Office of Research and Doctoral Services: Faculty:

Research & Applications for Social Change Grant

Walden realizes that the scholars and social change practitioners within the university community may be engaged in social change activities or have a desire to develop research and applied projects that directly relate to social change. The Research and Applications for Social Change Grant was established to enable members of the Walden community to make a significant and meaningful change in academic and social communities, both locally and globally.

The grant will be awarded to the applicants who submit outstanding proposals that reflect the university’s mission to foster social change through research and the education of scholar-practitioners as well as Walden’s determination to uniquely effect positive social change worldwide.

Please contact grants@mail.waldenu.edu with questions about the Research & Applications for Social Change Grant Program and the Social Change Fellows Program.

The Research and Applications for Social Change Grant is one of the mechanisms used to select Walden Social Change Fellows. Consequently, faculty and student recipients of the Research and Applications for Social Change Grant will be members of the Walden Social Change Fellows Program (SCFP). Fellows will be expected to conduct their proposed research and participate in SCFP program activities (as detailed in the SCFP guidelines). 

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Social Change Fellows

Is This The Correct Grant Application for Me? 

The information shared on this page is for use by Walden faculty and staff who want to apply for a RASCG.  

Students at Walden who want to apply for a RASCG must complete the online grant application specifically built for their use. The student RASCG application is posted on the student research funding section of the Office of Research and Doctoral Services website.

Alumni and individuals external to Walden are also eligible to apply. While the program timeline is the same, a different application process is used. Information about the RASCG application process for alumni and external applicants is available in the Alumni section of the Office of Research and Doctoral Services website.

Student Social Change Grant Information

Alumni Social Change Grant Information

Application Deadline: November 1, 2021

Recipients Announced: December 17, 2021

Research or Project Completion Date: December 31, 2022

• Must be a Walden University employee in good standing for at least 2 years.
• Must not have been a recipient of a Presidential Research Fellowship or a Research and Applications for Social Change grant sponsored by Walden University within the last 5 years.
• Must have at least 2 years of documented social change activities, research, initiatives, etc., in keeping with the Walden University Mission and Vision.
• Must have research ethics (IRB) approval for proposed project, if applicable.

This request for proposals (RFP) is for one-time, short-term (1 year, maximum) projects. Projects must be completed within 1 calendar year from the date the grant was awarded as specified in the grant proposal. In order for any grant monies to be disbursed to the recipient, proof of compliance with Walden University regulations regarding the protection of human subjects in research and Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval is required.

The availability of grant funds varies depending upon the type of candidate (faculty, student, staff, alumni, or external candidate) as well as the structure of the proposed research or applied project team. While only research proposals or applied social change projects that are determined to be of exceptional scholarly merit will be funded, proposals submitted by students will be considered for funding from a separate pool in an effort to recognize newly emerging scholar-practitioners. The grant funds cannot be used for tuition at Walden or another institution.

Grant funding will be scaffolded to prioritize transdisciplinary collaborative approaches to research and applications of social change projects. As such, applicants are encouraged to apply for the grant level that best aligns with the structure of their proposed research and/or project. The number of grants awarded in each funding level will be determined by the quality and size of the applicant pool as well as the availability of program funds.

Note: Students may be included within the research team, but the team must be led by faculty or staff members.

There are three levels of funding:

• $17,500 grant ceiling for multi-partner, collaborative, transdisciplinary approach to research and applications for social change.
  • The research or project team must be composed of at least two, if not more, Walden faculty or staff members working in different disciplines.
  • The research or project team must also include colleagues and/or partners external to Walden in addition to the two Walden faculty or staff members.
• $12,500 grant ceiling for collaborative approaches to research and applications for social change.
  • The research or project team is composed of two, or more, Walden faculty, or staff working in different disciplines or from the same discipline.
  • In addition to two, or more, Walden faculty, or staff from the same discipline, the research and/or project team may also include colleagues or partners external to Walden.
• $7,500 grant ceiling for a single Walden faculty or staff investigator submitting a social change research proposal or applied project. 

“Transdisciplinary Research is defined as research efforts conducted by investigators from different disciplines working jointly to create new conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and translational innovations that integrate and move beyond discipline-specific approaches to address a common problem.”

“Transdisciplinary Research Definition: Harvard University School of Public Health

The overall merit of the proposed social change research or applied project will be considered and evaluated by Walden’s Chief Academic Officer, working with a review committee. Since faculty and staff may submit a grant application that proposes either an applied social change project or social change research, the specific selection criteria for each type of grant proposal is detailed below.

Social Change Research-Based Proposals

The final selection will be made based upon the following general criteria:

• Intrinsic scientific and technical merit of the work.
• Generation of new knowledge and/or innovative solutions to improve social, economic, or environmental conditions.
• Potential impact of the proposed activity on the academic field of study (publishability).
• Demonstration of potential for long-term application of knowledge or practices that can lead to significant positive change for people, organizations, communities, or society.
• Likelihood that the award will provide significant progress on research that will serve as the basis for future studies.
• Evidence of collaboration or willingness to collaborate with other faculty, staff, or students as appropriate.
• Demonstration of efficient and effective use of resources.
• Likelihood that the proposed work would be completed during the award period.
• Potential for the award to provide a basis for further research support from external sponsors.

Applications in Social Change Project Proposals

The final selection will be made based upon the following general criteria:

• Intrinsic technical merit of the work.
• Generation of applied knowledge and/or innovative solutions to improve social, economic, or environmental conditions.
• Demonstration of potential for long-term application of knowledge or practices that can lead to significant positive change for people, organizations, communities, or society.
• Evidence of collaboration or willingness to collaborate with other faculty, staff, or students as appropriate.
• Likelihood that the award will provide significant progress on a project that will serve as the basis for sustained practices that foster ongoing positive social change.
• Demonstration of an effective plan for dissemination of the knowledge acquired.
• Demonstration of efficient and effective use of resources.
• Potential for the award to provide a basis for further funding support from external sponsors. 

To simplify the grant application, we have created an online submission process.  The link below will take you to an online grant application that will allow you to select relevant fields from drop-down menus, enter individualized text responses, and upload supporting documentation.  

Each applicant may submit or be included as part of only one grant proposal.

Apply for the Research & Application for Social Change Grant

Instructions about how to complete the online grant application are provided in the form itself; however, to make the process smoother, following are elements of the proposal you should develop prior to starting the online application:   

• Abstract for the proposed research or applied project.
• Description of the design and methods of the proposed research or applied project. 
• A budget for the proposed grant activities with a written justification of each cost itemized in the budget.
• Timeline for the proposed grant activities.
• Human Subjects Review Documentation.
• Documentation of accessibility of Walden data to be collected or availability of existing data to be requested, if applicable.
• Plans for disseminating the findings of the research or the impact of the applied project. 
• A description of the intended deliverables and measurable outcomes of the grant.  
• C.V. or resume for all PIs listed on the grant application. 

While links to many of the following documents are embedded within the RASCG application, the stand-alone documents are provided below for your reference.   

Examples

Application Templates

University Guidelines and Forms 

The guidelines and application information on this page is drawn from the 2020 RASCG program Request for Proposals (RFP), which details the grant program in its entirety for all grant applicants. The RFP is available below, and can be downloaded, for your reference.