The National Science Foundation awarded a $100,000 Project Grant to Vanderbilt University under the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences federal grant program (CFDA 47.075). The award will support research exploring civic participation and sustainable democracy in the Northwestern United States through 2024.
Specifically, the grant will fund interviews, participant observation, and archival analysis of community-based social movements over the past 40 years across rural, urban and small-town areas in the Pacific Northwest. The research aims to understand what resources and networks advocacy groups employ to promote civic engagement among a diversifying population. Insights gained will improve social scientific knowledge of the drivers of civic participation and contributions to ensuring sustainable democracy. The award also supports training of undergraduate and graduate students in research methods while disseminating findings to broader audiences.