[Mediaresearchhub-News] NKDPS Update on Media & Communications Policy Research, April 3, 2007

Tue Apr 3 14:12:31 EDT 2007

April 3, 2007

Dear Colleagues,

Please find below a list of upcoming events and other news  
announcements relevant to media policy research that we thought you  
would be interested in:

Small Grants in Media / Communications Available – Proposals due  
Tomorrow, April 4
Large Grants in Media / Communications Available – Letters of Inquiry  
due April 22
Paper on Access to Data for Communications Policy in Federal  
Communications Law Journal
Access to Knowledge II Conference at Yale, April 27-29
Position Announcement: Chair of Center for Independent Media, Ithaca  
College

The Team at Necessary Knowledge for a Democratic Public Sphere

Social Science Research Council

mediahub at ssrc.org

1. Collaborative Grants in Media / Communications Available –  
Proposals due April 4

The SSRC is pleased to announce its small grants project for academic- 
advocacy collaboration in the media and communications field. This  
project will provide grants of up to $7,500 for research that  
supports efforts to change the media / telecommunications  
infrastructure, practices, policies or content. The grants are  
intended for short-term work, completable and usable by advocacy  
partners within the next 4-12 months. Proposals for this round must  
be submitted by April 4, 2007 by 5PM EST in order to be eligible for  
funding. Grant recipients will be announced on May 4, 2007.

WHO

Proposals must be:

(1)        Submitted by a US-based nonprofit advocacy, organizing or  
community group working on media and/or telecommunications issues.  
Groups with nonprofit fiscal sponsorship are also eligible. (A  
limited number of international non-profit organizations will be  
solicited by invitation only.)

(2)        Structured as a partnership with an academic researcher  
based at a university, college or other research institution. This  
can include advanced graduate students.

There are no citizenship requirements for participants in these  
projects.

CRITERIA

Please review the attached list of criteria carefully before  
preparing your proposal.

All projects must:        Be strategically useful in their proposed  
advocacy and/or organizing context.

                                      Produce scholarship that meets  
academic standards.

                                      Have a realistic workflow and  
timeframe.

The selection committee will also favor proposals that:

·   Have a clear plan for the application of the findings of the  
research in policy-making processes or advocacy campaigns to change  
the media / telecommunications infrastructure, practices, policies or  
content. Scholarship that facilitates field-building (i.e. curriculum  
development, tool-building, analysis of best practice) will also be  
considered.

·   Be useful for organizations, communities, and advocacy efforts  
beyond the applicant organization.

·   Address issues of disparate impact on communities on the basis of  
race, class, gender, ethnicity, age or other identity/status category.

·   Build capacity—skills, tools, experience, access to data sets— 
within the "user" organization and/or community.

·   Use methods or models of research that have proved effective in  
similar contexts.

·   Reflect diversity in the staff or group involved with the project.

·  The committee will seek to fund a diverse mix of projects,  
including consideration of regional diversity, issue-area, scope  
(local, state-wide, national, etc), type of organization (national,  
grassroots community, transnational, etc.) and goals and methods  
(e.g., capacity-building, policy interventions, project or movement  
analysis, surveys and/or data collection, etc.)

Bonus points for proposals that:

·   Involve collaboration between two or more advocacy/community  
groups in the project design and the plan of use for the research.

·   Use participatory methods to engage community and/or advocacy  
group members in framing the questions, data collection, and/or  
analysis.

·   Are related to issues of telephony, publishing, privacy,  
intellectual property, independent media, or spectrum.

PROPOSAL STRUCTURE

Please submit proposals via email to mediahub at ssrc.org. Please send a  
project outline of no more than 5 pages including:

A short description (max. 100 words) of how the research will be used  
to advance public-interest change in the media/communications arena.
A description of the research project (max. 1000 words), covering  
both process and outcomes, and addressing the criteria above.
A description of the proposing organization (max. 200 words),  
including mission, constituency, geographical scope of work, and  
annual budget.
The name, institutional affiliation(s) and research experience of the  
academic partner.
A project timeline.

Plus:

The researcher’s CV.
A budget of up to $7500, with itemized major expenditures.  If the  
project draws on other resources or financing, please indicate them.

SAMPLE PROJECT TOPICS

Proposals might seek to:

Measure the success or failure of mainstream media in advancing  
different public interest goals or values.
Measure the impact of existing “alternative”/ community media systems  
on communities, public discourse, or democratic processes.
Develop better, actionable accounts of the role of ‘new media’ in  
people’s lives.
Analyze policymaking and/or regulatory systems.
Analyze emerging systems, frameworks, or models of media and  
communications that transcend the current regulatory framework.
Analyze economic models, industry structure, markets, or audiences  
for different kinds of media
Create analytical tools or research resources for use by advocates,  
communities, or the public.
Document or evaluate advocacy or organizing strategies around  
communications and media issues.
For more information on the program, see http://www.ssrc.org/programs/ 
media.  For all program-related inquiries, please write to  
mediahub at ssrc.org .

2. Large Grants in Media and Communications, Letter of Inquiry Due  
April 22

The SSRC is pleased to offer two types of ‘Collaborative Grants’ in  
2007 for academic-advocacy partnerships in media and communications.

Small Grants provide up to $7500 for short-term academic research in  
support of advocacy and activism in media and communications. The  
next application deadline is April 4, 2007 with subsequent  
competitions held at roughly 4-month intervals.  For application  
procedures, criteria, past recipients, and other details, see http:// 
www.ssrc.org/programs/media/ .

Large Grants provide up to $30,000 in support for academic-advocacy  
research collaborations designed to change media / telecommunications  
infrastructure, practices, or policies.  General areas of interest  
for the program include:

Measuring the success or failure of mainstream media in advancing  
different public interest goals or values.
Measuring the impact of existing alternative or community media  
systems on communities, public discourse, or democratic processes.
Developing better, actionable accounts of the role of ‘new media’ in  
people’s lives.
Analyzing policymaking and/or regulatory systems.
Analyzing emerging systems, frameworks, or models of media and  
communications that transcend the current regulatory framework.
Analyzing economic models, industry structure, markets, or audiences  
for different kinds of media
Creating analytical tools or research resources for use by advocates,  
communities, or the public.
Documenting or evaluating advocacy or organizing strategies around  
communications and media issues.

Both large and small grants are awarded through competitive  
application processes, with recipients selected by an independent  
committee of researchers and advocates. Grants are expected to fund  
up to 1 year of work. Grant recipients will be part of a cohort that  
meets and communicates over the course of the program.

The Large Grants Competition: Process

Application for the Large Grants Competition consists of two stages:

A ‘Letter of Inquiry’ of less than 1,000 words outlining the proposed  
project, partners, and goals.  Entries will be vetted by program  
staff in order to help applicants navigate the challenges of building  
effective collaborations in this area.  More substantial proposals  
will then be requested from those LOIs that meet the program  
criteria.  The LOI must be submitted by April 22, 2007.

A more detailed proposal describing the research, the partners,  
budget, timeline, and proposed outcomes.
The LOI must be submitted via email to mediahub at ssrc.org with subject  
line “Collaborative Grant Letter of Inquiry.”

Applicant Criteria

Projects must involve substantive collaboration between:

§   A researcher based at a university, college, or other  
academically-oriented research institution.  Advanced graduate  
students are eligible.

§   A US-based non-profit advocacy, organizing or community group  
working on media and/or telecommunications issues.

Letters of interest and proposals must be submitted by the person  
primarily responsible for conducting the proposed research.

Other Conditions:

Public-interest groups with unusual financial status (e.g., non- 
profit fiscal sponsorship or non-commercial for-profit status) should  
contact SSRC program staff.
The academic research partner cannot be a paid staff member of the  
partnering nonprofit organization.
International proposals will be solicited from SSRC partner  
organizations.
There are no citizenship requirements for participation in the program.
Applicants may apply for both small grants and large grants.   
Applicants with current SSRC collaborative grant funding should  
explain how the new proposal builds on completed work from that grant.

Project Criteria

All projects must:

§   Be strategically useful in their proposed advocacy and/or  
organizing context.

§   Produce scholarship that meets academic standards.

§   Have a realistic workflow, budget, and timeframe.

Collaborations will be evaluated in part on whether they meet some or  
all of the following criteria:

Have a clear plan for the application of research findings in policy- 
making processes or advocacy campaigns.  Research that facilitates  
field-building (i.e. curriculum development, tool-building, analysis  
of best practice) is also eligible.
Are useful for organizations, communities, and advocacy efforts  
beyond the partner organization.
Build new capacity—skills, tools, experience, access to data sets— 
within the "user" organization and/or community.
§         Involve collaboration between two or more advocacy/ 
community groups in the project design and the plan of use for the  
research.

§         Use participatory methods to engage community and/or  
advocacy group members in framing the questions, data collection, and/ 
or analysis.

Use methods or models of research that have proved effective in  
analogous contexts.
Address issues of disparate impact on communities on the basis of  
race, class, gender, ethnicity, age or other identity/status category.
Reflect diversity in the staff or group involved with the project.

Letters of inquiry not exceeding 1,000 words should include the  
following:

Name or topic of the proposed research project;
A brief statement (two or three sentences) of the purpose and nature  
of the proposed study;
The significance of the issue addressed by the project;
How the research will address the issue;
How the issue relates to the applying organization, and why the  
organization is qualified to undertake the project;
Novelty and utility of the project vis à vis existing research;
Geographic area or country where the work will take place;
Time period for which funding is requested;
Information about those who will be helped by and interested in the  
work and how you will communicate with them;
Amount and breakdown of the funding requested (estimates are  
acceptable).
SSRC staff will respond to letters of inquiry within three weeks.

Contact Information

In order to expedite a letter of inquiry, the applicant must provide  
the following contact information in a separate memorandum:

Name, address (and postal address if different), phone number, and  
fax number of principal researcher;
Name of the partnering organization;
Organization’s address (and postal address if different), phone  
number, fax number, e-mail address and web address, if any;
Name of the partnering organization’s chief executive officer or  
equivalent;
Name and title of the main project contact person at the  
organization, if different from the above;
Address (and postal address if different), phone number, fax number  
and e-mail address of main contact.

3. Paper on Access to Data for Communications Policy in Federal  
Communications Law Journal

“Necessary Knowledge for Communications Policy: Information  
Asymmetries and Commercial Data Access and Usage in the Policymaking  
Process” has been published in the Federal Communications Law Journal  
Volume 59, March, 2007, Number 2.  Authored by Necessary Knowledge  
for a Democratic Public Sphere collaborator Philip M. Napoli, Ph.D.  
and  Michelle Seaton, J.D., the paper illustrates issues of access to  
data for communications policymaking via a case study of the FCC’s  
2003 media ownership proceeding and offers suggestions for how the  
existing disparities in access to policy-relevant data might be  
addressed.  The full text is available online.

4. Access to Knowledge II Conference at Yale April 27-29

 From April 27-29 at the Yale Law school, the Access to Knowledge II  
conference will gather researchers, activists, government officials  
and others to help set the agenda for access to knowledge policy and  
advocacy, and deepen the understanding of the theoretical  
underpinnings of access to knowledge issues.

This year, on April 27th-29th 2007, the weekend of World Intellectual  
Property Day, the A2K2 conference will be a pivotal event mobilizing  
the A2K coalition. A2K2 will further build the coalition amongst the  
institutions and stakeholders that crystallized at the first landmark  
conference, help set the agenda for access to knowledge policy and  
advocacy, and deepen the understanding of the theoretical  
underpinnings of access to knowledge issues. Developing both a  
theoretical framework and delving into the details of practical  
implementation, the program will focus on mobilizing the private  
sector, governments, technologists, and civil society around A2K  
issues. A2K2's policy panels will be structured towards tangible  
legal and technological solutions and collaborative strategies for  
policy makers and individual institutions.

See http://research.yale.edu/isp/eventsa2k2.html for more information.

5. Position Announcement: Chair of Center for Independent Media,  
Ithaca College

We are delighted to announce that the Roy H. Park School of  
Communications at Ithaca College is seeking an innovative, visionary  
media leader to fill its new Endowed Chair in Independent Media in  
the school’s Department of Journalism. The Chair will teach three  
courses per year and serve as the founding director of the School’s  
new Center for Independent Media, a national center for the study and  
practice of new models of independent media production and distribution.

The Chair is a senior faculty position (associate or full professor),  
with the expectations of excellence in teaching, research and service  
that such a position inheres. A doctorate is preferred, but the  
equivalent in professional experience will be considered.

Requirements: A significant record of professional or scholarly  
excellence in the production and/or study of independent media;  
administrative experience, preferably in the area of academic or  
nonprofit programs or initiatives; demonstrated collaborative  
qualities that will support national and regional partnerships and  
outreach to independent media producers and scholars; familiarity  
with new trends in and forms of journalistic content. A record of  
teaching excellence at the college level preferred. Applicants should  
demonstrate ability to represent the center’s interest within the  
larger community of independent media scholars and producers;  
maintain open communication with administrators, faculty, staff,  
students; and facilitate relationships with professional  
constituencies. The Chair is expected to be active nationally in  
media associations and regional professional organizations, and to  
lead the center toward its goal of becoming among the highest quality  
and most innovative sites of independent media research, professional  
outreach and collaboration, and curriculum development in the country.

Please share this exciting opportunity with your colleagues.

Interested individuals should apply online at http://www.icjobs.org  
and attach a letter of application, curriculum vita, and the names  
and contact information of at least three references. Questions about  
the online application may be directed to the Office of Human  
Resources at

(607) 274-1207. Review of applications will begin immediately and  
will continue until the position is filled. For more information, I  
can be reached at dlynch at ithaca.edu or 607-274-3895.

About this Email Bulletin
This email news bulletin is brought to you by the Necessary Knowledge  
for a Democratic Public Sphere a program intended to strengthen  
connections between media research and media reform, in the U.S. and  
around the world.  A program of the Social Science Research Council  
in partnership with the Center for International Media Action and the  
Donald McGannon Communication Research Center at Fordham University.   
Funding provided by the Knowledge, Creativity and Freedom Program of  
the Ford Foundation. The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is a  
non-profit, New York-based organization that brings research to bear  
on a wide range of issues of public concern, from disaster relief, to  
Internet governance, to electoral reform. See our email listserv page  
to modify your subscription settings or to unsubscribe.  For more  
information email mediahub at ssrc.org.

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