Kellogg-Lucy Policy and Practice Research Lab

A Kellogg-Lucy Policy and Practice Research Lab must have at least two principal investigators: one who is a Kellogg faculty fellow, and one who is a Lucy Family Institute faculty member. Proposals must identify a minimum of two additional on-campus researchers working on a common theme, including Notre Dame faculty, visiting fellows, and doctoral students whose dissertation topics are directly related to the theme of the lab. 

The institutes strongly encourage lab proposals that make connections across the Kellogg and Lucy communities – including faculty fellows, current and former visiting fellows, postdoctoral researchers, and current doctoral students – as well as those that involve collaboration across disciplines, departments, colleges/schools, and with other institutions, external partners, and practitioners.

The lab is expected to yield a sufficient number of research and policy-relevant outputs within a specified time frame and be competitive for external funding. The third year of funding is contingent upon demonstration of external fundraising. 

The Kellogg-Lucy Policy and Practice Research Lab grants will award up to $120,000 over three years with a maximum of $40,000 per year.

Lab grants are intended to support aspects of the lab that benefit the group as a whole and may be used for a variety of programmatic elements and project costs, including but not limited to:

• Travel expenses associated with collaboration with individuals involved in the project from other institutions, including short-term visitors;
• Graduate or undergraduate research assistants, including those providing logistical and administrative support for the group;
• Acquisition of research materials, including electronic databases, books, manuscripts, microfilm, etc.;
• Research computing or computer software (but not hardware) for research purposes;
• Research Faculty or Professors of the Practice with a primary, calendar year appointment at the Lucy Institute may budget up to 1 month/year of their calendar year base salary for performing research tasks such as implementing data analyses and/or AI workflows. Faculty salary for oversight and management is not considered an allowable expense. For all other faculty, lab funds may not be used for faculty summer salary, supplemental compensation, or academic year salary extensions.
   

In addition to the above funding awarded through a Policy and Practice Research Lab grant, the institutes may also provide labs with logistical assistance, such as access to collaborative work space, support for external grant proposal preparation, event coordination, and publicity contingent on staff capacity. 

All Policy and Practice Research Lab proposals must demonstrate intellectual merit, fit with the Kellogg and Lucy Family Institute missions, and the potential to make a significant research and policy impact.

In addition, the following criteria are used to evaluate the strength of proposals:

• Cohesion of the identified participants’ research interests with the lab’s goals and objectives;
• Anticipated outcomes, including potential for future publication and other significant research and policy-relevant outputs;
• Potential to leverage Kellogg-Lucy support to garner substantive external funding;
• Ability of the proposed lab composition to create synergy among various disciplines, methods, and approaches in a way that addresses the research problem better together than separately.
• Potential for sustained collaboration that catalyzes partnerships across disciplines, departments, and colleges/schools, and with other institutions or external partners that provide long-term strategic value to the Institute as a whole;
• Potential to build long-term, multidimensional internal and external relationships that advance key Kellogg and Lucy objectives for research excellence, student and educational opportunities, fieldwork, and policy engagement and impact;
• Potential to involve PhD, Master of Global Affairs, Lucy Graduate Scholars, Kellogg International Scholars Program and Kellogg Developing Researchers Program students in research related to the theme of the Research Lab.

Proposals should be no more than ten pages (excluding budget, references, and CVs) and must clearly articulate the lab’s purpose, activities, and alignment with the Institute’s mission.

Proposals should include the following components:

• Brief abstract (150–200 words) outlining the research theme, its relevance to the Kellogg Institute and Lucy Family Institute missions and research priorities, and the project’s primary goals and objectives
• Background and rationale describing the key issues or questions to be addressed, the significance of the work, relevant literature, and potential policy impact. 
• Proposed activities and outputs detailing anticipated lab activities, scholarly and/or policy outputs, potential collaborations, and opportunities for engagement
• Timeline outlining the lab’s scope and major milestones over the three-year grant period, and plans for long-term sustainability, including potential external funding opportunities, existing applications, or strategies for securing additional resources.
• Explanation of student engagement
• Statement regarding previous support received from the Kellogg and/or Lucy Family Institutes for related activities by project participants and results achieved
• Itemized budget and narrative justification, with estimated costs broken down by category (e.g., travel, personnel, events, materials); total awards may request a maximum of $120,000 over three years
• Abbreviated CVs (maximum two pages each) for the principal investigators and key project participants, highlighting recent publications and relevant work

Proposals must be submitted by August 28, 2026, and will be reviewed by a joint Faculty Committee composed of Kellogg and Lucy affiliates. Applicants are welcome to contact Saadat Musabaeva and Katie Liu prior to submitting a proposal.

Labs will be awarded funding one year at a time. In order to receive the next year of funding, labs must submit an annual report, due each year on May 15. Reports must include:

• A summary of the lab’s sustained impact in research and policy domains including any products such as publications, policy briefs, and articles
• An explanation of how students have been engaged in lab activities, including mentoring, research training, or professional development
• A description of external funding efforts, including grants secured and/or pending applications

The third year of funding is contingent upon demonstration that the lab has externally fundraised the equivalent of the internal investment at that time. For example, if the lab has received $80,000 by the end of year two, they must demonstrate that they have successfully received a recommendation for an award (or awards) with a combined value that is greater than or equal to $80,000.