Russel Sage Foundation

Eligibility and Guidelines

The deadline is in April for funding the following Fall. Please see our deadlines page and sign up for the RSF mailing list for updates.

Eligibility

Applicants must be tenure-track assistant professors at a college or university in the U.S. by August 1. We especially encourage applicants who have not previously received a grant from the Russell Sage Foundation. The program prioritizes disciplinary diversity and welcomes applications from scholars who are underrepresented in the social sciences, and/or employed at under-resourced universities.

Budget Guidelines

A budget is not required at the time of submission. The budget will be finalized with the PI, their university's research office, and RSF after approval of the grant. A budget template will be shared with PIs after approval.

For general budget guidelines, see our budget requirements. The following are special budget exceptions that are specific to this competition. The budget guidelines listed here supersede any conflicting guidelines listed on the general budget webpage.

• Budgets are limited to $100,000 (including up to 15 percent for indirect costs)
• Projects are limited to 1-year
• PI/co-PI salary support is limited to $15,000 per eligible investigator
• Course buyouts are allowed as equivalent salary support
• US-based conference travel is allowed, limited to $3,000 per investigator
• Associate professors are eligible to be co-PI’s on these grants, but cannot receive salary support

RSF will pair grantees with mentors working in the same field and provide an honorarium for the mentors.

Proposal

We do not require or accept letters of inquiry for this competition. Proposals must be submitted through RSF’s online application portal. Proposals are limited to ten single-spaced pages (with standard 12-point font, and 1-inch margins), and must include a very brief literature review, detailed information on the research question, hypotheses, research methods and data, analytic plan, and project timeline. References do not count towards the page limit. Also required are an abbreviated CV (5 pages max) for the PI and any co-PIs. If a proposal is selected for funding, RSF will require a detailed budget and a budget justification (1-2 pages).

Investigators who receive grants will be invited to an onboarding webinar that will inform them about RSF grantee reporting and best practices, as well as budget guidelines and other due diligence requirements.

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted via the RSF online application portal, Fluxx.

1. Create an account or log in to your existing account. **Allow up to 2 business days for a new account to be approved**
2. Click on “Apply for a Small Grant (for Emerging Scholars)”  
3. Select “Causal Research on Criminal Justice” as the Application Type
4. Submit the following documents:
   • A concise single-spaced proposal (10 pages maximum) describing the proposed work;
   • An up-to-date abbreviated CV (maximum of 5 pages per CV) for each investigator;
5.  Not required at submission, but required of grantees prior to funds being disbursed:
   • A budget narrative (1-2 pages);
   • A detailed Excel budget using the Foundation’s budget template;
   • IRB Approval, proof of data access, pre-registration, etc.

Research Conference

Grantees must present their findings at a capstone conference at the end of the 1-year grant. Investigators, mentors, advisory committee members, and other experts will participate. The conference will focus on improving the quality of the research and fostering collaboration among researchers. RSF will reimburse participants for reasonable travel expenses to attend the conference (separately from the grant budget).

Administrative Procedures

The grant must be administered by the PI’s university. RSF will pay the entire grant amount upon submission of all completed due diligence documents.

At the end of the grant period, the PI must submit a final substantive report to RSF along with an official financial report from the university/college and copies of all research papers supported by the grant.