Call for proposals

The Autism Program of Illinois Student Research Grants

Call for Proposals

Purpose: To encourage and support scientific advances that can better the lives of people with autism, and to broaden the community of scholars who are interested in autism.
Description of program: Five grants of up to $2000.00 each in support of student-conducted research on services for children with autism may be awarded. Research topics must complement TAP’s focus upon best practices in service delivery for children with autism and their families (see TAP’s mission statement at: http://www.theautismprogram.org/about). Primary empirical projects are preferred but the development of targeted literature reviews (“white papers”) on important, but under-described, topics also will be considered. Because limited time is available between the awarding of funds and the reporting of outcomes (see below), preference will be given to projects that already are under development or otherwise show evidence of the potential for rapid progress. Note that any award funding not expended prior to 30 June 2015 must be returned to TAP. Preference will also be given towards projects that have already been proposed to a student’s thesis or dissertation committee.

Who is eligible: Students enrolled in an Illinois academic institution. Applicants must have the support of staff member from a TAP Partner who agrees to mentor/support the student.

Submission deadline: 6 February 2015

Notification of funding: 20 February 2015

Disbursement of funds: 15 March 2015

Report of outcomes due: 15 July 2015

Evaluation Criteria

• Inclusion and clear labeling of all required elements of the proposal as specified below
• Clarity and persuasiveness of rationale, including relevance to TAP mission and potential to make an original, important, and/or novel contribution to autism research
• Quality of research design and capacity to answer research question
• Budget and justification (clear, reasonable)Evidence that significant progress can be made before report of outcomes (above) is due
• Faculty evaluation of project and student capabilities (below)

Application
Submit the following information in a single PDF document to Mary Pelich (mpelich@thehopeinstitute.us).

The main body of the application should be no more than 7 single-spaced pages (1-inch margins, 12-point font). Vita, faculty letter of support and TAP Partner letter of support are in addition to these 7 pages.

1. Identifying information (project title, student name, student affiliation, student contact information, faculty advisor contact information, TAP Partner contact information)
2. Overview of research problem (background and rationale, written for an educated but non-specialist audience)
3. Description of the proposed project (research question, methodology, and data analysis procedures)
4. Explanation of how the project supports TAP’s mission
5. Timeline and Progress. In a table list major milestones of the project and expected completion dates. 
1. Also answer the following questions:
1. Has this project been approved by the local Institutional Review Board? If so, provide documentation of approval.
2. Does this project fulfill a formal academic requirement (e.g., master’s thesis, doctoral dissertation, etc.)? If the project requires formal approval by a committee or supervisor before it can start, indicate the anticipated date of approval.
3. Have other sources of funding been procured to support the project? If so, indicate source and amount.
6. Budget (three-column table, with Column 1 showing of budgeted items for the project, Column 2 showing total amount to be spent, and Column 3 showing amount to be supported by grant funds) and brief budget justification (explaining why the funds are needed and how they are being expended).
7. Faculty letter of support (addressing importance and quality of the project, student’s role in developing and executing it, and student capability to execute the project at a high level of competence and in a timely manner).
8. TAP Partner letter of support (describing the role to be played by the TAP Partner, and identifying any financial support provided by the TAP Partner Agency for this project).
9. Vita