The Banga Social Innovation Research Fellowship supports students to carry their thesis research forward by imagining innovative responses to the challenges and opportunities facing people, communities, the environment, and our collective future. Building on research centered on urgent questions, Banga Fellows will draw on their research findings to develop potential new applications, which may take the form of strategic policy, development of prototypes, engineering of new technologies and data-driven systems, design of new creative processes and techniques, or novel methods of inquiry and engagement to bridge theory, research, policy and practice. Social impact research in the context of a thesis should be understood as the first step in an ethical design and intervention development process: research topics and questions provide motivation, the inquiry process offers insights and new ideas, and findings offer evidence for potential interventions, tools, methods, strategies, and technologies.
Funded through Banga Family Social Innovation Fund, this Fellowship supports students conducting social impact thesis research in all academic disciplines at Harvard College.
Overview: The Banga Social Innovation Research Fellowship supports students to carry their thesis research forward by imagining innovative responses to the challenges and opportunities facing people, communities, the environment, and our collective future. Building on research centered on urgent questions, Banga Fellows will draw on their research findings to develop potential new applications, which may take the form of strategic policy, development of prototypes, engineering of new technologies and data-driven systems, design of new creative processes and techniques, or novel methods of inquiry and engagement to bridge theory, research, policy and practice. Social innovation research in the context of a thesis should be understood as the first step in an ethical design and intervention development process: research topics and questions provide motivation, the inquiry process offers insights and new ideas, and findings offer evidence for potential interventions, tools, methods, strategies, and technologies.
Examples of possible projects are provided below.
Eligibility: All rising seniors in good academic standing from all concentrations, joint concentrations, double concentrations, and special concentrations are eligible to apply.
Funding: The Banga Social Innovation Research Fellowship provides up to $6,000 in total funding for 10 weeks of full-time summer thesis research. Funds may be used for living expenses (housing and food), travel and transportation (international or domestic), and eligible research-related expenses as defined by HCRP.
Application:
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To apply, please submit an application through the Harvard College Research Program (HCRP) Summer Funding application portal and indicate “Social Innovation Research: [Project Title]” on the project title line
- All applications are due by Sunday, March 26, 2023 at 11:59pm Eastern time
- A detailed budget may be included (not required through HCRP)
- Indicating “Social Innovation Research” in the project title line ensures consideration for the Banga Social Innovation Fellowship as well as all other HCRP funds.
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Finalists for the Fellowship will be asked to provide short responses to two additional questions:
- What are your academic motivations for this work?
- What are the potential applications or implications of your research?
- Fellows may be asked to provide additional materials
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The application requires a letter of endorsement from a Harvard-affiliated faculty advisor
- Letters of endorsement should include a section that speaks to the potential social impact of the proposed research.
Fellows are:
- Invited to attend workshops during reading week the spring semester of their junior year.
- Invited to a social gathering early fall of their senior year to meet other Banga Fellows.
- Required to attend a single-session Preliminary Findings Studio Seminar to present preliminary findings from their in-progress projects, and produce a short summary of preliminary findings.
- Required to submit a project abstract and 2-page memo detailing the implications and applications of their thesis research project by the end of spring semester of their senior year.
Examples of possible projects:
- Humanities: Analyzing the impacts and limitations of prison journalism to create curricula centered on empowerment for incarcerated adults.
- Arts: Examining the intersection of music and activism for Black Lives to develop models for activist-musicians in diverse settings.
- Social Sciences: Unpacking the brain-drain in countries at risk from rising sea-levels, to develop strategies to reduce barriers to building local capacity to reduce the impact of climate shifts.
- Natural Sciences: Understanding the challenges of water sampling in historically under-resourced communities, to develop novel tech solutions that leverage smartphones, digital tools, and crowdsourcing techniques.
- Applied Sciences and Engineering: Examining how machine learning can help identify potentially dangerous social media behaviors as well as limitations, to inform design of data-driven systems to mitigate risky social network content and reduce harm.
Contact: engagedscholarship@fas.harvard.edu
FAQs
I believe that my thesis research has important applications that I want to explore, but I won’t have the time or resources to actually build the prototype (or write the policy, or implement the system, etc). Can I still apply?
Yes! In fact, this is designed as a first step in an ethical design and development process. The Fellowship allows you to extend your research by engaging deeply with the question of how to bridge theory, research, policy, and practice–and that means deliberately exploring all angles, opportunities, and challenges now in order to know how you might create action points for the future.
What is the Preliminary Findings Studio Seminar?
In Fall of your senior year, you will meet with the entire cohort of Banga Fellows to present your preliminary findings and ideas for possible applications; this is a unique opportunity to meet other students who are also interested in research towards social change and to get informal feedback on your project and its uses.
If I apply for the Banga Social Innovation Fellowship, do I need to submit an additional application for HCRP funding?
No. Indicating “Social Innovation Research” in the project title line ensures consideration for the Banga Social Innovation Fellowship as well as all other HCRP funds.
What can I use the funds for?
HCRP designates up to $5000 as a stipend for 10-week, full-time summer research. Up to an additional $1000 may be offered for eligible research-related expenses, including costs related to domestic or international travel directly related to the project, archival access, research materials, local transportation, vaccinations, other related costs and fees (ex. passport or visa fees).