Small Research Grants

The Williams Institute Small Research Grants Program is currently not accepting applications. Please check back in early 2013.

About the Small Grants Program

The Williams Institute’s Small Research Grants program is designed to encourage new empirical research focused on the LGBT population. Applicants from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, including social sciences like economics, sociology, demography, social psychology, law, and public policy, are encouraged to apply. This initiative is designed to promote two important goals:

* Fostering sound empirical or quantitative analyses focused on the LGBT population.

* Developing better understanding of the need for and impact of public policies that affect the LGBT population.

Proposals should address both goals. Another important objective of this funding is to encourage new scholars to pursue research topics in this area.

Eligibility

Advanced-level graduate students are strongly encouraged to apply. Similarly, more senior scholars interested in expanding their research agenda to include LGBT-related issues are welcome.

Example Topic Areas

* Demographics and socio-economic characteristics of the LGBT population, including same-sex couples, racial and   ethnic minorities, the elderly, and youth;
* Issues related to LGBT families, with a particular interest in children raised by LGBT parents;
* Economic impacts of LGBT-related rights and legislation;
* Use, impact, and evaluation of anti-discrimination statutes, hate crimes statutes, safe schools legislation, civil union, domestic partnership, and marriage legislation, domestic partnership benefits, and legal recognition of parenting rights for LGBT people or same-sex couples;
* Size, demographics, and socio-economic characteristics of the Transgender population;
* Voting patterns and behavior of LGBT population; and
* Analysis of public opinion data regarding LGBT rights.

Budget Information

We anticipate funding five to seven projects with a suggested total budget for individual projects in the range of $1,000 to $5,000. Funds can provide both salary support and costs associated with acquiring and analyzing new or existing data sources. Proposals that are part of larger research initiatives are also welcome. Unfortunately, we cannot provide funding for indirect or overhead costs. Requests for travel funding should be limited to travel that is needed to carry out the research project.

Application Process

The full application should include:

1. Project Description – a 200 word description of the project written for a non-academic audience.

2. Research Proposal – No more than 3 pages, single spaced, with 1 inch margins around and a font size no smaller than 12 point. The research proposal should include the following sections:

A. Research Goals: Describe the specific research goals and objectives of the project and describe how your project will contribute to the stated goals of this initiative.

B. Project Description: Describe the project and include the following information:
1. Relevant scholarly literature that places the study in a broader research context;
2. Research design, including a description of data and methods;
3. A discussion of policy relevance; and
4. Expected research publications, etc., that will result from your project. Note that the Williams Institute will require you to submit a summary of results for possible inclusion on our website upon completion of the project.

C. Application Qualifications: Describe the qualifications of the applicant(s) relevant to this research project.

3. Budget and Budget Narrative
Budgets should outline the amount requested and the basis for all cost estimates. The budget should reflect resources necessary to complete the proposed project in a timely way. Please list other funding applications and sources that could support the project if it is part of a larger initiative. If the overall project budget is greater than the request to the Williams Institute, please describe any other sources of funding and the amount of funding those sources are providing.

4. Human Subjects Narrative
Provide a brief description of any human subject institutional review board (IRB) procedures that may be necessary. Be sure to indicate if the project involves using human subjects, and if so, which IRB process will be used. All projects using human subjects must be approved by an appropriate IRB body. If human subject(s) approval is necessary, funds will not be released until approval is obtained.

5. Curriculum Vitae for all personnel involved in the project.

 

PLEASE SEND OR EMAIL YOUR PROPOSAL TO:

By Mail:
The Williams Institute
UCLA School of Law
Box 951476
Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1476

If you have questions, please contact Jody Herman, hermanj@law.ucla.edu.