ISS Small Grant Program

The ISS biannual small grant program supports social science research activities conducted by Cornell faculty. We consider proposed research projects led by a tenure-track or tenured faculty member. Each competition provides funding of up to $12,000 to initiate research projects, collect data, run conferences, or travel to meet with collaborators. We are particularly interested in providing funding for: (1) interdisciplinary social science research, (2) interdisciplinary conference support, (3) research led by junior faculty members, (4) projects that will subsequently seek external funding, and/or (5) activities that will lead to ISS theme project proposals. Small grants are funded by the ISS and by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) at Cornell University. All Cornell tenure-track and tenured faculty members in the social sciences are invited to apply. Faculty who have received a previous small grant award from the ISS can apply for new funding after two years.

• Funded activities may include:
  • Data collection or data acquisition
  • Travel costs associated with research
  • Meetings with collaborators or potential funders
  • Research assistance
  • Necessary equipment (i.e., hardware or software)
  • Conferences (priority will be given to conferences held at Cornell)
• Proposal format
  • A cover page which includes the following:
    • Proposal title
    • Name, professorial title (Assistant, Associate, Full Professor), departmental and college affiliation, and email address of lead PI
    • Name, title (Assistant, Associate, Full Professor), departmental and college affiliation, and email address of all co-PIs
    • Is this proposal for a conference or a research project?
    • Total dollar amount you are requesting
    • Are you seeking funding from other sources? If so, indicate sources and amounts.
    • Have you been funded with an ISS small grant before as a lead PI? If yes, provide title of project and season and year of award.
    • Is this proposal a resubmission to the ISS? If yes, what season and year did you originally apply?
  • A narrative proposal which must be no more than 7 pages, double-spaced, and should include the following:
    • one-paragraph abstract of the project that will be posted on the ISS website if the project is funded
    • comprehensive description of proposed activities and their significance, including some description of the research design (if applicable)
    • plans for future research
    • plans for pursuing additional funding, if any
    • plans for developing an ISS theme project proposal, if any
  • In addition to the cover page and 7-page narrative proposal, please submit:

    • a budget & detailed budget justification, including the specific total requested. (For details, see budget info.)

    • a 3-page curriculum vita for the lead tenure-track or tenured faculty member, and a 3-page cv for all additional co-PIs. Each cv should list the researcher's education, major appointments, and most significant publications, presentations, grants, and honors.

• Proposal Submission
  • Proposals are due by 11:59 p.m. on the day of the deadline.
  • Please submit proposals as MSWord or pdf atttachments by email to socialsciences@cornell.edu. No hard copies are needed.
  • We prefer proposals in pdf format with all the parts of the application compiled into one document, or as few documents as possible.

All questions should be directed to socialsciences@cornell.edu.