Mechanisms of Poverty: Qualitative Studies to Solve Global Poverty
The Johns Hopkins University Center on Global Poverty invites applications for small grants ($1000-$5000) to support qualitative research to solve global poverty, such as historical, ethnographic, or interview-based analysis of development projects or development trajectories, in-depth examination of successful practices emerging from grassroots communities, organizational analysis of municipal reforms, etc. We particularly value projects that adopt a problem-solving approach, and that seek to move beyond description and critique.
We welcome applications from:
- Graduate students anywhere in the world (including the U.S.)
- Scholars of any rank based in developing countries (we define developing countries as all countries except those in the World Bank’s “high income” classification, https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/opendata/world-bank-country-classifications-by-income-level-for-2024-2025)
We invite proposals for research that meet the following criteria:
- Sociological: Grounded primarily in sociology, broadly defined.
- Qualitative: Employs primarily qualitative methods. These may include, but are not limited to, ethnography, participant observation, in-depth interviews, case studies, focus groups, collaborations with local communities and organizations, comparative analysis, historical research, and content analysis.
- Global: Studies a country that is not classified as “high income” on this list: https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/opendata/world-bank-country-classifications-by-income-level-for-2024-2025
- Problem-Solving: Seeks to reduce poverty, not describe it or critique it.
Grants of up to $5,000 USD may be used to support research-related expenses such as:
- Travel or transportation
- Transcription or translation services
- Compensation to participants
- Photocopying and printing
- Cost of materials
- Other research costs
Awardees will present research findings at an online event in 2026. This initiative aims not only to support research but also to foster a community of qualitative sociologists committed to unearthing and addressing the mechanisms underlying global poverty.
The application should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. The application is available here: https://jh.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0im01uQsFBwkSI6
- Deadline: October 31, 2025, 11:59 pm USA Eastern Time. We hope to announce results in December.