Director's Cross Campus Collaborative Events Grant

Call for Proposals

Overview

The Feminist Research Institute (FRI) invites proposals for the Director’s Cross-Campus Collaborative Events Grants, a dedicated priority track within the FRI small events grants program. These grants support gatherings co-organized by faculty or graduate students across departments, colleges, centers, and North Campus, advancing the FRI Strategic Plan’s commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration and to building one University.

Funded events should strengthen connections among feminist scholars at UNM, promote feminist scholarship to broader audiences, or foster well-being and community across academic units. The track is designed to seed partnerships that outlast any single event: collaborations that begin with a co-sponsored gathering frequently develop into joint grant proposals, shared programming, and durable interdisciplinary research clusters.

About the Feminist Research Institute

With support from the College of Arts and Sciences, the FRI is dedicated to producing scholarship on women, gender, and sexuality and to fostering an intellectual community among feminist scholars at UNM. The Institute prioritizes interdisciplinary research and collaboration across the university, cooperating with and building upon the work of the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, the Women’s Resource Center, and the LGBTQ Resource Center, and encouraging collaboration with feminist scholars in colleges beyond Arts and Sciences, including North Campus. This grant track extends the Institute’s established small events grants program, which supports campus events organized by faculty and graduate students to build well-being and connection within and beyond the university.

Examples of Eligible Event Formats

The following formats illustrate the range of events the track is designed to support. This list is not exhaustive; organizers are encouraged to propose formats suited to their communities.

• Joint colloquia and symposia. Half-day or full-day scholarly gatherings co-hosted by two or more units, on the model of the FRI’s recent joint faculty colloquium with the Department of American Studies.
• Methods workshops and Methodology Mingles. Informal cross-disciplinary gatherings organized around shared methodological questions, following the FRI’s proven Methodology Mingle format.
• Co-hosted visiting speakers. Lectures or seminars by visiting scholars whose work bridges the participating units, with costs shared across co-sponsors.
• Panel discussions and roundtables. Public conversations connecting feminist scholarship to current societal questions, including events developed with community partners.
• Research development gatherings. Workshops that convene faculty and graduate students across units to develop collaborative projects, grant proposals, or shared curricula.

Award Details

• Award amount: Up to $500 per event, administered through the FRI’s existing grants workflow.
• Eligible expenses: Honoraria, catering, materials and supplies, space or equipment rental, and publicity directly associated with the proposed event.
• Ineligible expenses: Salary or course release, individual research or conference travel, alcohol, and costs for events that are already fully funded.

Awards are intended as co-sponsorships. Requests need not reach the maximum, and modest, well-justified budgets are viewed favorably. Applicants are encouraged to seek matching or in-kind support from participating units—space, publicity, staff time, or additional funds—as evidence of genuine shared investment in the event.

Eligibility

• Open to UNM faculty and graduate students. Graduate student applicants must identify a faculty sponsor.
• Events must be co-organized by members of at least two distinct academic units (departments, colleges, centers, institutes, or North Campus units). Proposals that bridge Arts and Sciences with other colleges, or Main Campus with North Campus, are especially encouraged.
• Events must take place on or in connection with the UNM campus during the semester of the award cycle or the one immediately following, and must be open to the UNM community.

Application Cycles and Deadlines

Two calls will be issued in AY 2026–2027:

How to Apply

Submit a proposal narrative of no more than 1,500 words covering the following three components, together with a completed budget template:

• Event description. Title, format, proposed date(s), and a narrative of the event’s purpose and its connection to feminist research, scholarship, or community at UNM.
• Collaborating units and organizers. The participating academic units and the named co-organizers from each, with contact information.
• Expected audience. Anticipated attendance and the communities the event is designed to reach.
• Budget. A completed FRI Budget Template (Excel), linked on this page, itemizing the amount requested from the FRI and any co-sponsorships. The template does not count toward the word limit.

Applications are submitted through Microsoft Forms: the narrative is entered directly and the completed budget template is uploaded, click apply here button on the right to download the budget template. Applicants will receive confirmation of receipt within three business days.

Review Process and Criteria

Proposals are reviewed by the FRI Director in consultation with the Executive Board. Awards are administered through the Institute’s existing, documented grants workflow, and applicants in both cycles will be notified by the decision dates listed above. Competitive proposals will demonstrate:

• Genuine cross-unit collaboration, with meaningful roles for organizers in each participating unit;
• Clear alignment with the FRI’s mission and Strategic Plan goals;
• Feasibility of the plan, timeline, and budget;
• Breadth of anticipated audience and potential to build lasting connections across campus.

Expectations of Awardees

• Acknowledge FRI co-sponsorship in all event publicity and materials.
• Coordinate logistics and reimbursement with FRI staff through the Institute’s standard grant procedures.
• Submit a brief post-event report (one paragraph plus attendance count) within 30 days of the event. These reports feed directly into the Institute’s annual reporting to the College of Arts and Sciences.
• Where appropriate, share event photographs or materials with FRI staff for the Institute’s newsletter, website, and event archive.

Guidance for Applicants

• Start with the partnership, not the event. The strongest proposals grow out of a genuine shared question or interest between units; reviewers can readily distinguish these from single-unit events with a nominal co-sponsor added.
• Plan realistic timelines. Room reservations, catering, and honoraria processing at UNM each carry lead times; events scheduled at least eight weeks after the decision date are far easier to execute well.
• Consider timing across the year. Fall-cycle awards may fund events in fall 2026 or spring 2027; spring-cycle awards may fund events in spring 2027 or the following fall.

Questions

Questions about eligibility, budgets, or the application process may be directed to the Feminist Research Institute at femresin@unm.edu. Prospective applicants are welcome to consult FRI staff before the deadline.