Policy and Practice Research Labs

Awards

Policy and Practice Research Lab grants typically award up to $75,000 over three years.  Disbursement of the total award amount may be divided unequally across years (e.g., a larger amount may be required in earlier years for start-up expenses).

These grants are intended as seed money to foster the formation of cohesive, ongoing Research Labs organized around a specific theme, issue, or set of closely interrelated questions or problems.

Research 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;
• Buy-out(s) of teaching responsibilities; and
• Support for team-taught seminars or courses by members of the Research Lab.
   

Research Lab proposals may also include a request that the Institute support a visiting fellow or other post-doctoral researcher with funds over and above those in the proposed Research Lab grant budget. 

In addition to the above funding awarded through a Research Lab grant, proposals by designated Research Lab and those of its members that advance the work of the lab are prioritized in other areas of Institute funding, including grants for faculty and graduate student research, course development grants, conference/workshop grants, and funding for speakers in the Kellogg lecture series.  The Institute may also provide Research Labs with logistical assistance, such as office or collaborative work space, support for external grant proposal development and implementation, event coordination, and publicity.

Award Criteria

All Policy and Practice Research Lab proposals must demonstrate intellectual merit, as well as fit with the Kellogg Institute mission and the potential to make a significant research and policy impact in the Institute’s core thematic areas and advance its strategic plan.

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

• Cohesion of research interests of the identified participants;
• Anticipated outcomes, including potential for future publication and other significant research and policy-relevant outputs;
• Potential to leverage Kellogg support to garner substantive external funding;
• 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 relationships that advance key Kellogg objectives for research excellence, student and educational opportunities, fieldwork, and policy engagement and impact;
• Potential to involve PhD, Master of Global Affairs, and Kellogg International Scholars Program students in research related to the theme of the Research Lab;
• Ability of the proposed Research Lab composition to create synergy among various disciplines, methods, and approaches in a way that addresses the research problem better together than separately.
   

Successful Research Lab proposals have an ambitious mix of programmatic elements and significant mechanisms of interactivity and collaboration, with priority given to those that incentivize connections across disciplines and/or regions of study that are otherwise absent.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to seek, and priority is given to projects with demonstrated potential to secure financial support from other sources, both internal and external to Notre Dame.

Proposal Submission and Review

Policy and Practice Research Lab proposals are considered in a two-stage process. 

Stage I: Prior to submitting a full proposal, a two-page concept paper must be submitted for review by the Faculty Committee of the Institute. The concept papers should include the following:

1. a brief abstract (approx. one paragraph, including the research theme to be addressed, alignment with Kellogg mission and research priorities, the project's goal and its primary objectives);
2. background Information (approx. 1-3 paragraphs, including relevant background on major issues/questions to be studied, the significance of the work to be pursued, relevant literature, and/or theoretical, conceptual, or policy context);
3. proposed activities and outputs (approx. 2-4 paragraphs, e.g., anticipated lab activities, scholarly and/or policy outputs, potential collaboration, and possible partners and opportunities for engagement);
4. a project timeline (approx. 1 paragraph, indicating grant lifecycle over a 3-year period);
5. the project's ability to achieve the award criteria listed below (approx. 1 paragraph); and
6.  the total budget request (identifying anticipated funding categories (e.g., travel, participant support, etc.) and estimated total amounts for each category; an itemized or detailed budget is not required at this stage but will be requested if invited to submit a full proposal; total awards are typically $75,000 over three years, awarded in annual amounts of $25,000).

Stage I: Submission deadline: September 6

Stage II:  We will invite those receiving a favorable review in this initial stage to submit a full proposal, due October 24, for review by an appointed committee at the beginning of the fall semester. 

Full proposals should be no more than eight pages (not including budget and CVs) and should include:

• A brief abstract (150–200 words)
• A delineation of the specific components or activities for which funding is sought
• A timeline and outline of the lab’s scope over one to three years
• A statement of expected accomplishments during the period for which funding is requested
• A statement regarding the anticipated scholarly products
• A statement regarding the potential for competing successfully for other funding, including potential funding sources
• If funding for graduate or undergraduate assistance is requested, a description of how the student(s) will be involved in the research
• Abbreviated (two-page maximum) CVs that highlight recent publications and other relevant work of the principal investigators and other key project participants
• A statement regarding previous support received from the Kellogg Institute for related activities by project participants and results achieved
• An itemized budget and narrative budget justification.
   

Peer reviews will be sought before a final decision is made to award funding.