The Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) invites proposals for our Community Action Research Grant (formerly the Faculty Interactive Research Program, FIRP)for research related to the current U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota. This grant provides funding for up to $45,000 for applied, community-engaged research projects.
For this year’s funding, CURA invites proposals to research various aspects of “Operation Metro Surge,” the ICE Minnesota campaign. Research can be statewide or focused on specific communities either within the Twin Cities metro area or Greater Minnesota. We hope for proposals to examine topics that might include but are not limited to the impact of the surgeon businesses and economic activity, the response of local governments, and the community and individual-level impacts.
Regular faculty members are invited to apply. Funding is limited to up to $45,000 per application. Grants will be awarded on a one-year basis, starting July 1, 2026. Faculty members who are selected will be expected as part of their project to: (a) interact or engage with appropriate community organizations or agencies, (b) prepare a report for the organization or agency where appropriate, and (c) prepare a 3500-word manuscript for publication in the online edition of the CURA Reporter, our report of faculty research. Grantees are required to acknowledge support from the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs in all written materials and presentations that result from work funded by this grant.
Eligibility: Applications are invited from all University faculty members (professor, associate professor, assistant professor) conducting independent research and who hold (or will hold during the relevant academic year) full time (100 percent) tenured or tenure-track appointments (employee class FAR). The program is designed particularly for faculty who hold nine-month appointments (appointment term not equal to “A”), although we have supported projects of regular faculty on twelve-month appointments. In special cases we can support joint projects. New faculty must begin their appointment by the start date of the grant. Adjunct or contract faculty are not eligible for this program.
Application Procedure: Applicants are asked to submit the following materials:
1. Include a cover sheet. The cover sheet should include a short (150 words maximum) abstract that clearly and succinctly describes the nature of the problem or issue the project will address, the mission of the community partner(s) (if identified), the research strategy you will employ, and the expected outcome(s) of the project. Please be aware that this abstract may be used in CURA publications, press releases, or promotional materials to describe your project.
2. A letter that explains in more detail the nature of the project to be supported. The letter should include a discussion of the problem or issue the project will address; a description of the research methods to be used; an indication of the applicant’s background in and familiarity with the topic; an indication of consultation with the agencies, groups, or organizations that will be involved with the project; and a consideration of the potential public policy implications of the research. These letters are generally 3 to 5 pages in length.
3. A current curriculum vitae.
4. Budget and justification. A detailed budget with budget justification on a separate page must be included. Please address how the grant funds will be used to accomplish the proposed research goals. The proposal may request funds for personnel, (e.g. faculty time, graduate or undergraduate students, research associates), travel, project related supplies and services, as long as the item and amount are considered necessary for the project. The amount for each budget line item should be justified in the budget justification. Indirect cost rates (ICR) do not apply given that this is an internal grant.
Application materials should be e-mailed to [email protected]. NOTE: Applications sent to any other address may not be considered.
Deadline: Applications must be received in the CURA office by 4:30 p.m. on March 6, 2026. Grant recipients will be notified in April.
Grant Policies: For information on grant policies on extensions and budget changes, please review the Community Action Research Grant policies.
Please e-mail [email protected] (with subject line: “Community Action Research Grant grant”) if you have questions.
Edward Goetz
Edward G. Goetz is director of CURA and a faculty member at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
Ed specializes in housing and local community development planning and policy. His research focuses on issues of race and poverty and how they affect housing policy planning and development. Before coming to the University of Minnesota in 1988, he worked at the mayor's Office of Housing and Economic Development in San Francisco and for several nonprofit community developers in Los Angeles and San Francisco. He has served on the board of directors of nonprofit housing agencies in the Twin Cities, and on several regional commissions related to affordable housing and development.
He is the author of The One-Way Street of Integration: Fair Housing and the Pursuit of Racial Justice in American Cities (Cornell University Press, 2018), New Deal Ruins: Race, Economic Justice, and Public Housing Policy (Cornell University Press, 2013), Clearing the Way: Deconcentrating the Poor in Urban America (2003, Urban Institute Press), Shelter Burden: Local Politics and Progressive Housing Policy (1993, Temple University Press), and co-editor of The New Localism: Comparative Urban Politics in a Global Era (1993, Sage Publications).
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