Projects for Peace

                          

 

“My many years have taught me that there will always be conflict. It’s part of human nature. But I’ll remind you that love, kindness, and support are also part of human nature. My challenge to you is to bring about a mindset of preparing for peace, instead of preparing for war.”
–Kathryn W. Davis

$10,000 Grant Available for 2025 Davis Projects for Peace

Williams College has been invited to nominate one or two student proposals for a $10,000 grant for summer projects that “…promote peace and address the root causes of conflict among parties.”  One hundred such grants will be awarded nationwide.

The Davis Projects for Peace program supports student-developed projects that would foster peace in the world.  The program is designed to “…encourage student initiative, innovation, and entrepreneurship focusing on conflict prevention, resolution, or reconciliation.”  In the past, successful approaches have included “…fostering diplomacy or otherwise contribut[ing] to advancing peace processes underway; promoting economic opportunity and entrepreneurship among those in post-conflict areas; finding creative ways to bring people on opposite sides of issues together…through arts, sports, music…to promote a common humanity;…  [and] starting or leveraging initiatives, organizations …or infrastructure projects to build/rebuild community.”

What does “Projects for Peace” hope to accomplish?

The program hopes to encourage student initiative, innovation and entrepreneurship focusing on conflict prevention, resolution or reconciliation. Some of the most compelling projects to date have reflected one or more of the following characteristics:

  • Contributing to conflict prevention
  • Ameliorating conditions leading to violence/conflict
  • Looking for and building on shared attributes among differing peoples, races, ethnicities, tribes, clans, etc.
  • Fostering diplomacy or otherwise contribute to advancing peace processes underway
  • Promoting economic opportunity and entrepreneurship among those in post-conflict areas
  • Finding creative ways to bring people on opposite sides of issues together, such as through art, sports, music or other techniques to promote a common humanity
  • Developing leadership and mediation skills training for those in conflict or post-conflict  societies
  • Starting or leveraging initiatives, organizations (e.g. education, health) or infrastructures projects to build/rebuild community.

ELIGIBILITY

  • Any student or student group is eligible to submit a proposal for consideration (graduating seniors are welcome to apply).
  • Projects can be conducted inside or outside the United States.
  • All project activities must take place during the summer of 2025.

Apply Here

APPLICATION PROCESS

To be considered, a student (or group of students) must:

  • Submit your proposal through the application form by Sunday, January 12, 2025 at 5 PM, including a 1) proposal narrative, 2) a proposed budget, 3) a faculty reference, and 4) if possible, any confirmation you have received from partners in the project location. See below for more information on each aspect of the proposal.
  • In January, proposals will be reviewed by a faculty/staff committee, which may request revisions and/or clarifications.
  • The proposal(s) that Williams selects will be submitted to the Projects for Peace Office in early February; awards are generally announced in March.
  • Check out this application guideline for more information on specific format.

Proposal narrative

The proposal narrative should be up to 2 pages long (Arial font, size 10, 1″ margins) and it should address the following questions in narrative form.

  • Project summary
    • What issue(s) will be addressed?
    • What approach(es) will be used?
    • With whom will the grantee(s) work?
    • What is the rationale for these choices?
  • Background
    • What is your working definition of peace?
    • What preceded this proposal in terms of personal experience, forming relationships, developing knowledge, and other preparation?
  • Implementation
    • What plans have been made for use of funds, use of time, and contingencies?
  • Anticipated Results
    • What are the potential short and long-term outcomes for participants, community collaborators, and grantee(s)?
    • How will progress be monitored?
    • How will the project contribute to peace?
  • Format
    • Proposals should be maximum 2 pages, arial font, size 10, single-spaced
    • Each page of the proposal narrative should include a header with the following information in it: Title of Project (not to change once submitted), Project Year, Project Location: (city/town, province/region, country),Nominating college, Designated project leader name (home country, college/institution you attend), if relevant, remaining team member names (schools), date range of project execution.

Proposal tips

The strongest applications show considerable evidence of the following areas

  • An innovative approach to the issue(s);
  • Appreciation for and sensitivity to the context, communities, and/or cultures where the project takes place;
  • Consideration of the dilemmas, challenges, or conflicts that may underlie the targeted issues or selected approaches and how the project engages with it;
  • Consideration of sustainability and/or scalability of the approach;
  • Critical self-awareness by the grantee.

Proposed Budget

  • Proposals must be accompanied by a detailed proposed budget entered into the Budget Template.
  • Your budget should all significant costs, such as airfare, lodging, food, materials, and any other costs.
  • You can include a second sheet on your budget with explanations of each budget line.

References

  • Each applicant should submit the name of a Williams College faculty member as a “reference,” whom we may contact to assess the applicant’s suitability for a Davis Projects for Peace Grant.
  • If you are making a joint proposal, we require one reference for each applicant.

Partner confirmation

  • Applicants should solicit written confirmation from all proposed partners that they will partner on the proposed project, if it is funded.
  • Note: Please submit your proposal even if you do not yet have confirmation in hand!

DUE DATE

For full consideration, proposals must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Sunday, January 12, 2025.

More Information

  • While you prepare your proposal, we recommend that students consult the Davis Projects for Peace website and the guidance page as well.
  • We recommend consulting the Davis Projects for Peace reading room to learn more about previous Projects for Peace.

Apply Here

Questions?

  • Please direct all inquiries to Aly W Corey (awc5), Associate Director for Inclusive Learning Environments at the Davis Center.
  • Interested students should NOT contact the Projects for Peace Office directly.