Post

2012-13 Small Grants Competition: Request for Proposals
Deadline for receipt of proposal: Friday, September 21, 5pm PST

Purpose
The Center for Poverty Research, located at the University of California, Davis, invites proposals for its 2012-13 Small Grants Competition. The Center seeks to fund research that will expand our understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty. The goal of this program is to fund proposals focused on our core research areas, that display sound research design and high potential impact. The Center anticipates funding up to 5 proposals, up to a maximum of $20,000 per award. The award period is November 1, 2012 – October 31, 2013. Projects using either qualitative or quantitative data sources are eligible for funding. Because of the short length of the performance period, we do not anticipate funding projects that seek to collect new data.

We seek proposals for research connected to our core research themes:

  • Labor markets and poverty
  • The non-cash safety net, broadly construed to include education and health policies
  • Children and the intergenerational transmission of poverty
  • Immigration and poverty, especially in connection with the above three areas

View the previous recipients here.

Terms of Funding
The following terms apply:

  1. Applicants for small grants must hold a Ph.D. and be in a tenure track academic appointment.
  2. The Center is particularly interested in supporting early-career poverty researchers. Competitive proposals for which the PI is an Assistant Professor will be given more weight in the evaluation process.
  3. Funding will begin on or before November 1, 2012 and funded activities must be complete by October 31, 2013. No-cost extensions will not be allowed.
  4. Receipt of a small grant from the Center for Poverty Research will require a commitment by the recipient to:
    1. present the results of the research project at the UC Davis Center for Poverty Research Small Grant Recipient Conference in Fall 2013 (travel expenses will be paid by the Center);
    2. produce a draft paper by October 1, 2013;
    3. write a policy brief of 700-900 words based on the research findings, and aimed at a general audience by November 30, 2013. The policy brief (and full paper, if agreed by the Center and the grant recipient) will be made available to the public on the Center’s website; and
    4. complete a final report by November 30, 2013.
  5. Funded scholars will be expected to complete at least one paper from the project suitable for academic publication. A draft paper will be due to the Center on October 1, 2013 and, contingent on revisions and review, will be posted on the Center’s website in its final form. All publications should acknowledge support from the Center for Poverty Research.
  6. The Center will support expenses such as the PI(s) salary, research assistant’s salary, data, software, supplies and research related travel.
  7. The budget period is November 1, 2012 to October 31, 2013. The maximum award is $20,000 and it will be awarded either as a personal services contract to a single researcher or through the applicant’s home institution. Due to the limited funds available, indirect costs are limited to no more than 10 percent of the grant amount (if award is made through the applicant’s home institution).

Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated by an interdisciplinary group of senior scholars affiliated with the Center for Poverty Research. Proposals will be evaluated based upon several factors, including:

  • Relevance to the Center’s core research areas
  • Soundness of the research design, potential impact, and likelihood of success
  • Qualifications of personnel
  • Appropriateness of budget compared to project goals
  • Balance of grantees between quantitative and qualitative research, and across disciplines

Application Instructions
Applicants should submit their proposal via the webform linked below, and upload a single PDF of the proposal elements listed in part 2 below. Proposals must be received by 5pm Pacific Standard Time on Friday, September 21, 2012.

The proposal application includes the following elements:

  1. A completed webform application (see link to webform at the bottom of this page).
  2. A single PDF uploaded to the webform application that contains the following, in order:
    1. A project narrative not to exceed 5 double spaced pages (excluding figures, references, and budget). Particular emphasis should be given to items 3 and 4 below. The narrative should:
      1. clearly describe specific aims and their research and policy significance;
      2. very briefly summarize the relevant literature (long literature reviews should not be submitted);
      3. fully describe the research design, proposed methodology and data sources; and
      4. indicate how the proposed analyses will address the research and policy questions and existing gaps in the relevant literature.
    2. An itemized budget and a budget narrative that explains each line item.
    3. A project timeline listing specific milestones for study completion. The timeline must be within the period from November 1, 2012 through October 31, 2013.
    4. Curriculum vitae for all investigators.

Timeline of Important Dates

  • Deadline for receipt of proposal: September 21, 2012 (5pm PST)
  • Notification of award: on or before October 31, 2012
  • Contract begins: November 1, 2012
  • Draft paper due: October 1, 2013
  • Present at Small Grant Recipient Conference: October/November 2013
  • Final report due: November 30, 2013
  • Policy Brief due: November 30, 2013

Direct questions concerning your proposal to povertycenter@ucdavis.edu.

Go to the webform application.