CALL FOR PROPOSALS
H.S.A. WORKING GROUPS

Last year the H.S.A. piloted Working Sessions, to great enthusiasm from our members. The five live webinars from three Working Sessions were well attended, and generated interest to keep this series of bottom-up interdisciplinary spaces going.

Members like you have asked for new ways of connecting, being involved, and many of you have expressed the desire to make our collective scholarship relevant to conversations in policymaking, philanthropy, and legislation regarding Haiti. We know that cultivating a diverse and inclusive scholarly community, a lakou, is one of the ongoing strengths of our association. Working Groups will both build on this strength and foster more engaged scholarship.

Last year’s pilot experience with Working Sessions has shown us that synchronous, online events can work for members, who expressed a strong desire for more regular events this year. We also learned about the process, sharpened our focus, and reminded of the still very pronounced digital divide regarding our colleagues in Haiti.

We envision the Working Groups to be:

1. “Incubators” for themes and further scholarly engagement in our annual conference, particularly underrepresented groups and topics.

2. Interdisciplinary opportunities for member collaboration for collective research projects between annual conferences, particularly engaging our members in Haiti.

3. Spaces for engagement with specific publics currently underserved by H.S.A., including activists, artists, journalists, nonprofits/NGOs, and policymakers, and particularly engaging our members in Haiti.

4. Hubs for publication and dissemination of engaged scholarship in multiple and creative forms.

With this in mind H.S.A. is launching longer-term Working Groups, and invites members to submit a Working Group for up to three years.
Guidelines for Working Groups are as follows:

● Calls for conveners and participants for working groups as well as the selection process will occur and conclude before the calls for plenaries and regular proposals for the annual conference.

● Involvement with a working group doesn’t exclude members’ participation in regular concurrent sessions and plenary presentations.

● An individual may only submit one (1) application as the convener or co-convener of a Working Group. Multiple applications listing the same individual will not be considered.

● Full consideration will be given to applications with the most innovative and strongest vision, objectives, deliverables, and timeline.

● Up to four conveners with complementary expertise and experiences can steer a working group. This information may be helpful to evaluate proposals and consequently, HSA’s regular blind review process may not apply to this initiative.

● Working Groups need to have a clear deliverable, a scholarly publication in whatever appropriate form, with plans for accessibility that include open access and multiple languages.

● Working Groups need to have a clear evaluation plan and a realistic timeline and detailed set of expectations from HSA (e.g., web hosting, communication with members, Zoom platform, and staff time).

● Selection and number of participants is at the conveners’ discretion. A cross-section of multilingual and intergenerational HSA members is highly recommended.

● The board of directors will approve up to eight proposals to launch the initiative.

● Working Groups with an “admission” process must detail their selection criteria in their proposal to the board. HSA will provide support and guidance on how to send a call for participation.

● Once selected, conveners determine how to follow up with participants. The board and program committee will stay out of that communication process with participants but can provide guidance and advice if necessary.

If you have any questions, please reach out to haitianstudiesassociation@gmail.com.

If interested, please submit here by Monday, April 5.

Conveners will be notified of decisions the week of April 12.