The Institute for Research on Innovation and Science has issued a request for proposals to fund researchers who use IRIS data to address questions about the social and economic returns on investments in research. Grants of up to $30,000 will fund fundamental research on the results of public and private investments that support discovery, innovation, and education on U.S. university campuses.

Up to $15,000 will be awarded for dissertation awards and up to $30,000 for early-career and established researcher awards. Funds can be used for personnel (e.g., research assistance, salaries, or a stipend if recipient is a student), equipment, supplies, travel (may include travel mandated by the award), and other expenses (e.g., professional development and training). Awards must include no more than twelve percent overhead or indirect costs to be paid as a part of the award total.

Proposals submitted for IRIS Researcher Awards must emphasize the use of IRIS data in projects that address open issues in the study of science and technology and in science policy. Topics of particular interest include but will not be limited to new methods to estimate social and economic return on investment for funding from various sources (federal, philanthropic, industrial, and institutional); studies about the relationship between research training, career outcomes and the downstream productivity of employers; research on the relationship between different funding sources and mechanisms and the structure and outcomes of collaboration within and across campuses; analyses of the distinctive contribution university research makes to regional economic development and resilience; and/or examinations of the effects different funding sources and mechanisms have on research teams and the productivity and efficiency of the academic research enterprise as a whole.

Priority will be given to work that develops and tests strategies for using IRIS data to support causal claims. Creative instruments and other identification strategies that can be validated in these projects will enhance the value of IRIS data for the research community. IRIS also seeks projects that develop appropriate comparisons and counterfactuals for studies of academic research contributions to the social good and economic growth.

Applicants do not need to be affiliated with a current IRIS member institution. However, applicants must be affiliated with an academic or research institution in the United States.

See the IRIS website for complete program guidelines and application instructions.