INSTITUTEOF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL CHANGE

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

FALL2008

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, October1, 2008

Dear Colleagues:

We are pleased to announce this call for applications. The Institute of Human Development and Social Change represents a dynamic collaboration of New YorkUniversity’s Schools of Arts and Sciences, the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education,and Human Development, and the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. The Institute provides support for NYU faculty to conduct multidisciplinary research on human development and changing social contexts. A central goal is to bridge the longstanding disconnect between research in human development across the lifespan and policies and practices that affect children, youth, adults, and families. In the spirit of the common enterprise university, the Institutebrings together faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students from professional schools and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in new forms of knowledge creation (research) and knowledge transmission (education). This call for applications focuses on this first goal, providing fiscal “seed” support to faculty for multidisciplinary research.

We look forward to highlighting innovative, “cutting-edge” research through this award structure and we are accepting applications for Fall2008. Our Selection Committee will be meeting in Octoberand decisions regarding awards will follow by Thursday, October 23rd. If you have questions regarding the ways in which your scholarly work fits within the mission of the Institute, do not hesitate to contact one of us to discuss your concerns. We look forward to learning more about your work.

C. Cybele Raver, Director,

CONTENTS

INSTITUTEOFHUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL CHANGE

MULTIDISIPLINARY “SEED” GRANT PROGRAM

Institute Focus Areas

  1. The Institute maintains several focus areasemphasizing the dynamics of individuals’ learning, health, well-being, and social relationships embedded within changing social contexts. New models and methods have emerged from multiple social science disciplines, including sociology, psychology, economics, public health, policy studies, prevention science, and allied disciplines, to tackle the complexity of human development and contextual change. The University recognizes that scholars who take up the challenge of conducting multidisciplinary research may need “seed” support to jump-start new programs of inquiry. The Institute has therefore been charged by the University to make awards to junior and senior tenure-track or tenured faculty as investigators who bridge multiple domains of expertise and cross disciplinary boundaries.
  1. Research plans submitted to the Institute must meet a range of key criteria for evaluation (listed below). It is of central importance that the theoretical underpinnings, design, methods, analytic plans, and interpretation of the findings of the study to be undertaken with Institute support must use a multidisciplinary framework to focus on a) some aspect of human development and/or b) the role of changing social contexts.
  1. This can be carried out by a single Principal Investigator who wishes to take his or her work in new multidisciplinary directions. It could also be carried out by a team of investigators where individuals with expertise within their own discipline bring that expertise to bear on a shared intellectual problem. Examples of research topics within this dual emphasis on both human development and changing social contexts include a) Family Structure and the Biopsychology of Stress, b) Globalization, Megacities, and Child and Family Well-being, c) Parental and Public Investments in Children, d) The Developmental Dynamics of Intergroup Conflict, Prejudice andDiscrimination, and e) Early Learning and School Readiness: Micro-and Macro-Contexts. Applications are not limited to these topics. Instead, they serve as examples of ways to approach questions of human development and social change from a multidisciplinary perspective. If the application is submitted by a single PI, then the application should state clearly who else will work on the project from another discipline.

Criteria for evaluation

Each application will be reviewed and judged on several criteria:

  • As discussed above, strong emphasis is placed on the application’s prospects for stimulatingmultidisciplinary research on human development and social change. Proposed projects will also be reviewed for their level of scientific innovation, or the ways that the research questions to be addressed are new and compelling.
  • Proposed plans will be evaluated on additional indicators of research quality, including the ways that the research problem is clearly specified, the rigor and “fit” of the methods used to address the research problem, the proposed project’s feasibility, the investigator’s plans for dissemination of findings, and the likely contributions that findings from the proposed study will serve a “translational” role across academic and policy audiences.
  • High importance is placed on the extent that the proposed research project is multidisciplinary. This criterion could be met by an investigator working collaboratively with other researchers in other disciplines, departments, or schools, where the tools of two or more social science disciplines will be used. This criterion could also be met by a single investigator who proposes to “cross-train” in theory, models, and methods commonly used in a discipline other than their “home discipline,” with mentorship and support provided by other faculty in that second “disciplinary home.”
  • This RFA is specifically targeted as “seed” or “pilot” support for projects that are large in scope, where faculty members hope to secure external funding. High priority will be given to applications where the investigator has recently submitted a large grant application through the Institute to Federal or foundation sources, but where he or she would benefit from pilot or seed support to complete preliminary analyses or pilot research. Investigators with a well-articulated plan for submitting grant applications through the Institute for external funding (with grantor agencies, deadlines, and submission requirements clearly specified) will also be given priority.

Eligibility and Restrictions

  • All full-time,tenure-track or tenured faculty members are eligible to apply. Research Scientists who have held their appointments for 5 or more years are also eligible to apply.
  • Proposals must draw upon theory and analytic approaches that draw fromat least 2 disciplines.
  • A letter with the chair’s signature or review/approval from OSP is not required.
  • At least one of the Principal Investigators must be from:
  • Arts and Science, SteinhardtSchool of Culture, Education, and Human Development, orRobertF.WagnerSchool of Public Service.
  • Though a faculty member from another discipline does not need to be listed as a PI, Co-PI, or Co-I, the names and areas of expertise in a different discipline from the PI should be clearly stated, i.e., reviewers need to know with whom the planned cross-disciplinary research is to be conducted.

Program Monitoring

Candidates selected to receive seed support must sign letters of acceptance acknowledging their agreement to meet Institute expectations and reporting requirements prior to receipt of their award. All award monies must be spent by the end of the academic year in which the award was received unless otherwise arranged with IHDSC. After all monies have been spent, a summary budget report must be submitted to IHDSC within 60-days of the exhaustion of funds. All details, including receipts are not needed, but instead IHDSC needs to track if the expected expenditures matched the actual. This will help in the advisement of future rounds of applications. If your final budget does not closely match the proposed budget, please include 1-2 sentences explaining the discrepancy.

Submission Procedures

Please submit the proposal in electronic format to Genevieve Okada, IHDSC, Institute/Grants Administrator, at by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday,October1, 2008.

The Selection Committee will announce award decisions by Thursday, October 23rd.

I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Project Description should not exceed 5 single-spaced pages including all pictures, graphs, and tables. Be succinct, avoid jargon, and spell out acronyms when used for the first time. Please answer all the following questions so that reviewers have the information necessary to evaluate your proposal.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW AND DESIGN

Please describe the project’s scope, size, and components. What methodology will you employ? What is the project’s duration and timeline?

PRESENTSTATE OF KNOWLEDGE

What impact might the project have on the progress or state of knowledge in its field?

IMPACT IN THE FIELD

Describe the impact your project will have both at NYU and in the Community.

STATEMENT

What are the potential results? Once the research project is completed, how do you intend to use the results? If you have external funding, please be very clear on why you are seeking support.

INCORPORATING STUDENTS

Include ideas on how intended research can be incorporated into the graduate and undergraduate learning experience.

AVAILABLITY OF FUNDING

List organizations that fund this type of research and briefly describe each you are intending to submit your project to and when. State other agencies, funders, and offices (within and outside of NYU) to which you have submitted an application for funding for the proposed research. Please list each organization’s decision date, the status of your application (e.g. awarded, pending, submitted, declined). Note that funding from the Institute will not be awarded if it clearly duplicates awards received from funding mechanisms.

II CURRICULUM VITAE

Submit a CV for each Investigator involved in the Project.

II. BUDGETS:

Awards will vary depending on the proposed scope of work (typical range is from $5,000 to $15,000 and will not exceed $20,000).

Necessary costs should be listed in a one-page line item budget and may include such items as salary for student research assistants, fringe benefits, travel necessary to the project, fieldwork expenses, computer time, consultation, hourly assistance, etc. Include a budget narrative which explains the purpose of each line item.

If you are in the SteinhardtSchool, please contact your administrator to get the name of the contact person within your department for assistance in preparing these materials.

If you are in the WagnerSchool, please contact Holly Coleman (; 212-998-7501).

If you are in the School of Arts and Science, please contact your administrator to get the name of the contact person within your department for assistance in preparing these materials.

III. HUMAN SUBJECTS:

It is anticipated that many of the proposals will include the participation of human subjects in their research designs. Investigators should note that all funded proposals must be reviewed and approved by the New York University Committee on Activities Involving Human Subjects. Investigators are strongly encouraged to apply for human subjects approval shortly after the application is submitted. Please note that if there are human subjects included in the proposal, funding cannot be awarded until human subject approval has been granted.

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