Engaged scholarship at Brown is an integrative approach to a liberal arts education that links traditional academic study with an active inquiry into social issues in real-world settings. Its goal is to create high-impact learning opportunities for students and university-community partnerships that produce tangible public benefits. Engaged scholarship is premised on the idea that reciprocal exchanges between academic and non-academic partners—in classrooms, on campus, in communities—create rich opportunities for learning and problem-solving that advance scholarship and contribute to a more just and equitable society.

No, recipients are unable to combine Mini-Grant funding with other sources such as an UTRA, Research @ Brown grants, etc. If the recipient is awarded both the Mini-Grant and another grant, they will be required to choose one.

Yes! Graduate students are eligible to apply for the engaged research mini-grant.

Example Budget

The engaged research mini-grant is intended to be used for expenses such as inexpensive travel costs, registration fees, honoraria for community partners, and limited per diem expenses for conducting research or presenting papers and/or posters at conferences. 

The engaged research mini-grant should not be used for salary support for the student, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, expensive travel and accommodations when less expensive options are available, or purchases of equipment that is available to borrow from departments, IT services, or other campus units.

The engaged research mini-grant is intended to be used for engaged research that involves some collaboration with community members or organizations, as well as the creation of a product, analysis, or other outcomes that will be shared with the community partner and/or disseminated to broader public audiences.

When looking for a faculty member or community partner, we suggest identifying someone who works closely with you for your research. However, if you have no faculty or community mentor, Researchers@Brown is a great resource to identify potential mentors who have similar interests. Once you identify the individual you would like to ask, we recommend sending them the Mini-grant application as well as meeting with them to describe your reasoning for applying, go over the budget, discuss any questions you may have, and ask for a recommendation. Once they agree, you will enter their name into Ufunds, under the recommendations section.

The Mini-Grant selection and post-award criteria: The quality and clarity of the project description and faculty reference are vital to a successful mini-grant application. Proposals requesting travel funds must clearly describe the anticipated value that presenting a student paper at a conference contributes to the advancement of a research project. The potential impact of a project on the applicant’s academic development, community partner, as well as the feasibility of the project, is also considered during the review process.  Incomplete mini-grant applications will not be considered. 

Yes there are! You can find a few other sources of funding here. This list is by no means exhaustive, it is just a few resources that are available.