Funding Opportunities

Developing a Method for Conducting an Internal Evaluation of Gender-Informed Policy and Practice
Deadline: August 24, 2011 The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is seeking applications from organizations, groups, or individuals to enter into a cooperative agreement for an 18-month period to develop and pilot a methodology for correctional organizations to conduct an internal evaluation of their current policy and practice for working with women offenders. This methodology must cover a broad range of domains, such as leadership, external collaboration, management and operations, sanctions, assessment and case planning, and programs and services. The methodology must be concise but informative enough to be used by an organization with an understanding of evidence-based practices that incorporate gender-informed research and information. Additional consideration may be given to an applicant who can incorporate into the methodology those elements applicable to institutional and community corrections environments. Click here for more details. 

Pregnancy in Women with Disabilities (R01, R21)
Deadline: September 7, 2014 This FOA issued by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) encourages research project grants (R01) investigating the incidence, course, and outcomes of pregnancy among women with disabilities. Areas of interest also include studies to inform preconceptional and antenatal counseling and strategies for addressing barriers to prenatal care, and management of pregnancy, the puerperium, and the transition to parenthood in order to optimize outcomes for women with physical, intellectual and developmental, and/or sensory disabilities and their families. Applicants are encouraged to include women with disabilities and members of the community in the design and conduct of their research. Click here for more information.  

Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) of Genomic Research Small Research Grant Program (R03)
Deadline: September 7, 2014 This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages Small Research Grant (R03) applications to study the ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) of human genome research. These applications should be for small, self-contained research projects. Of particular interest are projects that propose focused legal, economic, philosophical or historical analyses of new or emerging issues. Click here for more information.   

Sociological Initiatives Foundation Offers Support for Research to Further Social Change
Deadline: August 15, 2011 (Concept Application)
(From the Philanthropy News Digest) The Sociological Initiatives Foundation was established to support research that furthers social change, including language learning and behavior and its intersection with social and policy questions. The foundation specifically supports research in the U.S. and it territories that focuses on social policy objectives; institutional and educational practices; legislative and regulatory changes; linguistic issues (e.g., literacy, language loss and maintenance, language policy, language and national security, bilingualism, language and gender, language and law, language disabilities, language and health, language and education, different language cultures); and development of community capacity and organization of previously unorganized groups. The foundation supports projects that address institutional rather than individual or behavioral change. It seeks to fund research and initiatives that provide insight into sociological and linguistic issues that may be useful to specific groups and or communities. Click here for more information.  

Sleep and Social Environment: Basic Biopsychosocial Processes (R21)
Deadline: September 30, 2011 This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) issued by the Basic Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Opportunity Network (OppNet), National Institutes of Health (NIH), solicits Research Project Grant (R21) applications from institutions/organizations that propose to investigate the reciprocal interactions of the processes of sleep and circadian regulation and function with behavioral and social environment processes. Sleep is a complex biological phenomenon that is essential to normal behavioral and social functioning, as well as optimal health. In spite of its vital nature, the mechanisms by which social environment factors affect sleep behavior patterns have not been studied systematically, especially within the context of individual vulnerabilities and resilience. There is a need for greater understanding of the dynamic relationships between behavioral and social environment factors on the one hand and the basic mechanisms of sleep-wake and circadian regulation and function on the other. This FOA is not intended to support research on or development of treatments or interventions for disorders of sleep or circadian rhythms. Click here for more information.    

Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation Research Grants and Dissertation Fellowships for Scholars Focusing on Problems of Violence and Aggression
Deadline: varies

(From the Philanthropy News Digest) 

The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation sponsors scholarly research on problems of violence and aggression. The foundation provides both research grants to established scholars and dissertation fellowships to graduate students during the dissertation-writing year. The research grants program welcomes proposals related to any of the natural and social sciences and humanities and which promise to increase understanding of the causes, manifestations, and control of violence and aggression. Highest priority will be given to research that can increase understanding and amelioration of urgent problems of violence and aggression in the modern world. Click here for more information.  

Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Awards (IRACDA) (K12)
Deadline: September 22, 2011 The purpose of the Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA) Program is to develop a diverse group of highly trained biomedical and behavioral scientists who are available to work on NIH-funded research and to address the Nations biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. The program promotes consortia between research-intensive institutions (RII) and partner institutions that have a historical mission and a demonstrated commitment to the training, encouragement and assistance to students from groups underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral research enterprise of the nation. The IRACDA program provides support for a traditional mentored postdoctoral research experience at an RII combined with an opportunity to develop the academic skills, including teaching, through workshops and through mentored teaching assignments of postdoctoral fellows at a partner institution. The primary goals of the IRACDA program are to (1) develop a diverse group of highly trained biomedical and behavioral scientists who have the necessary knowledge and skills to pursue research and teaching careers in academia; and (2) strengthen the overall teaching and research opportunities at partner institutions, with the expectation that it would further foster the development of the next generation of a diverse pool of scientists who are available to address the NIHs biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. Click here for more information.  

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholars in Health Policy Research

Deadline: October 12, 2011

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholars in Health Policy Research program develops and supports a new generation of creative health policy thinkers and researchers within the disciplines of economics, political science and sociology. Each year the program selects up to nine highly qualified individuals for two-year fellowships at one of three nationally prominent universities with the expectation that they will make important research contributions to future U.S. health policy. Click here for more information. 

External Evaluation of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research and Its Grantees Letter Report  

The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research funds applied research and development to improve the lives and functioning of persons with disabilities. At the request of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) within the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education, the Board on Human-Systems Integration of the National Research Council (NRC) convened a committee to conduct an evaluation of aspects of NIDRR's program. Specifically, the committee was charged to assess the NIDRR priority-setting, peer review, and grant management processes, and to develop an overall framework and evaluation design for the review of grantee outputs for a sample of 30 grantees. External Evaluation of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research and Its Grantees Letter Report discusses the procedures the committee used in its output evaluation, its assessment of those procedures, and recommendations for future evaluations. This report works to improve future evaluation practices and ensure that evaluation results optimally inform NIDRR's efforts to maximize the impact of its research grants. Additionally, it offers conclusions, recommendations, and suggestions on defining evaluation objectives, strengthening the output assessment, and using NIDRR's Annual Performance Reports system to capture data for future evaluations. Click here to read more.   

New Journal: Nordic Social Work Research
(Published in Association with the National Associations for Social Work Research, FORSA)
Nordic Social Work Research aims to promote and disseminate high quality research on social work in the Nordic countries. The journal promotes critical and pluralistic perspectives from an interdisciplinary standpoint and welcomes contributions from researchers in different social science disciplines. A variety of methodological approaches are represented and contributions include both empirically based and theoretical articles. Studies with a comparative perspective on Nordic countries are of interest. Articles that present studies of Nordic social work or help mediate between Nordic and international scholarly discussions are especially encouraged. Nordic Social Work Research provides a forum for academic writing on research and practice in social work, social care, social pedagogy and social policy. Authors not originating from the Nordic countries are very welcome to contribute with articles of relevance to our audience. Read the first issue for free online here.  

ICPSR Data Archive Updates

Below is a list of new data collection additions to the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) data archive.

28543 National Crime Victimization Survey, 2009  

29141 Election Administration and Voting Survey, 2008 [United States]

 30842 Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJDATS): Restructuring Risky Relationships-HIV (RRR-HIV), 2005-2008 [United States]  

31081 Current Population Survey, July 2010: Veterans Supplement  

31082 Current Population Survey, November 2010: Voting and Registration Supplement 

Click here for more information.

2009 HCUP Kids' Inpatient Database Now Available
AHRQ's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Kid's Inpatient Database (KID) featuring 2009 data has been released. Released every three years, the KID is designed for studying a broad range of conditions and procedures related to hospitalizations of children. The sample design of the KID enable analyses of common conditions and procedures as well as rare ones, such as congenital anomalies or organ transplantations. The KID allows researchers and policymakers to identify, track, and analyze trends in pediatric healthcare utilization, access charges, quality, and outcomes. The KID can be purchased through the HCUP Central Distributor. Many statistical tables from the KID can be accessed free on HCUPnet.