Application Guidelines for IRP-USDA RIDGE Grants

Funding for the Period July 1, 2008 - December 31, 2009
(Deadline for Receipt: May 2, 2008)

A. Purpose of the Program and Background

The Institute for Research on Poverty is a university-based center for research into the causes and consequences of poverty in the United States. The intent of this competition is to stimulate new research on food security and food assistance programs, such as Food Stamps, school lunch and breakfast programs, summer food programs, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

The grants program is cosponsored by the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program supports small grants for studies focusing on topics such as food security and the effects of food assistance programs on income security and other indicators of well-being among low-income individuals and families.

B. Terms of the Grants

1. Applicants must hold the doctorate or the highest degree appropriate for their discipline.
2. Grants may not exceed $40,000. These amounts include indirect costs at the applicant's institution, if required, and expenses incurred for the conference in Washington, DC.
3. Grant recipients are expected to present their research results at a conference in Washington, DC, in fall 2009.
4. Recipients of any grant are required to furnish the Institute with a final report describing the results of their research no later than November 30, 2009.The final report will consist of the paper they present at the fall conference, revised to respond to comments received there. The final report may appear in the IRP Discussion Paper series. Recipients must also submit an executive summary by November 30, 2009, following a format provided by ERS.
5. The Institute plans to convene a workshop for grantees in spring 2009 to discuss their early research results, but applicants need not include support for travel to the workshop in their applications. Attendees are asked to prepare a draft paper—recognizing that what they are discussing is very much a work in progress and findings may be preliminary and incomplete—and submit it to the IRP RIDGE coordinator at least 10 days prior to the workshop. The Institute will cover the costs of one person per project to attend the spring workshop.

C. Availability of Funds

Program support is subject to the availability of funds. Nothing in this description of applications should be construed as committing the Institute to dividing available funds among all qualified applicants.

D. Content and Organization of the Application

The application must contain:

1. A cover sheet giving the title of the proposed research, applicant’s name, institutional affiliation with full address and telephone number, home address, and time period of the proposed research.
2. A one-page abstract, describing purpose, data, and methods.
3. Description of the applicant's proposed research, not to exceed 10 double-spaced pages exclusive of References or Appendixes. The proposal should carefully describe the issues to be examined, hypotheses to be evaluated, methodology proposed, data sources to be used, and anticipated results of the research. The results should be related to policy issues.
4. A budget showing funds requested from the Institute and funds available or applied for from other sources. The budget must be itemized—showing, for example, the researcher’s time, research assistant’s time, travel costs, computer services, supplies, and indirect costs if required.
   
   In an effort to provide as much as possible of the limited funding to direct research efforts, institutions are required to limit their indirect costs on the proposed subcontracts to not more than the 26 percent indirect cost rate used by the University of Wisconsin on the USDA prime grant.
5. A statement of qualifications of the applicant.
6. Applicant's curriculum vitae.
7. A one-paragraph summary of any other current or recent projects that have been funded by the RIDGE program (through any of the participating institutions) or by the Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program (FANRP).
8. A letter from the applicant’s department chair indicating whether, if an award is made, a personal contract is authorized; if it is not, the letter should indicate the appropriate research grant contact at the applicant’s institution.

E. Applications Processing

Applications will be initially screened for relevance to the subject areas described above. If judged irrelevant or inadequate by any of the criteria listed below, the application will not be considered further. If judged relevant, the application will be evaluated by a panel of experts. The evaluation will employ the following criteria. The relative weights are shown in parentheses. The Institute will consult with ERS before making any funding decisions.

1. The potential usefulness of the proposed research for the advancement of scientific knowledge concerning the development or analysis of government policy related to poverty, food security, and food assistance (40 points).

2. Clarity of statement of objectives, methods, and anticipated results. The appropriateness and soundness of methodology, including research design, choice of data, methods of analysis, and other procedures (40 points).

3. The reasonableness of estimated cost and time commitments in relation to anticipated results. The qualifications and experience of personnel, including demonstrated familiarity with the literature (20 points).

F. Dates for Receipt and Announcement

Applications must include five copies and be received at the Institute for Research on Poverty by the close of business on May 2, 2008. Fax or e-mail submissions will not be accepted. Proposal receipt will be acknowledged.

Applications should be addressed to:

IRP-USDA RIDGE Program
Institute for Research on Poverty
1180 Observatory Drive
3412 Social Science Building
Madison, WI 53706-1393

Applications delivered personally must include five copies and arrive at the Institute before the close of business on May 2, 2008.

It is the intent to notify all applicants of results by June 16, 2008.