The White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI) is sponsoring a conference in June 2008 to highlight the wide range of research on new initiatives and the changes in governance that have occurred over the past seven years. This White House conference represents an important opportunity to review policy, regulatory, and programmatic changes and to gain a better understanding of the components of the Faith-Based and Community Initiative (FBCI) that are believed to have produced significant and long-term potential for positive change. Furthermore, the conference will provide researchers, policy makers, and practitioners with information about the impact of these changes, what challenges they confront moving forward, and which factors contribute to successful service delivery in different groups.
Since its inception in 2001, the FBCI has focused on reorienting government to build on the strength of grassroots nonprofit and faith-based organizations to address some of the country's most stubborn social problems. A number of innovations in governance have occurred in order to ensure that these organizations can better contribute their unique strengths to federal approaches to addressing human needs. These innovations include regulatory reforms, mini-grant programs, indirect funding mechanisms, technical assistance, capacity building, and public/private partnerships. Program areas that have seen significant growth in faith- and community-based initiatives include:
The White House OFBCI, in coordination with the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, is soliciting abstracts for research papers to be presented at the conference that will be published in a research compendium. Papers of interest for Track 1, New Initiatives and Innovations, will present research sponsored by the federal government or private/nonprofit foundations that may include examinations of federal and state faith- and community-based initiatives in the program areas outlined above. Also of interest are detailed reviews of the research literature about faith and community-based programs or innovations by nationally known research scholars. A broad mix of empirical methods is being sought for the conference.
Abstracts should include a description of the federal or state activity under investigation, the relevant literature that will be reviewed, the study's research objectives, the data and methods that will be employed, any initial findings, and the implications for future research, policy, and practice. Paper abstract length is a minimum of 2 pages and a maximum of 4 pages, single spaced, including tables. Submissions should be sent via email to Dianne Munevar (dmunevar@rti.org) with mention of "New Initiatives and Innovations" on the subject line by 11 PM EST on December 3, 2007.
Abstracts will be peer reviewed and selected authors will receive travel and lodging to attend the conference and a $7,000 honorarium to support paper development. Selected authors will be notified by January 28, 2008, and final papers will be due March 31, 2008. Please keep these deadlines in mind when considering whether to submit an abstract. Commissioned papers will be peer reviewed and edited before publication, and are expected to be written in clear and direct language appropriate for a wide lay audience. Papers must be 20 pages in length or less, not including appendices, with specifics on sampling or statistical methodology and other technical detail including tables limited to appendices.
Questions on the submission process or paper requirements can be directed via email to Dianne Munevar at RTI International (dmunevar@rti.org).
Home Pages:
Confererece on Research Related to the Faith-Based
and Community Initiative
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
(ASPE)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS)
Last updated: 12/12/07