Mini-Grants on Free Market Economics: Scholarship, Teaching and Practice

Purpose:
The purpose of this mini-grant program is to enhance the effectiveness in the teaching, scholarship and practice of market economics for business and economics faculty (and select others) at CCCU member institutions.   Approved grants will allow for significant collaboration between faculty from different CCCU campuses, will allow future leaders to emerge, strengthen and expand the existing network of scholars, and bring new and fresh ideas to the significant conversations taking place within the field.  This program will enhance the “scholarship of pedagogy” among scholars working in the field of business and economics.

Highlights:
Utilizing an RFP process, the CCCU will invite proposals from faculty in one or more of the following broad categories:
  • Course development—specifically adding new courses or strengthening existing courses in the curriculum which address the nature, function, purpose and practice of free-market economics.  This may include courses that deal with the history of economic thought, courses in political economy, micro and macroeconomic courses, or other related subject areas.
  • Faculty scholarship—identifying scholarly projects which show promise for advancing the understanding of markets, particularly in light of globalization. These projects ought to demonstrate how they relate to the broader academy and “marketplace of ideas”, as well as to lay audiences who might benefit from such scholarship.
  • Business incubator project— drawing upon existing programs such as the SIFE incubator program, collaborative teams of faculty and students will design small business projects that could be implemented with seed capital from the mini-grant program.  Special emphasis should be placed on the synergy between free market practices and non-profit partnerships within a faith-based setting, or on business as mission.  
Priority will be given to those individuals who participated in the 2006 or 2007 Free Market Forum: “The Role of Markets and Governments in Pursuing the Common Good” held at Hillsdale College.  

While priority will be given to CCCU faculty, creative partnerships with faculty and students from non-CCCU institutions will also be encouraged.  While we will accept applications from teams of faculty and students, the project director must have attended the Forum and be from the CCCU in order for the team to be eligible to receive funding. 

New funding for this project has not been approved for 2009.  Please return to this page in September 2010 for a further update.