The Provost and the Dean of ISP have made funds available to develop strategic partnerships with some universities and institutions of higher education and research, focused on themes in which MSU faculty are engaged. These partnerships will generally involve multiple departments and/or colleges at MSU. Collaborations that link Arts and Letters or Social Science faculty to the STEM and health disciplines are especially encouraged. These partnerships may involve collaborative research, regular exchange of faculty and students, co-developed distance learning courses, co-sponsored dual degree or sandwich programs, and other forms of cooperation that build the institutional partnership.

 The Asian Studies Center will award annual grants to teams of faculty interested in collaborating to establish a strategic initiative in East, Central, South or Southeast Asia in one of the following thematic focus areas:

• Environment, society and sustainability
• Culture, identities and public policy
• Health, education and community development

Strategic Partnership funds will provide partial support for travel and other costs to develop strategic partnerships, both for MSU faculty and their partners coming from abroad. Faculty applicants' college, department, and other institutes will be expected to share the costs of this travel to ensure that the commitment to long-term partnering is shared by departments and colleges.

Proposal Guidelines

Proposals should not exceed 5 pages and should include:

1. A narrative that includes:
• A description of the proposed activities.
• A description of the expected outcomes.
• The long-term goals of this partnership and descriptions of entities involved.
• An explanation of how the institutions were chosen as strategic MSU partners abroad.
• A list of the MSU faculty involved in the project, along with their disciplines.
• A list of departments and/or colleges you'll be collaborating with.
• If any of the participants have collaborated with each other before this proposed partnership, what was the nature and duration of that collaboration?
2. A written endorsement from the applicant's dean or department chairperson committing to a minimum of 20% matching funds or in-kind contributions.
3. A proposed budget.

Proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis, however all funds must be expended and travel completed by June 30 of the the fiscal year.

Submit proposals to the Director of the Asian Studies Center, Dr. Siddharth Chandra, for review by the Center's Advisory Committee. Successful applicants will be required to submit a written report on program activities and outcomes upon completion of the program. For more information, contact us.