remote Sensing" Tuesday June 4, 2002 1:00-2:00 pm 121 Fisher Hall live on Wooster campus 244 Kottman Hall video link to Columbus campus  Working Group Request for Proposals The Environmental Policy Initiative encourages the formation of working groups to facilitate new research, assist with program development on campus, and increase EPI interaction with the off-campus environmental policy community. In particular, working groups are designed to develop research programs on a defined subject matter. The first EPI Working Group on Biocomplexity was successful in bringing together new research collaborations on campus, and resulted in a NSF grant proposal currently under consideration. At this time, we would like to encourage the formation of new working groups.  Working groups can focus on any topic within environmental policy. The process for forming working groups will be to submit a short proposal (three-page maximum) to the EPI Executive Committee. The proposal should include the focus of the working group, names of founding members, a plan for seeking new members, and a plan of work that sets out the goals of the working group. The plan of work should be specific and should include a timeline of activities and products. Also, the proposal should provide a budget and the specific external funding target (program and agency). The EPI will provide modest mini-grants (maximum of $25,000) to chartered working groups to help bankroll activities such as workshops, staff/student support, and release time for faculty with compelling justification.  Applications should be sent by email to epi@osu.edu.    Seed Research Grant Request for Proposals  The Environmental Policy Initiative offers Seed Research Grants to advance research on a particular topic within the field of environmental policy science. The projects must be collaborative and multidisciplinary, preferably across more than one department or college. They must also have a strong potential for future external funding. Interested teams of researchers should submit a one page preliminary proposal that emphasizes how the project meets the above criteria to epi@osu.edu. The EPI Executive Committee will then invite one or more teams to submit full proposals.  We are seeking proposals for research in all areas of environmental policy. Preference will be given to proposals that establish new collaborations among OSU researchers, and proposals that are interdisciplinary in nature. Budget requests should be in the range of $7,500 to $25,000, and funding will be provided for up to one year.   Examples of projects that may be selected for funding include: (i) New projects or proposals which could be developed to substantially improve the prospects for external funding; (ii) Development of new, and potentially fundable, dimensions of existing projects; (iii) Development of next-generation projects from established and successful research programs; (iv) Research to demonstrate the feasibility of a research idea and/or to generate some preliminary results.  A list of previous seed grants can be viewed on the EPI webpage: http://aede.osu.edu/programs/EPI/grants.htm    In each case, a primary selection criterion will be the potential incremental contribution of a Seed Grant to the eventual establishment of a strong and well-funded research program. OSU faculty, regardless of rank, are eligible to serve as investigators. Individuals interested in submitting a proposal should submit a two page pre-proposal to the EPI Executive Committee.   The pre-proposal should include the following: The role and contribution of each key investigator; Clear statement of research project and goals; Estimated timeline and budget; A clear statement explaining how and why the award of a Seed Grant will improve the prospects of eventual extramural funding for this research (details regarding potential external sponsors, and any indications of that potential sponsors' interest in the project is encouraged). The EPI Executive Committee will then invite one or more teams to submit a full proposal, and will provide guidance for its preparation. Applications should be made by email to epi@osu.edu Seed Research Grant Success  Congratulations to Richard Moore, Larry Brown, Patrick Goebel, and Ben Stinner for their successful $475,479 grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency entitled, "Improving water quality and fostering a community vision and action through participatory farmer groups in the Sugar Creek Headwaters". This latest grant is a product of research originally pursued through an EPI Seed Research Grant in 2000. In total, Richard Moore's original EPI seed research grant has resulted in $575,000 in external funding, with at least one more grant pending.   EPI Summer Dissertation Prospectus Grants  The Environmental Policy Initiative offers a research grant program for OSU graduate students preparing doctoral dissertation proposals for work in environmental policy. Recipients receive an award of $1200/month over the summer, and also have the opportunity to present their work before the EPI membership the following year.   Any doctoral student planning to write a PhD on any aspect of environmental policy, and expecting to take the PhD general exam by Winter Quarter 2003, is eligible to apply. The award from EPI will be $1,200 per month for three months, starting on July 1, 2002, and does not include a tuition or fee waiver. Departments may supplement the stipend at their discretion. The student applicant and the dissertation advisor should collaborate on the proposal, which must be no longer than two pages in length, and should contain: (i) a brief biosketch of the graduate student applicant including full name, department, expected graduation date, and name and department of the student's advisor; (ii) a brief description of the proposed dissertation research idea; (iii) a brief description of how the proposed dissertation research will advance the advisor's research program and prospects of future external research funding; All information must be submitted electronically to epi@osu.edu by June 14, 2002. Decisions will be announced by June 21, 2002.   EPI Summer Workshops  The 2001 recipients of the EPI Graduate Student Dissertation Prospectus Grant will be giving presentations about their work.   Friday July 12, 2002 9:00-10:00 am 0140 Derby Hall  Tae-Kyung Kim "The Dynamic Interactions between Energy and Environmental Factors" Department of City and Regional Planning Advisor: Jean Michel Guldman  Philip Hisnay "Urban Sprawl, City Size, and Zoning in Ohio from 1990 to 2000" Department of Geography Advisor: Paul Robbins  Coffee and donuts will be served  Graduate Student Professional Travel Grant  The Environmental Policy Initiative is offering Graduate Student Professional Travel Grants of up to $600 for graduate students presenting research papers at professional meetings related to environmental policy.   The EPI Professional Travel Grant Program is intended to increase graduate student involvement in EPI, and to increase EPI visibility beyond Ohio State. EPI will allocate $4,000 of the annual budget to support graduate student participation in professional meetings related to environmental policy.  The travel fund program is offered to graduate students who hold associate membership status in EPI and are advised by an EPI faculty member. To qualify for a travel grant the graduate student must be the primary author and presenter of a paper at a professional conference related to environmental policy. In return for travel support, the recipient agrees to acknowledge the support of the Environmental Policy Initiative in a footnote on the conference paper and/or on a title page of their presentation.   Interested EPI members will submit an application to the EPI office prior to travel. The application will include the following: (i) a cover letter detailing the applicant's relationship to EPI (applicant should be an associate member, adviser should be a member); (ii) the title of the paper, and conference details (name, location, date, sponsor, and how it relates to environmental policy); (ii) evidence that the paper is included on the program and that the applicant is both the primary author and the presenter; (iii) a completed OSU Travel Request Form detailing expected expenditures for registration, travel, and hotel accommodations.  Applicants who qualify for the travel fund program will be notified, and must submit original receipts for reimbursement promptly after travel has been completed.  A maximum of $600 per paper will be awarded. Only one person per paper may receive funding through EPI. Awards will be granted on a first come / first serve basis as long as the allocated funds last.  Wanted: Your Suggestions for Future Visitors or Workshop Speakers  The Environmental Policy Initiative wants your suggestions for future visitors or workshop speakers. If there is someone you would like to see on campus, please contact us at epi@osu.edu.  Coming Soon: EPI Web Page Update  We will be updating the format and content of the Environmental Policy Initiative web site over the next few weeks. Please visit us soon at: http://aede.osu.edu/programs/EPI/, and tell us what you think about the changes.