Rapoport Family Foundation

Submissions will be accepted beginning November 21, 2023 through December 22, 2023. Applications must be submitted no later than Friday, December 22, 2023, 11:59PM Eastern Time.

All proposals must be submitted through our online application. You can apply by clicking here and begin by clicking the "Create New Account" button. Please email grants@rapoportfamilyfoundation.com with questions.

To be successful, a proposal must include:

• A proposal summary (1 page): a succinct overview of the project, including the central research question, a brief note on how the project fits with existing research on the issue, a short overview of the research plan, and an indication of how the grant is expected to improve the overall dissertation.
• A thorough description (5 pages) of the study design: The description should be no longer than 5 pages single-spaced and include the following information:
  • A general description of the research question and how it fits into the existing literature, and the theory, hypotheses and/or argument the dissertation will apply, and the method(s) or approach(es) used to answer the research question
  • A full description of the research activities and the methodological approach(es) that would be supported by the grant, including their purpose in the context of the overall research project
  • A discussion of any pilot programs, pre-analysis, or initial data collection that you have completed and how the grant supported activities are necessary to confirm or build on initial findings
  • A well-developed research plan and timeline for the grant-supported activities
  • An explicit explanation of the intellectual merit and broader impact of the proposed research. Intellectual merit will be evaluated based on the project’s potential to advance knowledge and understanding within political science or across fields (including the field of political science), while broader impact will be evaluated based on the project’s potential to benefit society more broadly.
  • All references cited in the project description and research plan should be included in a separate citation page, which will not count against the page limit.
• Biographical sketch (1 page): relevant professional training, including undergraduate and graduate education and supplemental training programs; any appointments or accomplishments, including service and teaching obligations, that may speak to the research scholar’s professional development and ability to conduct the proposed research; and, any published or in-progress papers or products that speak to the research scholar’s research agenda and ability to conduct the proposed research. Biographical sketches may be in narrative form or in the form of a curriculum vitae.
• Adviser support form (1 page): The purpose of this form is to affirm the research scholar’s academic progress and the adviser’s support for the research scholar’s skills and ability to conduct the proposed research. The Adviser Support Form is not meant to serve as a letter of recommendation but should attest to the adviser’s knowledge of and support for the application. The Adviser Support Form can be found here.
• Ethics statement (1 page): Applicants will be required to provide a statement affirming their commitment to research ethics, and describing the application of the principles of research ethics in their projects. This should include addressing questions around ethical implementation of human subjects research as well as whether the applicant knows of any potential issues regarding conflicts of interest or scientific integrity for their projects. This may overlap with issues addressed in the data management plan, but most issues around the ethical handling of data should be covered in the data management plan. In developing this statement it may be useful to refer to the APSA Ethics Guide and Principles and Guidance for Human Subjects Research.
• IRB Documentation: Applicants must provide documentation indicating that they have applied for or already gained IRB approval or exemption for their research plan (for example, the letter of approval or exemption from the IRB or a letter or email confirming submission of an application to the IRB). Applicants who submit documentation of having applied for IRB approval will be asked to submit verification of IRB approval upon receipt of such approval.
• An appendix with actual questions, proposed questions, or topics. The entire proposal with all appendices or supplements of any sort may not exceed twenty pages under any circumstances.

We seek proposals that break new ground in the hypotheses they investigate, the procedures they employ, or both. Proposals that report trial runs of novel and focal ideas will be viewed as more credible.

In a limited number of cases, we can provide additional funding for respondent-questions. Such requests, however, are required to pass higher review standards than regular proposals. If the request entails substantial additional costs, we will have to reject the proposal or ask the proposer to pay the additional cost.