Greetings,

We are excited to share this internal funding opportunity. The Lemann Brazil Research Fund aims to to foster collaboration between scholars at Harvard and in Brazil, and to support research projects focused on current issues facing Brazil. While the Fund's application portal will not open until September 15, 2026, its Request for Proposals has been posted now to allow faculty members additional time to plan projects with Brazil-based colleagues, and/or to consult with the Harvard David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS) Brazil Office. More information about the award can be found in the synopsis and links below. For a full list of currently open opportunities that have been announced through our office, please visit our new Current Opportunities web page. As a reminder, our Research Development team is available to provide proposal development support to FAS ladder faculty.

Lemann Brazil Research Fund

• Deadline: January 15, 2027
• Award Amount: up to $150,000 in direct costs payable over one or two years

Program Overview

The Lemann Brazil Research Fund, now in its eleventh year, is made possible by a generous gift from the Lemann Foundation. Harvard University's Office of the Vice Provost for Research administers the Fund together with the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs, in collaboration with the Brazil Studies Program and Brazil Office of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies. The Fund is intended to foster collaboration between scholars and to support research projects focused on current issues facing Brazil.

Priority Areas

• Proposals are sought for research projects that address:
  • education management and administration
  • social science and its applications
  • public administration and policy
  • technological advances in education
  • evidence-based research
• Consideration will also be given to projects that propose collaboration between Harvard faculty and researchers affiliated with Brazilian institutions in the life sciences, physical sciences and engineering, and basic and applied sciences.
• Projects with potential for significant impact in Brazil, and related to education, public policy, economics, or human capital development, are of particular interest.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applications are invited from individuals who hold a faculty appointment with Principal Investigator (PI) rights at a Harvard school, whose grants are managed by that school, and whose primary employer is Harvard University.
• Harvard Medical School faculty must hold a primary faculty appointment with PI rights in one of HMS’s basic or social science departments.
• Faculty may request support for postdoctoral scholars and graduate students from Brazil; and for Harvard postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduates.
• Individuals who are Principal Investigators on an active Lemann Brazil Research Fund award will not be funded.
• Previous awardees are invited to apply for a new project provided their prior award cycle has concluded.

Application Materials

• Contact information for Principal Investigator (PI) and any co-investigators or collaborators
• Single paragraph summary of proposal (150 word maximum)
• Proposal, written for a highly educated lay audience, that succinctly describes the proposed research project, its significance and expected impact, and any proposed collaboration with Brazilian academics and researchers (1000 word maximum). An additional field for supplemental information (citations, images, etc.) will also be provided (2 page maximum).
• CV for each PI, co-investigator, and collaborator (3 page maximum per CV) as a single PDF file. If funding is requested for a named postdoctoral scholar(s) or graduate student(s), please also include a CV for each such individual. Biosketches are not permitted.
• Project budget must be provided using the form that will be available in the application. Applicants will also be required to use a provided budget justification form to explain each budget item.
  • PI and co-investigator salary support is allowable. Applicants requesting salary support must attest to the approval of their school’s academic dean, department chair, or other appropriate institutional officer (see below for additional details). Attestation is also required for any Harvard faculty member serving as a co-investigator on the project who will receive salary support, but not for others on the project team. 
  • Unallowable expenses include student tuition, renovation, and capital project costs.
• Other support information
• Attestation by an appropriate representative (e.g., academic dean, department chair, administrative director) of the applicant’s department or division, that:
  
  • their department and/or division supports the application and agrees to manage the project if awarded
  • if salary support is requested, this has been approved by the relevant persons
• Letters of support or collaboration are unnecessary, and are not permitted

Selection Criteria

• Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of academic merit, feasibility, and their anticipated advancement of the objectives of the Fund.
• Proposals must meet at least one of the following three criteria, with priority given to those projects that meet more than one criterion:
  1. focus on Brazil
  2. meaningful collaboration with researchers affiliated with Brazilian institutions
  3. undertaken in Brazil in whole or in part

Additional Information and Resources

 

 

 

 

 

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Engineering and Technology

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