Research Grant Program
The Dulles Research Institute is committed to cutting-edge research. In order to ward off the threat of confirmation bias and encourage a constant stream of fresh insight, the DRI has created its Research Grant Program. Through this program the DRI encourages a new generation of scholars to dedicate their efforts to topics that contribute to the DRI’s mission.
Grant recipients will be expected to make an original contribution to the study of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and/or healthy priesthood in the Catholic Church. However, grants will be awarded without regard for the applicant’s religious affiliation or for the doctrinal implications of a study’s hypotheses or potential outcomes. The DRI shows no partiality regarding qualitative versus quantitative study designs, and is open to proposals from researchers in any field that can demonstrate relevance to the DRI’s mission.
Research Grants of up to $20,000 are available to doctoral candidates and postdoctoral fellows. Grant winners receive their funds in quarterly installments, pending successful attainment of agreed-upon milestones. Recipients of the DRI’s research grants are considered to be Fellows of the Institute, and are expected to present their findings at the DRI’s annual conference and to publish them in the Journal of the Dulles Research Institute after successful peer review.
About Applying
You are eligible to apply for a DRI Research Grant if you are EITHER
A doctoral student currently enrolled in an accredited doctoral program OR
A postdoctoral fellow with a doctorate from an accredited institution, who is currently engaged in academic work at an institution of higher learning or at a research institute
The application will require that you have your supervisor (doctoral committee chair, department chair, or academic supervisor) provide a reference letter attesting to these qualifications.
The Dulles Research Institute welcomes proposals for research projects in the academic fields of:
Criminology/Criminal Justice
Sociology
Social Work
Theology/Religious Studies
Anthropology
Law/Canon Law
Public Policy
Organizational Development
Organizational Leadership
History
Psychology/Psychiatry
Or any field of scholarship that can demonstrate its relevance to the mission of the Dulles Research Institute. If you are proposing research in a field that is not on this list, take care to explain why your chosen field of research has something significant to contribute to the DRI. The best place to do this may be in the “Relevance for the DRI” block on page 3. You can use this block to explain both the relevance of your project and the relevance of the field in which you are choosing to carry out your research.
The application must be completed and submitted all at once. It is not possible to save your answers and return at a later time to finish the application. If you navigate away from this page without submitting the application, your answers will be lost. Before you begin filling out the application, though, you are free to page through it so you can see what answers and materials you will need before you get started. You may even compose your answers in a Word document and then copy and paste them to the application, if you prefer. Advancing through the pages of the application and returning to earlier pages will not erase your answers, but navigating away from this webpage will make your answers irretrievable.
Notice the instruction boxes. As you make your way through the application, mouse over each question and an instruction box for responding to that question will appear to the right of the page. Some of these instructions are important for knowing the specific information that is required, so be sure not to overlook them.
There is no application fee. Other than your time and effort, applying for a DRI Research Grant will cost you nothing.
You may apply multiple times. The DRI will not consider the grant application of anyone who is currently receiving grant money from the DRI. Once grants have been paid in full, however, you are free to apply for another research grant. And if your grant does not win funding in one application period, you are welcome to submit another application later. Applications are not retained from one application period to the next, so even if you are proposing the same project again, it will be necessary to submit a new application in each new application period.
You will receive notifications that your application has been successfully submitted. When you hit “Submit,” your application will be sent to the DRI, and a message will appear on this page indicating that your submission was successful. You will also receive an email thanking you for your submission. The email will have an attachment containing your completed application so that you can retain it for your records.
Applications are accepted only during announced application periods. The next application period will be:
TBA
If you have questions about the application and award process or about anything else related to the DRI’s Research Grant Program, reach out to Grants@DullesResearchInstitute.org.