In designing and implementing projects, CLALS establishes dynamic partnerships with academic institutions, think tanks, non-governmental and community organizations, and governmental agencies throughout the United States and Latin America. Center projects are supported through funding from external donors and agencies as well as by University resources. Below, you'll find a list of current and past funders, as well as partners who make the work we do possible. For a complete list of partners and funders, please see the right-hand navigation bar.

Funders

American Friends Service Committee

With support from the American Friends Service Committee, CLALS staff prepared a report on the challenges of reconstruction in Haiti.

Arca Foundation

The Arca Foundation provided support for Past Research Fellow Héctor Silva Ávalos' research on the 1989 Jesuit Massacre and the case's enduring influence on the fortunes of El Salvador's justice system following the 1992 Peace Accords.

Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute at the University of Houston

The Borders, Trade, and Immigration (BTI) Institute at the University of Houston (UH) has granted the Center funds to launch a project to assess the impact of Central American child and family migration on localities across the United States.

Central America and Mexico Migration Alliance (CAMMINA)

With support from the Central America and Mexico Migration Alliance (CAMMINA), CLALS collaborated with the Washington College of Law's Immigrant Justice Clinic and research institutions in Central America to contribute to the ongoing policy debate around Temporary Protected Status for Honduras and El Salvador.

Christopher Reynolds Foundation

The Christopher Reynolds Foundation has provided ongoing support for the Center's Cuba Initiative, which focuses on U.S.-Cuba bilateral relations, economic reform, social welfare, and issues in health, agriculture, and the environment. The Foundation has also generously provided funds to the Center's Central American Refugee Policy & Assistance Project (CARPA).

DC Planning Office

As a part of the Center's DC-Metro Latino Research Initiative, CLALS has received funding from the District of Columbia Office of Planning to host a workshop on neighborhood demographic change in DC, as it affects Latino and African American communities.

Department of State

The U.S. Department of State has funded a two-year project on clandestine wildlife trafficking and logging industries Latin America in partnership with InSight Crime. In addition, again in partnership with InSight Crime, the Department of State has funded a new project on mapping criminal networks and politics in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.

Ford Foundation

CLALS was awarded a series of grants by the Ford Foundation to fund an ambitious program of research and dissemination devoted to assessing the role of Central American elites. The Foundation has also awarded funds to CLALS to supply pro bono lawyers and other advocates with the accurate, up-to-date evidence needed to effectively represent unaccompanied minors from Central America as they navigate the U.S. immigration system. Previous support from Ford includes a project on participatory democracy in Latin America, which was carried out through a grant to the University of British Columbia's Andean Democracy Research Network.

Henry Luce Foundation

Following the completion of a multi-year project examining religious responses to violence in Latin America and a second phase of research on religion and democratic contestation in Latin America, the Henry R. Luce Initiative on Religion and International Affairs has generously renewed their support for a third phase of research on religion and climate change in cross-regional perspective.

Inter-American Development Bank

The Inter-American Development Bank's Office of Strategic Planning and Development Effectiveness has provided support for the Center's work on emergent challenges in Latin American and Caribbean economies, carried out in collaboration with the Corporación de Estudios para Latinoamérica (CIEPLAN).

International Development Research Centre

FLACSO-Costa Rica subcontracted CLALS to carry out research on and disseminate findings from the multi-year project Exclusion and Violence in Central American Cities. This project was funded by the International Development Research Centre.

National Institute of Justice

The National Institute of Justice awarded CLALS a $670,000 grant to carry out research aimed at assessing the transnational criminal capacity of the MS-13 gang in the U.S. and El Salvador.

National Science Foundation

CLALS was awarded an NSF conference grant to convene a January 2017 workshop to advance understanding of how social science research can inform judicial decision-making on asylum cases involving Central American children and families.

Open Society Foundations

The Open Society Foundations have provided support for InSight Crime, the AULA Blog, and research conducted by CLALS Research Fellows on corruption and the police in El Salvador. OSF granted the Center $100,000 to undertake a project on monitoring the MACCIH (Misión de Apoyo Contra la Corrupción y la Impunidad en Honduras) and other anti-impunity efforts in Honduras. OSF also granted the Center $60,000 to for project to analyze the Prospects for an International Commission against Impunity and Corruption in El Salvador, which will be informed by previous Center projects, most notably Monitoring MACCIH. 

Tinker Foundation

The Tinker Foundation has awarded CLALS funds to support graduate student research in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Partnerships

Academic Institutions

Building on the breadth and depth of faculty expertise on Latin American and Latino Studies at American University, CLALS has also reached beyond campus to engage scholars from the following academic institutions, including universities and research institutes in Latin America:

• The Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) has participated in the Robert A. Pastor North America Research Initiative ( NARI) as a host to the initiative's second workshop in Mexico City.
• The Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales-Costa Rica (FLACSO-Costa Rica) collaborates with CLALS on its Ford Foundation-funded work on Elites and Power in Central America.
• The Institute of International Relations at the University of the West Indies-St. Augustine hosted and co-sponsored the third workshop of the Religion & Climate Change in Cross-Regional Perspective project, with a focus on "Small Island Vulnerabilities in the Pacific and Caribbean."
• The Instituto Nacional de Estudos Sobre os Estados Unidos (INCT/INEU) was a contributor to the Hemisphere in Flux project.
• The Mid-Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies (MACLAS) selected CLALS to sponsor the MACLAS annual conference in 2012.
• The Universidad Antonio Ruíz de Montoya in Lima, Peru hosted a workshop on "Mountains and Implications of Glacial Melt in the Himalaya and Andes" as part of the Luce Foundation-funded project on Religion & Climate Change in Cross-Regional Perspective.
• CLALS collaborated with the University of British Columbia's Andean Democracy Research Network on a project examining mechanisms of direct participation in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Uruguay. The project concluded with the edited volume, New Institutions of Participatory Democracy in Latin America: Voice and Consequence .
• CLALS works closely with the Universidad de la Habana to coordinate projects that are part of the Cuba Initiative, funded by the Christopher Reynolds Foundation.
• The Universidad Rafael Landívar contributed as a research partner to the project on Elites and Power in Central America and co-hosted the project's February 2012 conference in Guatemala.
• The Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana (UNITEC) partnered with CLALS to host an event in June 2018 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to launch a report on the successes and challenges facing the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH), as a part of the Center project on Monitoring MACCIH and Anti-Impunity Efforts in Honduras.

Non-Governmental Organizations, Community Organizations & Think-Tanks

CLALS serves as an academic resource for civil society organizations working to expand understanding, raise awareness, change policies, and provide services. CLALS partners with the following diverse think-tanks and NGOs in the DC metro area and beyond:

• As part of its work on Latino entrepreneurship in the DC metropolitan area, CLALS partnered with BizLaunch, an entrepreneurial assistance network located in Northern Virginia.
• The Broward County Cultural Division partnered with CLALS to assess the impact of creative and cultural industries on the future of Latin America's economy.
• CentroNia, CLALS, and AU's School of Education, Teaching, and Health (SETH) performed an in-depth evaluation of how CentroNia, a cultural and arts-based after-school program affects Latino youth.
• The Coordinadora Regional de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales (CRIES) collaborated with CLALS on the Hemisphere in Flux project.
• The Corporación de Estudios para Latinoamérica (CIEPLAN) collaborated with CLALS on a research project examining emergent issues and challenges in Latin American and Caribbean economies.
• Together with the Kogod School of Business, CLALS is working with the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to advance the data landscape for Latino entrepreneurs and businesses.
• The Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Fiscales (ICEFI) served as a key partner on the Elites and Power in Central America project and is routinely engaged in Center Research on migration and anti-impunity efforts in Central America.
• The Inter-American Development Bank's Culture, Creativity, and Solidarity Affairs Division partnered with CLALS to assess the impact of creative and cultural industries on Latin America's economy. In addition, the IDB's Research Department partnered with CLALS to disseminate information about the middle-income trap in Latin America.
• The Inter-American Dialogue regularly hosts events with CLALS to present research findings and draw attention to important issues facing the hemisphere.
• The Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC), in coordination with CLALS and the Kogod School of Business, assisted in an initial phase of research examining Latino entrepreneurs in the DC Metro area.
• The Mexican Ministry for Culture in cooperation with the Mexican Cultural Institute, has renewed its partnership with CLALS for an additional three years to bring leading Mexican artists to deliver formal presentations and meet with faculty and students at AU.
• UnidosUS (formerly known as National Council of La Raza) and CLALS partnered to explore the dynamics of discrimination against Latinos.
• The Observer Research Foundation co-sponsored a workshop in Delhi, India for the Luce Foundation-funded Religion & Climate Change in Cross-Regional Perspective project.
• The Programa Salvadoreño de Investigación sobre Desarrollo y Medio Ambiente (PRISMA) collaborated with CLALS on its Ford Foundation-funded work on Elites and Power in Central America.
• CLALS partners with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting to explore the role of journalism in the intersections of religion and climate conflict in Latin America.
• Sister Cities International partnered with the Center to host an event on climate diplomacy in small island developing states, as a part of the Center's work on Religion & Climate Change in Cross-Regional Perspective.
• CLALS partnered with the Cuba Program at the Social Science Research Council to produce the web forum "Implications of Normalization: Scholarly Perspectives on U.S.-Cuban Relations."
• The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) partnered with CLALS to present findings from Center projects on Social Exclusion & Violence in Central America and Elites and Power in the region. WOLA is also engaged with ongoing work related to the Cuba Initiative.
• The Wilson Center collaborated with CLALS to present findings from Center projects on religion and violence in Latin America and Social Exclusion & Violence in Central America. The Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program also engaged with the Center's project on religion and climate change around issues of climate diplomacy.
• CLALS has entered into a partnership with UNICEF to provide their newly-located representatives in Latin American and the Caribbean with country briefings. Drawing on the vast expertise of American University faculty, these briefings aim to familiarize the representative with relevant aspects of the country’s history, politics, economy, and social structure, as well as development and human rights issues.