The Initiative and Referendum Institute (IRI), and the USC-Caltech Center for the Study of Law and Politics (CSLP) are pleased to announce the availability of two $5,000 research stipends for research on direct democracy in local government that utilizes information from two new databases. The stipends are for the purpose of facilitating a high-quality, publishable paper that will be presented at a local governance conference at USC April 6-7, 2007. The databases are being assembled with the help of grants from the Haynes Foundation and Lusk Center at USC. The databases are being cleaned and augmented on an ongoing basis. Extracts are available below.
Database 1. Legal Landscape
This data set contains initiative provisions in the 1,000 largest cities in the United States, as well as multiple cities in every state. Data items for each city include: initiative availability, signature requirements, whether ordinance or charter amendments are allowed, and subject matter restrictions. Cities can be linked to other data using FIPS codes. The database is 95% complete. [View extract]
Database 2. Ballot Propositions in Southern California
This data set contains a list of ballot propositions in Southern California cities from 1970s to the present. Data items for each measure include: date, type of election, subject matter, votes for and against. These data are incomplete and being updated but there are thousands of propositions so far. [View extract]
In reviewing research grant requests, the following issues will be considered:
(a) The intrinsic quality of the proposed research;
(b) Evidence that the research can be completed in one year;
(c) Publication potential of the research;
(d) The possibility that the research will open avenues for further investigation.
Eligibility
The stipends are open to scholars with expertise in economics, political science, public administration, sociology, history, and any fields related to local government. Grant recipients will be invited to participate in a conference at USC April 6-7, 2007 that will bring together leading scholars in these fields.
Application Process
Those interested in receiving a stipend request the dataset and submit a brief research proposal (up to 4 pages) along with a recent CV to Betsey Hawkins (bghawkin@usc.edu). The proposal should define the project objectives, research methodology, data (if any), anticipated findings, and academic (and business or policy-related) contributions. Questions about the conference and stipend may be directed to Betsey Hawkins or John Matsusaka (matsusak@usc.edu). Grants will be considered on a rolling basis.
