The Atlantic Equity Challenge (AEQ) is a research grant programme developed and funded by the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity (AFSEE) programme based at the International Inequalities Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
The AEQ research grant offers researchers and practitioners an opportunity to undertake innovative, solutions-oriented, collaborative research and thinking directed at tackling social and economic inequalities. The first round of the AEQ, launched in 2021, granted up to £100,000 each to four projects focused on locations in Bangladesh, Colombia, India, Lebanon, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Uganda.
In the second round of the AEQ, the AFSEE programme again seeks to promote research collaborations between LSE academics and AFSEE Senior Fellows, as well as other partners where relevant, through projects that address fundamental questions related to socio-economic inequalities.
The AEQ is envisioned as more than a funding opportunity: it is the beginning of a long-term partnership between the project teams, the AFSEE programme, and the International Inequalities Institute (III). It is a unique opportunity for research teams comprised of two or more people; each team must include at least one LSE academic or research staff and one AFSEE Senior Fellow both serving as Co-Principal Investigators (Co-PIs). Other members of the research team can be practitioners, external researchers, and additional AFSEE Senior Fellows.
Professor Armine Ishkanian, Executive Director of the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity programme, said: “As a programme that envisions a future with robust alternatives to our current global economy, we are excited to be providing this unique funding opportunity again. The Atlantic Equity Challenge (AEQ) feeds into AFSEE’s aim of bringing together research, education, and practice, and creating dialogue among a range of different stakeholders, including academics, activists, practitioners, and policymakers.”
“The AEQ also aligns with LSE’s 2030 Strategy Priority 2: Research for the World and we hope that it will foster research collaborations between LSE researchers, AFSEE Senior Fellows, and other practitioners who are working to identify solutions to the challenges of inequality in its many different forms around the world. Successful projects funded by the AEQ will propose new models, policies and approaches that have the potential to disrupt the systems and structures driving inequality,” said Professor Ishkanian.
In the second round of AEQ, the AFSEE programme can support up to six collaborative projects lasting up to 24 months with up to £100,000 funding per project. It is expected that AEQ projects will commence in October 2024 and no later than 1 December 2024. The deadline for registrations of interest is 9 February 2024.
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