For questions on Strategic Research Project proposal submissions or for assistance identifying potential collaborators, please contact AlianzaMXResearch@ucr.edu.
Interested in submitting a Strategic Research Project proposal?
Eligibility
Proposals must be led by a UC principal investigator (PI) and include collaborators from at least one other UC campus and at least one partner institution in Mexico. Alianza MX can assist with identifying collaborators across the UC system as well as at Mexican partner institutions.
Funding
Proposal submissions can request up to $200,000 USD in seed funding over a period of up to 24 months. Funds can support field research, conferences and workshops, and project staff salaries and benefits, but may not be used for student tuition and fees or to cover department overhead or indirect costs.
Alianza MX opens a call for proposals in the Fall and the application period remains open through the Winter. Funding awards are announced in Summer and research projects begin during the Fall.
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Timeline of the Call
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Date
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Launch of the call / Application period opens
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December 1, 2024
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Submission deadline / Application period closes
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March 1, 2025
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Announcement of projects selected for funding
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May 2025 (to be confirmed)
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Start date for supported activities
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Fall 2025
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End date for supported activities
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Fall 2027
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2024-2026 Project Cycle
Robotic Solutions for Sustainable Berry Harvesting
This project provides Mexican and California growers with technological solutions for monitoring the health and maturity of berries grown in greenhouses, harvesting berries using articulated robots and computer vision systems, and efficient handling of harvested berries through automated vehicles.
Principal Investigator: Ricardo Sanfelice, UC Santa Cruz
UC Collaborators: UC Merced
MX Collaborators: Tecnológico de Monterrey
2024-2026 Project Cycle
Nexus of water, food, and energy systems in California and Mexico
This project generates roadmaps for innovation and funding, including through proposal writing workshops and the engagement with stakeholders that can provide additional funding. The first thematic focus of collaborative innovation is on the nexus of potable water and energy systems, building pilot-scale digital twins of water systems in Monterrey, Guadalajara, and Mexico City.
Principal Investigator: Frank Loge, UC Davis
UC Collaborators: UC Berkeley
MX Collaborators:
Tecnológico de Monterrey, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
2024-2026 Project Cycle
Indigenous Women’s Digital Histories and Storytelling for Communal Survivalns
This project trains members of the National Coordinating Committee of Indigenous Women (CONAMI) as digital archivists, build a digital archive that includes both oral histories and photos, and distribute the information through a published collection and community history convening.
Principal Investigator: Maylei Blackwell, UC Los Angeles
UC Collaborators: UC San Diego
MX Collaborators:
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
2024-2026 Project Cycle
Promoting Biomedical Research Collaborations with Mexico
This project expands research collaboration between the UC and Mexican partners on Type II diabetes, with a particular focus on expanding student research training in molecular techniques. It incorporates various techniques for studying diabetes, including both cellular mechanisms as well as behavioral and social issues that may help explain the prevalence of metabolic disorders among Mexican immigrants to the United States.
Principal Investigator: Rudy Ortiz, UC Merced
UC Collaborators: UC Berkeley
MX Collaborators: Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán (INCMNSZ); Universidad de Sonora, Campus Navojoa (UNISON)
2023-2025 Project Cycle
Perceptions of Mexican Democratic Institutions: A Survey of Experts and Citizens
This project expands on the Survey of the Quality of Mexican Democracy (ENCADE), which polled experts and a national representative sample in 2021 on the quality of democracy across nine dimensions. The first round of the survey studied the relationship between voter support for democracy and views of elites, while subsequent rounds will study differences among states and how the 2024 elections may affect perceptions of electoral institutions, political parties, and media.
Principal Investigator: Emilie Hafner-Burton, UC San Diego
UC Collaborators: UC Merced, UC Santa Barbara
MX Collaborators: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
2023-2025 Project Cycle
California-Mexico Border Infrastructure Analysis: Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicles
This project analyzes scenarios for commercial medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle (MHD ZEV) deployment for cross-border freight operations between the U.S. state of California and the Mexican state of Baja California, including paths for developing ZEV infrastructure in key transport corridors and communities. UC researchers participate in the Heavy-Duty Vehicles Working Group of the US-Mexico Task Force on Zero-Emission Vehicles, established in 2022 to develop a managed industry transition that ensures prosperity, competitiveness, and inclusion for the binational auto industry.
Principal Investigator: Arun Raju, UC Riverside
UC Collaborators: UC Irvine
MX Collaborators: Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC)
2023-2025 Project Cycle
UC‐Mexico Farm Labor Research Cluster: Climate Change, Health, Productivity and Well Being
This project aims to improve understanding of how environmental drivers in both California and Mexico impact farm laborers and other participants in the food supply chain such as food distributors, ag-tech innovators, and others. It also studies policy approaches that could benefit food security and nutrition in both regions when applied at scale.
Principal Investigator: Susana Matias, UC Berkeley
UC Collaborators: UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Los Angeles, UC San Diego, UC San Francisco
MX Collaborators: Colegio de Michoacan (COLMICH), Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF), Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero (UAGRO), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
2023-2025 Project Cycle
Bio-Regional Planning: Climate Action Research, Planning and Design in Cali-Baja
This project reinforces efforts to complete a bio-regional action plan for the Cali-Baja Bioregion spanning the US-Mexico Border and Tribal lands (the Cali-Baja BioREGPlan 2030). The Plan’s ultimate purpose is to identify and document transformational change that can benefit people and communities vulnerable to the climate emergency.
Principal Investigator: Keith Pezzoli, UC San Diego
UC Collaborators: UC Davis, UC Los Angeles
MX Collaborators: Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (CICESE), Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF), Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC)
2022-2024 Project Cycle
Electrification of Transport: Challenges and Opportunities for the US-Mexico Transportation Industry
This project studied how policy shaped the needs and capabilities of zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) producers in the US and Mexico, as well as how increasing demand for ZEV accelerated the binational transition to new technologies. UC researchers also participated in the Light-Duty Vehicles Working Group of the US-Mexico Task Force on Zero-Emission Vehicles, established in 2022 to develop a managed auto industry transition that ensures binational prosperity, competitiveness, and inclusion.
Principal Investigator: Gil Tal, UC Davis
MX Collaborators: Colegio de Sonora (COLSON), Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE)
Research
Research report & Policy brief: "Implications of Global EV Adoption Targets for Mexico Light Duty Auto Industry," April 2023
Gil Tal, UC Davis; Francisco Pares, UC Davis; Pablo Busch, UC Davis; Minal Chandra, UC Davis
Policy brief: "US-Mexico Second-hand Vehicle Trade: Implications for Responsible EV End-of-Life Management and Material Circularity in North America," April 2023
Francisco Pares, UC Davis; Galym Iskakov, UC Davis; Alissa Kendall, UC Davis
2022-2024 Project Cycle
Water Resources Management: Improving Climate-Extreme Resilience in Mexico and the United States
This project uses case studies from California and Mexico to explore promising water management alternatives for agriculture, ecosystems, and communities in response to climate extremes, with a strong emphasis on groundwater.
Principal Investigator: Josué Medellín, UC Merced
UC Collaborators: UC Davis, UC Los Angeles
MX Collaborators: Tecnológico de Monterrey, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC), Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Universidad de las Américas – Puebla (UDLAP), Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo (UMSNH), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
Research
Climate Data Science: Understanding the role of extremes in variability in water resources
John Abatzoglou, UC Merced
Community Resilience: Evaluating socio-ecological resilience to variable severity wildfires in Jalisco
Yosune Miquelejauregui, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)
John Williams, UC Davis
John Abatzoglou, UC Merced
Sustainable Groundwater Management: Managed aquifer recharge site selection, characterization, and monitoring
Tom Harmon, UC Merced
Roxana Nicte-Há Hughes-Lomelín, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
Mario Alberto Hernández, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)
Graciela Herrera Zamarrón (UNAM)
Sustainable Groundwater Management: Aguascalientes Valley Aquifer
Roxana Nicte-Há Hughes-Lomelín, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
Tom Harmon, UC Merced
Mario Alberto Hernández, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)
Marco Antonio Martínez Cinco, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
Sonia Tatiana Sánchez Quispe, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
Integrated Water Management: Economic valuation of irrigation water in chinampas of Xochimilco and its effect on CO₂ fixation
Everardo Trujillo Moreno, Chapingo Autonomous University
Integrated Water Management: Agricultural policy analysis in Irrigation District 023, San Juan Del Río Querétaro
Karen Lucero Cruz, Chapingo Autonomous University
Miguel Angel Martinez, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)
Integrated Water Management: Management, productivity, and evaluation of the San Juan del Río Querétaro Aquifer
Ángeles Suhgey Garay, Chapingo Autonomous University
Ramon Valdivia, Chapingo Autonomous University
Integrated Water Management: Enhancing water sustainability for winery irrigation with treated domestic and internal wastewater in Napa, California and Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California
Marc Beutel, UC Merced
Leopoldo Mendoza Espinosa, Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC)
Clara Medina, UC Merced
Thomas Harmon, UC Merced
Josue Medellín, UC Merced
J. Andres Morande, UC Merced
Integrated Water Management: Dynamic modeling of groundwater storage in an arid zone considering the effect of a climatic index
David-Eduardo Guevera-Polo, University of the Americas, Puebla (UDLAP)
Carlos Patino, University of the Americas, Puebla (UDLAP)
2022-2024 Project Cycle
Economics of US-Mexico Migration: Policies, Opportunities for Employment, and Economic Growth
This project proposes policies and actions that will maximize the growth and employment potential of immigrant workers, students, and professionals, as well as to evaluate their impact on the communities where they live. UC researchers also organize lectures and mentor graduate students as part of a Summer School on the Economics of International Migration.
Principal Investigator: Giovanni Peri, UC Davis
UC Collaborators: UC Berkeley, UC Merced, UC San Diego
MX Collaborators: Colegio de México, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Banco de México
Research
Working paper: “Immigration's Effect on US Wages and Employment Redux,” April 2024
Alessandro Caiumi, UC Davis
Giovanni Peri, UC Davis
Job market paper: “Violence in Mexico, Return Intentions, and the Integration of Mexican Migrants in the US,” November 2023
Reem Zaiour, UC Davis
Job Market Paper: “The Local Reaction to Unauthorized Mexican Migration to the US,” October 2023
Ernesto Tiburcio, Tufts University (Summer School on Economics of Migration 2023)
Working paper: "Changes in International Immigration and Internal Native Mobility after Covid-19 in the US," December 2022
Giovanni Peri, UC Davis
Reem Zaiour, UC Davis
Presentation: "International Migration and COVID-19," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Economic Research Conference on Labor Markets During and After the Pandemic, November 2022
Giovanni Peri, UC Davis
Working paper: "Declining Mobility among Mexican-Born Workers in the U.S. Labor Force," October 2022
Julian Arteaga, UC Davis
Ashish Shenoy, UC Davis
Working paper: "International College Students' Impact on the US Skilled Labor Supply," September 2022
Michael Beine, University of Luxembourg
Giovanni Peri, UC Davis
Morgan Raux, University of Luxembourg
Additional Information
For questions regarding new Strategic Research Project proposal applications in the 2024-2026 cycle, please contact AlianzaMXResearch@ucr.edu.