- Proposal Submission
- Eligibility
- Terms and Definitions
- Budget
- Data Management and Sharing
- Timeline
- Resources and Support
Proposal Submission
Q: What is the relationship between the NSF Sociology DDRIG and the ASA DDRIG?
A: NSF has discontinued its Sociology DDRIG program. The ASA DDRIG is a new opportunity for sociology graduate students to get support for their dissertations. The ASA DDRIG mirrors the NSF DDRIG closely, but with important distinctions particularly in terms of allowable expenses. Applicants should follow the ASA RFP guidelines when preparing their proposals. The ASA DDRIG is not a federal program; the ASA DDRIG is not considered an NSF subaward.
Q: How do I apply for an ASA DDRIG grant?
A: The application link is found on the ASA DDRIG program page. You can preview the application there. When you are ready to submit an application, you will need to create an account in the grant portal or, if you have previously applied for an ASA grant, log in with your username and password. If you are creating a new account, you will need to complete a registration form providing basic information about yourself, including your email address. Once you have filled out the registration form, be sure to check that you have received an email confirmation and click the box confirming you have received it. It’s important to be sure your spam filters are set properly so that you can receive emails from the system. Step by step instructions can be found in the “Grant Portal Instructions” document in the Resources section. You can also click here for a short video on how to use Foundant, the ASA grant platform (note, this is a more general video, the instructions we provide are more specific to ASA).
Q: Who submits the application, the research scholar or the research sponsor?
A: The Research Scholar should be the one to create the account, upload all applicant documents, and submit the application.
Q: Should proposals be single or double-spaced?
A: Proposals should be single-spaced. Applicants must adhere to the ASA DDRIG proposal format guidelines listed on the main page and should ensure that their proposal is easy to read.
Eligibility
Q: Do I need to be an ASA member to apply?
A: Neither the research scholar nor the research sponsor needs to be an ASA member to apply. Research scholars who are awarded an ASA DDRIG will receive a one-year membership to ASA as part of their award.
Q: I am close to finishing my dissertation, am I still eligible to apply?
A: Start dates for grants cannot be before May 1, nor after Dec 1, of the year they are granted. All funds must be used during the grant period and before the applicant’s degree is conferred.
Q: Can I apply if I previously received an NSF or ASA DDRIG?
A: Doctoral students who have previously received an NSF-funded DDRIG, whether administered directly by NSF (such as the DRMS DDRIG), by ASA, or by another organization (such as the APSA DDRIG or ASU LSDG), are ineligible to apply for additional funding through this program. See also information below (in budget section) on concurrent funding.
Q: If my proposal is declined, can I reapply the next year?
A: Yes, you may reapply as long as you still meet the eligibility requirements. Declined proposals that are resubmitted will be treated as new proposals. While reviewer feedback is provided on submitted proposals, this feedback is intended to help students improve their projects and should not be taken as directions that, if followed, would lead to a proposal being accepted in the next round. Reviewer and applicant pools change yearly, therefore, each application round is considered new.
Q: The ASA DDRIG guidelines state that ASA officers cannot serve as research sponsors. Who is considered an ASA Officer?
A: According to Article IV of the ASA bylaws, Officers of the Association are the President, Immediate Past President, President-Elect, Vice President, Immediate Past Vice President, Vice President-Elect, Secretary-Treasurer, and Executive Director.
Terms and Definitions
Q: What do the terms “research scholar” and “research sponsor” mean?
A: The research scholar is the doctoral student applying for the ASA DDRIG. The research sponsor (previously referred to as the Principal Investigator in the NSF DDRIG) is the student’s advisor or mentor. Every research scholar applicant must have a research sponsor who has agreed to collaborate in the development of the proposal and to play an ongoing role in helping to ensure the success of the project. The research scholar and research sponsor will spell out their shared expectations for this ongoing collaboration in “The Statement on Departmental Context and Scholar-Sponsor Collaboration” section of the proposal. ASA Officers (as defined in Article IV of the ASA bylaws) are not eligible to be research sponsors on ASA DDRIG proposals.
Q: What is meant by “primary place of performance?” Is that where I collect my data?
A: Primary place of performance refers to the place where the researcher will be based during the bulk of the project. If you have to go to a research site to do data collection for the bulk of your grant period, then it would be the residential or institutional address where you are based during that time. If you are taking a series of limited-time trips away from your home institution to collect data, and then returning to your home institution to analyze the data and write, the home institution would be your primary place of performance.
Q: What is an “outside collaborator?”
A: Outside collaborators are people, groups, or organizations outside your institution with whom you need to collaborate in order to gain access to participants, conduct broader impacts activities, or without whom you would not be able to conduct an essential part of the project. These are not dissertation advisors or others with whom you would typically interact as part of the dissertation project. People at your institution outside the dissertation committee who might provide project support or resources can be discussed in the facilities, equipment, and other resources section.
Q: In the biosketch, what is meant by “synergistic activities?”
A: Synergistic activities relate to the broader work you are doing in service of the discipline, institution, broader community, or society. Think about other kinds of work related to your research/teaching/outreach beyond the specific research project itself. This could be special tools or classes you’ve created or helped create; committees you’ve served on; organizations you’ve worked with; consulting or mentoring you’ve done, etc. You may wish to consult the resources related to broader impacts for additional ideas. Here is NSF’s definition.
Budget
Q: What costs are allowed? What costs are prohibited?
A: Grant funds can be used for costs directly associated with conducting research, such as travel expenses to research sites, data collection activities, data transcription or translation services, equipment, payments to research subjects or research assistants, and any necessary training. Living expenses, including dependent care, are also allowed, as are travel expenses to attend professional meetings, including the ASA Annual Meeting. Indirect costs are not allowed. ASA DDRIG research scholars receive a one-year membership to ASA and registration for that year’s ASA Annual Meeting, so you do not need to include those costs in your budget. Scholars must use the provided ASA DDRIG budget template (see main page).
Q: Are there budget limits related to different spending categories?
A: The only budget limit in ASA DDRIG proposals is the maximum amount of the grant ($16,000). There are no sub-category limits regarding how those funds are used. Budget requests should be reasonable and appropriate to the project. Budget justifications should be specific, providing details on how each line item amount was determined.
Q: What can be included under living expenses?
A: Living expenses include those for housing, utilities, food, clothing, personal care products and services, dependent care, and those miscellaneous expenses that the individual can establish as being ordinary and necessary to living. The IRS has established national and local standards with respect to living expenses. Please refer to these guidelines for food, clothing, and other items and for housing and utilities in determining your reasonable living expenses requests. These standards are meant as a guide, actual expenses should be used when known. In addition, medical expenses and insurance can be included as living expenses for the purposes of the ASA DDRIG; these expenses should be listed under “personal care products and services” or “miscellaneous” on the living expenses budget sheet, depending on the nature of the expense. (The Resources section below contains information on international standards for living expenses.) Living expenses may only be requested for the scholar and dependents (this does not include spouses or domestic partners, see below for more details on who qualifies as a dependent).
Q: Are living expenses eligible if the student is not traveling to another location?
A: Living expenses relate to wherever the student is conducting their project and not just for research-related travel. If you are staying at your home institution to collect your data or do your analysis or writing, you may ask for eligible living expenses.
Q: What qualifies as dependent care?
A: The IRS provides guidelines regarding who qualifies for dependent care. A list of eligible dependent care costs can be found here.
Q: Is tuition an eligible expense for the DDRIG?
A: If you pay your own tuition or fees, then you may include them as eligible expenses.
Q: Can the DDRIG be held concurrently with other awards?
A: The ASA DDRIG can be held concurrently with other awards and funding sources provided that the funds are not for the same expenses during the same time period (“double dipping”). However, a scholar may not accept more than one NSF-funded DDRIG, regardless of whether administered directly by NSF (such as the DRMS DDRIG), by ASA, or by another organization (such as the APSA DDRIG or ASU LSDG). Applicants must report other sources of current and pending support in their proposal.
Q: What does it mean to say that awards will be disbursed through my home institution?
A: ASA will send the full grant award to your institution, which will pass on 100% of the funds to you. There is no administrative overhead (indirect costs) allowed in this grant. Please consult with your sponsor and your institution’s office of sponsored research to determine how they will disburse funds to you should you receive the grant.
Data Management and Sharing
Q: Regarding the data management plan, if I am conducting interviews, will I be expected to share my transcripts?
A: The researcher decides which data to share and how to share it. We expect researchers will follow the rules of their IRB for IRB-approved projects. We encourage you to devise your plan with an eye toward balancing the privacy of participants with methodological transparency and the potential for replicating your research. If you cannot share de-identified transcripts, then you might consider sharing your interview guide or recruitment process, and a demographic profile of your respondents. The Resources section below contains more information on DMPs.
Timeline
Q: When will awards be announced?
A: Award notifications will be emailed in March. Please be sure to check your spam filters and add [email protected] to your safe senders list in order to be able to receive emails from the grant platform.
Q: Can I choose the start date for my grant?
A: DDRIG recipients may choose the start date of their grant, but it can be no earlier than May 1st of the year they receive their grant and no later than December 1st of that year. Activities for which grant funds are used must be limited to the time when the grant is active. Please keep in mind that funds will only be disbursed once all required paperwork (including IRB) has been submitted. Applicants are advised to discuss the timeline with their grant administrator in order to pick a start date that allows for the institution to process the grant paperwork and for ASA to disburse the funds.
Q: Do I need to finish my dissertation during the grant year?
A: The full dissertation does not need to be completed during the grant period.
Q: Will there be an opportunity to revise and resubmit my proposal?
A: Occasionally proposals that would otherwise receive funding, but are missing some minor element, may be invited to resubmit with revisions. The revised proposals will be due by May 1. If May 1 falls on a weekend, the revised proposals will be due on the Monday immediately following that weekend.
Q: If I receive an ASA DDRIG, what are my responsibilities in terms of reporting?
A: Recipients will be required to submit a final report with an expenditure statement at the end of their project. Two-year projects will also require an interim report after the first year.
Q: What happens if I do not finish my project in the grant time period?
A: Applicants should submit proposals that reasonably can be completed in the proposed timeline. However, ASA recognizes that there may be unexpected delays or changes in research plans that make it difficult to maintain the proposed project timeline. In this case, grantees may apply for a no-cost extension for one year. ASA will review and make determinations regarding applications for no-cost extensions.
Resources and Support
Q: What other resources can I use in preparing my proposal?
A: The Resources section below contains links to documents and websites that may be helpful in writing your proposal. Keep in mind that while the information on these websites may help you with idea development, the proposal itself must adhere to the rules and requirements set out in the ASA DDRIG Proposal Guidelines. In addition, you should consult your research sponsor and your home institution’s Office of Research for help with your proposal.
Q: Whom should I contact if I have any questions with the proposal preparation or submission process?
A: Contact the ASA DDRIG Program Officer, Carolyn Vasques Scalera, at any time with questions: [email protected] or 202-247-9847.
Resources
(We will continue to update this section over time. If you have resources that you think would be helpful to add, please feel free to send them to [email protected].)
Proposal writing
ASA DDRIG Proposal Checklist
NSF Proposal Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG)
The Case for Writing Plainly (Article)
Broader impacts
NSF Broader Impacts framework
Broader Impacts Toolkit
Broader Impacts Improving Society
Data management plans
NSF’s policy on data management
NSF SBE directorate-wide guidance
Qualitative Data Sharing: Data Repositories and Academic Libraries as Key Partners in Addressing Challenges (Article)
ICPSR Guidelines for Effective Data Management Plans
Qualitative Data Repository
Dataverse
Your university may have its own institutional repository or information on how to share data.
International Standards for living Expenses
U.S. Department of State
Fulbright-Hays Program (see pp.52ff)
