Ford Program Research Funding

Research Opportunities for Faculty

The Ford Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity is dedicated to research, teaching, and service that promotes Integral Human Development, a holistic model of flourishing rooted in the dignity and full potential of the human person. 

In order to advance our mission, the Ford Program is committed to providing support for Kellogg Faculty fellows from various disciplines with research interests that align with our goal. 

Notre Dame faculty who are not currently Kellogg fellows can apply. However, disbursement of funds would be conditioned upon *appointment as a Kellogg Faculty Fellow. To learn more about opportunities afforded to Kellogg fellows click here.

*Please note, appointments occur only twice a year. For questions, please contact Maurice Sikenyi at msikenyi@nd.edu

There are three types of funds provided by the Ford Program:

1. Seed funding for exploring new research ideas
2. Co-funding for ongoing projects funded by other sources
3. Funding on existing advanced projects for dissemination activities that result in a “community deliverable” as defined below. 

Eligibility

• Notre Dame faculty from any School/Department
• Proposals must have a clear relevance to promoting Integral Human Development
• Research must have geographical focus on Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC)
• Proposal must detail the level and nature of local community engagement/involvement

Criteria

The following criteria are used to evaluate submitted proposals:

• Relevance to the Ford Program Mission
• Potential for publication in high-quality journals
• Potential for further support from external funding sources
• Show evidence of (or credible ability to create) long-term mutually beneficial relationships with the local communities involved in/affected by the research, including but not limited to:
  • inclusion of local Co-PIs
  • details on how the research avoids any risks of exploitative arrangements
  • credible/proven knowledge of the local area of focus
  • capacity building plans
• Budgetary appropriateness (i.e., the requested expenses are justified as necessary to the completion of the research)

Proposals are evaluated by an interdisciplinary committee. Therefore, applicants should make sure that their proposals are clear to people outside their discipline.

Funding Details

Allowable Expenses:
Proposals will be accepted for most research-related expenses with justified relevance and importance to the project and may include multiple dimensions (e.g., two field trips, one field trip plus research assistance, etc.).  

• Funding is available for a variety of project costs, including but not limited to the following:
• PERSONNEL - Research assistance, including graduate or undergraduate assistants or independent contractors, editorial support and/or translation services. Even though the Ford Program has affiliated personnel in some LMICs, applicants must include field support costs from affiliated on-site staff in their budget. 
• COMMUNITY DELIVERABLE: Proposals must include a “community deliverable” as a key output of the project. This can take various forms depending on the nature of the research. Examples include: technical reports to partner organizations, policy briefs, capacity training activities, reports for local and/or national governments.   
• TRAVEL - Travel expenses associated with field research, travel to collections, collaboration with co-authors and, in collective research projects, with other individuals involved in the project.  Includes airfare, ground transportation, lodging, and per diem.
• RESEARCH SUPPLIES - Acquisition of research materials, including electronic databases, computer software (not hardware), books, manuscripts, microfilm, etc.
• PARTICIPANT SUPPORT - Expenses related to research subjects, such as travel and food and/or program completion incentives.

Funding Amount

• Seed and co-funding grants (#1 and #2 above) will not normally exceed $30,000. However, in exceptional cases, we may consider grants of up to $50,000 on projects involving extensive field research and will consider proposals for any amount up to this figure.
• Small funding for “community deliverables” will normally not exceed $10,000

In all cases, the final determination of the amount awarded is at the discretion of the committee and will depend on their assessment of the specified needs in the proposal, budget, and justification.

Applicants must notify the Ford Program of any funding received from another source; the Program may adjust the award accordingly. No duplicate funding (that is, funding for the same purpose) is allowed.

Submission

Submission Deadline(s): December 20, 2024

Applicants are encouraged to contact Maurice Sikenyi  msikenyi@nd.edu  to discuss proposals prior to submitting for committee review.

 The complete application will require:

• A brief abstract (150 words)
• A full description of the project which clearly identifies:
  • the LMIC focus or dimension
  • the research question to be addressed
  • its background and significance within your field
  • its relation to the thematic priorities of the Ford Program
  • the methods you will employ to answer the question
  • expected accomplishments during the period for which you are requesting funding
  • the anticipated scholarly product (e.g., an article, a series of articles, a book)
  • the anticipated community deliverable
  • a description of how the student will participate in the research (if funding for a graduate or undergraduate assistant is requested)
• A short bibliography
• An abbreviated (2-3 page) CV
• A list of other sources from which the applicant already has funding or will be requesting funding
• A detailed line-item budget (download budget template below) - View PDF Example of Budget
• A narrative budget justification that provides an explanation of your budget at a high level; it does not need to be extensive nor detail proposed expenditures line by line as your budget does that.  The goal of the justification, which can be brief, is to allow you to explain in narrative the rationale for the requested funds, why the requested amounts (e.g., number of trips, length of stay, etc) is necessary for the completion of your research, and how you calculated the amounts requested in order to demonstrate to the committee that the amounts requested are reasonable and not made up.

Budget Template

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