Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics

The Lab "Project on Institutional Corruption"

The Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics launched a five-year research project to study "institutional corruption." Please click here for a complete description of the research project and the operational plan.

If you are interested in applying to join the work of the Lab, please see below.

The Center's Director, Professor Lawrence Lessig, delivered the first lecture of the 2009-10 Labs Lectures on the Question of Institutional Corruption.

View Professor Lessig's lecture:

Proposals
The Lab will support research directed towards the question of "institutional corruption." Applicants wishing to join the Lab should submit a proposal describing the research they will complete, and how that research relates to the work of the Lab. Proposals may be for joint or individual projects, and their term may fall short of or extend beyond the fellowship year (normally September through June). Faculty members are invited to propose projects that they would direct but that would be executed at the Safra Lab.

Please click here for a list of the types of research that would be within the scope of the project. These examples are offered for illustration only. Each item is not intended as an individual project. Instead, the purpose of this list is to suggest the range of questions the Lab will be considering.

Residency
Researchers need not be located at Harvard. However, a number of Research Fellows will be in residence at the Center, and those fellows will be expected to devote the majority of their time to the research project, and to participate in a weekly seminar designing the work of the Lab, and evaluating its progress.

Eligibility
Applicants will be judged on the quality of their achievements in their field of specialization or industry, and the probable significance of their proposed research and its relevance to the purposes of the Lab. Tenured and untenured faculty are invited to participate, so long as their work during the fellowship is primarily directed towards the project of the Lab. Postdoctoral applications are also eagerly encouraged, as well as proposals from researchers in industry or government seeking sabbatical time to pursue research directly relevant to the project.

In the beginning stages of the Lab, priority will be given to project proposals with an empirical focus that explore whether and when institutional corruption exists.

Awards
Awards will be given to cover the practical and administrative costs of a research project, and these costs should be specified in a budget, when applicable. Beyond budgetary awards, compensation will be commensurate with experience.

How to apply
Please submit to the Director of the Center:

* Application Cover Sheet (download)

* Letter describing your interest in the Lab and "institutional corruption"

* Research proposal for the project you would undertake

* Curriculum vitae

* Budget, if necessary (download sample budget)

In addition, applicants should arrange for two letters of reference to be sent directly to the Director.

Send complete application to:
The Director

Harvard University

Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics

79 JFK Street

Cambridge, MA 02138

The deadline date for receipt of applications for projects beginning September 2010 is January 15, 2010.