Letters of Inquiry for Social Inequality Research

Posted by Russell Sage Foundation on April 2, 2018

Russell Sage Foundation Seeks Letters of Inquiry for Social Inequality Research

One of the oldest American foundations, the Russell Sage Foundation was established by Mrs. Margaret Olivia Sage in 1907 for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” In pursuit of this mission, the foundation now dedicates itself to strengthening the methods, data, knowledge, and theoretical core of the social sciences as a means of diagnosing social problems and improving social policies.

To that end, the foundation’s program on Social Inequality, which supports research on the social, economic, political, and labor market consequences of rising economic inequalities in the United States, seeks Letters of Inquiry for investigator-initiated research projects that broaden current understanding of the causes and consequences of rising economic inequalities. Priority will be given to projects that use innovative data or methodologies to address important questions about inequality.

Examples of the kinds of topics that are of interest include but are not limited to economic well-being, equality of opportunity, and intergenerational mobility; the political process and resulting policies; psychological and/or cultural change; education; labor markets; child development and child outcomes; neighborhoods and communities; families, family structure, and family formation; and other forms of inequality.

Two-year grants of up to $150,000 will be awarded to qualified organizations.

To be eligible, organizations must be tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Review Code.

The foundation encourages methodological variety, but all proposals should have well-developed conceptual frameworks and designs. Analytical models should be specified and research questions and hypotheses should be clearly stated. Awards are available for research assistance, data acquisition, data analysis, and investigator time for conducting research and writing up results.

Letters of Inquiry must be received no later than August 20. Upon review, select applicants will be invited to submit a proposal by November 15, 2018.

For complete program guidelines, application instructions, information about previous grant recipients, and an FAQ, see the Russell Sage website.

Deadline: August 20, 2018

http://www.russellsage.org/research/funding/social-inequality