The deadline has passed for this year, but we plan to repeat this program in future years. Please subscribe to the Center to be notified when the next application period opens.
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.