University of Denver
Project Title
As a final grant for the Bridging the Gap Project
Date
Sep. 11, 2025
Duration
24 months
Description
Scholars of international relations traditionally receive little to no training in the production of policy-relevant research or its dissemination to policymakers or the broader public. This problem is compounded by university hiring, tenure, and promotion standards, which typically discourage policy-relevant scholarship aimed at non-academic audiences. The result is that public conversations and policy debates might not be informed as they could be by academic insights. Bridging the Gap (BTG) is a flagship project of the Corporation’s work addressing this issue currently based at University of Denver (UD). During its final phase, BTG will continue to advance efforts to foster policy-relevant scholarship within universities, provide scholars with the tools and skills necessary to bring their knowledge and insights to bear on policy and practice, strengthen networks of policy-relevant scholars, and work with university leaders to identify and address obstacles limiting policy engagement.
Website
Project Title
For a final grant for a project on promoting ethical approaches to policy engagement
Date
Dec. 12, 2024
Duration
24 months
Description
Continued support for this project will address an important but underexamined issue in efforts to bridge the academic-policy gap: Despite progress in many areas, not only is there not enough engagement between researchers and policymakers, but when such engagement does occur, it is sometimes ethically flawed and counterproductive. Building on its previous Corporation-supported work, the Sié Center at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies (Korbel) will focus on the dilemmas that can arise as researchers advise policymakers or become involved in policy processes. Among the themes addressed will be how intense polarization has raised questions about the foundational assumptions, theories, and methods in the international relations field and the importance of critically examining research through an ethical lens.
Website
Project Title
For training, research, and outreach to bridge the gap between academia and the policy world
Date
Dec. 08, 2022
Duration
36 months
Description
Scholars of international relations traditionally receive little to no training in the production of policy-relevant research or its dissemination to policymakers or the broader public. This problem is compounded by university hiring, tenure, and promotion standards, which typically discourage policy-relevant scholarship aimed at non-academic audiences. The result is that public conversations and policy debates might not be informed as they could be by academic insights. Bridging the Gap (BTG) is a flagship project of the Corporation’s work addressing this issue based for the last eight years at American University (AU). With the program moving to the University of Denver (UD) for its next phase, renewed support will continue to advance efforts to foster policy-relevant scholarship within universities, provide scholars with the tools and skills necessary to bring their knowledge and insights to bear on policy and practice, strengthen networks of policy-relevant scholars, and work with university leaders to identify and address obstacles limiting policy engagement.
Website
Project Title
For a project on promoting ethical approaches to policy engagement
Date
Dec. 08, 2022
Duration
24 months
Description
Despite progress in many areas, significant gaps remain between academic knowledge and its constructive application, both because there is not enough engagement between researchers and policymakers and because such engagement is sometimes ethically flawed and counterproductive. Building on its previous Corporation-supported work, the Sié Center at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studieswill move its focus from reflecting on the dilemmas of policy engagement once findings are established to earlier points in the knowledge production process. Applying the term, “responsible engagement,” the project begins from the premise that effective policy engagement requires attention to the ethical dilemmas that can arise as researchers advise policymakers or intervene in policy processes . The project will design research, conduct analyses, and disseminate findings in consultation with policy actors and potentially affected communities. It will also seek to influence advanced training and university courses to educate a new generation of academics and policymakers.
Website
Project Title
For a project on promoting ethical approaches to policy engagement
Date
Dec. 10, 2020
Duration
24 months
Description
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated some of the key challenges in bridging the gap between academia and the policy world. As policymakers and the public seek certainty and consensus from experts in compressed timelines, there is a danger that scholars will disregard the careful conceptualization, data collection, and analysis critical for good social science to gain influence. To address this risk, and build on its ongoing work on responsible academic-practitioner engagement, the Sié Center at the University of Denver’s Joseph Korbel School of International Studies (Korbel) proposes a multifaceted project to develop and promote norms, practices, and institutions to encourage a new kind of reflexivity that helps researchers engage with policy actors and processes responsibly. This project strives to develop a model of engagement that supports a more just academy, as well as more just and effective policy results in a world of fundamental uncertainty and rapid change.
Website
Project Title
For training, research, and outreach to bridge the gap between academia and the policy world
Date
Dec. 10, 2020
Duration
24 months
Description
Scholars of international relations traditionally receive little-to-no training in the production of policy-relevant research or its dissemination to policymakers or the broader public. This problem is compounded by university hiring, tenure, and promotion standards, which typically discourage policy-relevant scholarship aimed at non-academic audiences. The result is that public conversations and policy debates might not be informed as they could be academic insights. Bridging the Gap (BTG) is a flagship project of the Corporation’s work addressing this issue that has been co-sponsored by American University (AU), Duke University, and the University of California, Berkeley. With consolidation of the program at AU, renewed support will advance the project’s efforts to foster policy-relevant scholarship within universities, provide scholars with the tools and skills necessary to bring their knowledge and insights to policy and practice, strengthen networks of policy-relevant scholars, and work with university leaders to identify and address obstacles limiting policy engagement.
Website
Project Title
For a project on promoting ethical approaches to policy engagement
Date
Dec. 06, 2018
Duration
24 months
Description
Conducting policy-relevant research outside of government and bringing it to the attention of policymakers provide an opportunity to improve the effectiveness of policymaking. However, policy engagement has not always been without controversy, and the unintended and unforeseen consequences of researcher-policymaker engagement can raise ethical dilemmas. This context hinders academics’ engagement with policy matters. The Sié Center at the University of Denver’s Joseph Korbel School of International Studies proposes a two-year project that will focus on the ethical dimensions of academic-policy engagement. The project will build a knowledge base and supporting network to assist relevant academics in interacting responsibly and constructively with governmental and nongovernmental policy actors. With Corporation support, the project will form an emerging international community attuned to questions of ethical scholarship.
Website
Project Title
For bridging the gap between the academy and policy world with a focus on inclusive peacebuilding
Date
Dec. 08, 2016
Duration
24 months
Description
As a follow-on to a grant made under the Corporation’s “Rigor and Relevance” initiative aimed at the twenty-two U.S.-based members of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA), the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies (Korbel) seeks renewal grant support for research, education, policy, and public outreach that 1) explores the impacts of the inclusion of previously underrepresented groups—such as women, historically marginalized communities, indigenous groups, or youth— on violent and nonviolent processes and governance; that 2) connects with and makes actionable recommendations to a broad array of policy practitioners, in government, the private sector, and non-governmental communities. Although it is a core concept in the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as the 2016 revised United Nations peacebuilding architecture, inclusion remains both controversial and understudied.
Website
Project Title
For joint support with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a project on the relationship between international human rights norms and peacebuilding at the local level
Date
Jun. 04, 2015
Duration
28 months
Website
Project Title
For bridging the gap between the academy and the policy world through research and policy engagement on the role of non-violent, non-state actors in peacebuilding
Date
Sep. 11, 2014
Duration
27 months
Website
Project Title
As a one-time grant for scholar mobility fellowships to U.S. universities in support of social scientists from the Arab region
Date
Sep. 12, 2013
Duration
24 months
Website
Project Title
For a research partnership on postwar state-building
Date
Dec. 06, 2007
Duration
23 months
Website
Project Title
For a research partnership on postwar state-building
Date
Sep. 29, 2005
Duration
27 months