ISS Small Grant Program
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my research considered social science?
What constitutes a strong budget justification?
At the time of submission of the proposal, does the proposed project have to have IRB approval?
Do all the research project's team members have to be at Cornell?
Can the research project include co-PI's, post-docs, or graduate assistants who are not members of the faculty?
If awarded an ISS small grant, when could I expect to receive the funding?
Is there a time frame during which the funds must be spent?
How are the proposals evaluated?
If I have been funded by the ISS Small Grants program before, how long should I wait before reapplying?
Does it matter if I was the lead PI or a secondary PI on the previously funded grant?
Is my research considered social science?
See ISS' definition of social science here.
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What constitutes a strong budget justification?
A detailed budget justification gives the review committee a clear idea of what you specifically plan on using the funds for and what the sources for your cost estimates are. (See sample budget.) For example, what model of equipment or software would you purchase and how much does it currently cost from a particular vendor, like Buy.com? How much does Expedia or the CU Travel Office's online site estimate as the cost of car rental or air travel for the estimated time periods you will be in the field or collaborating with colleagues? How many hours at what rate per hour do you plan to hire a research assistant, based on what precedent?
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At the time of submission of the proposal, does the proposed experiment already have to have IRB approval?
No.
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Do all the research project's team members have to be at Cornell?
The lead PI must be a Cornell faculty member, but the entire research team does not have to be.
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Can the research project include co-PI's, post-docs, or graduate assistants who are not members of the faculty?
The lead PI must be a Cornell tenure-track or tenured faculty member. However, the entire research team does not have to be; the team can include non-tenure track research associates, post-docs, and graduate students who participate as collaborators or hired research assistants. ISS grants do not, however, pay for tuition, stipends, or student fees on graduate assistantship lines, and they are not awarded for research projects that are primarily designed to produce doctoral dissertations.
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If awarded an ISS small grant, when could I expect to receive the funding?
ISS small grant funds are transferred to the lead PI's departmental account after a complete ISS Award Transfer Form is submitted. Once appropriate paperwork is received, funds are typically transferred within two weeks. ISS small grant awards must be transferred by the end of the fiscal year in which the award is made.
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Is there a time frame during which the funds must be spent?
Awards are ideally spent within a year from when they are awarded. At the end of this time frame, the PI will file a brief report to the ISS director regarding the research progress and disposition of the small grant funds.
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How are the proposals evaluated?
We strive to review each proposal by 2 of your peer scholars who are asked to use the following criteria in their evaluations: quality of social science scholarship (including theory and methodology), originality and importance of the core ideas, compelling nature of the arguments presented, and potential significance of the theoretical contribution. We also evaluate each proposal in terms of how well it fits the mission of the Institute for the Social Sciences and the goals of the small grant program, including: the interdisciplinary nature of the research or conference, whether it includes junior scholars, and whether the project is likely to obtain external funding or be expanded into an ISS theme project proposal.
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If I have been funded by the ISS Small Grants program before, how long should I wait before reapplying?
Faculty who have previously been awarded an ISS small grant as a lead PI can re-apply for funding after a two-year wait.
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Does it matter if I was the lead PI or a secondary PI on the previously funded grant?
Faculty who have previously been awarded an ISS small grant as a lead PI can re-apply for funding after a two-year wait. Secondary PIs on previous grants can apply for new funding at any time.
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