Social Science Research Council

Guide to Submitting a Grant Proposal to the Large Collaborative Grants in Media and Communications 

The LOI deadline for the 2008 Large Grants round has passed.  On June 16, 2008, the SSRC announced seven new recipients of $30,000 awards. 

Please continue to visit the Media Research Hub for news about upcoming grants opportunities.

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Applications for Collaborative Grants in Media and Communications can only be submitted through the SSRC's Online Application Portal. This guide is structured in parallel to the different sections of the application, so you may find it helpful to print it out and have it handy as you go along.

If  you find that you are confused, feel free to contact us at mediahub@ssrc.org to schedule a telephone call.  

Technical Questions

How do I access the Online Application Portal?

The web URL for accessing SSRC’s online application portal is https://soap.ssrc.org/ . You must register a new account for yourself and log-in before you can proceed. Only those who have have had their initial letters of inquiry approved by the Necessary Knowledge staff may submit a completed grant application.  All other applications will be deleted from the system.

There may be other grant and fellowship programs listed when you apply, so make sure that you select “Collaborative Grants in Media and Communications” before proceeding.

Who fills out the application?

The online application should be completed by the person most responsible for coordinating the research project. In most cases, this will be the principal academic investigator.  But it may also be the main contact person of the partner organization.  Since this project is to be designed as a collaboration, the submitter is expected to consult actively with both the academic partner(s) and the advocacy/organization partner(s) when completing the application. 

Why can’t I submit a proposal via e-mail / mail / in-person?

Given the large number of applicants, and the geographically distributed committee of grant evaluators, we have found that using an online submission and evaluation system is the most efficient and effective way to manage this grant selection process.

Who will see my application?

Your application will only be viewable by Necessary Knowledge for a Democratic Public Sphere staff, the Grants Selection Committee and any other evaluators we bring aboard to help with the review process.  These proposals will not be publicly viewable.

When will we know if we got the grant or not?

2008 Large Grants recipients were announced June 16, 2008.

What are the technical requirements to apply online?

We have tested the online application portal on computers running Windows and Mac OS X, using the latest versions of the most common web browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari).  If you have technical difficulties with the application portal, contact us immediately.

Research Design Questions

What kinds of collaborative partnerships is the program designed to support?

The Collaborative Grants in Media and Communications are intended to foster better and stronger relationships between academia and advocacy/community organizing.  We are interested in funding work that involves a collaborative partnership between an academically-based researcher and a non-profit advocacy or community-based organization.  Various permutations of multiple researchers and/or multiple partner organizations are possible and acceptable.  But in general, the key partner organization should not be based at a university. And the academic researcher(s) should not be paid staff of the partner organization.

What do you mean by “a clear plan for the application of the research”?

The Grants Committee will look closely at whether or not there is a well-articulated and achievable strategic plan for how the project will advance public-interest advocacy, organizing, policy-change and/or movement- building related to media or telecommunications issues. The production of a report, website, article, film, etc. by itself is not enough of a strategic plan.  Careful attention should be paid to: (1) who is the larger target population that will benefit from this research, (2) what they will gain from the research, and (3) how they will access and use its findings. 

How do I know if my project is within the scope of your program?

Please read carefully the descriptions of our different grants programs.  These descriptions will include some examples of the types of projects the program is designed to support.  Additionally, in the Collaborative Grants Book (614 KB PDF), you can view a list of all the past projects we have supported, which will give you a clearer idea of the program’s scope.  If you are still unclear, please email us at mediahub@ssrc.org to schedule a telephone call.

The Online Application Portal

SECTION 1: Online Instructions

The first page, “Online Instructions,” explains how to navigate within the application portal.  The left hand menu links to the various sections of the grant application.  Please read this page carefully.

SECTION 2: Application Guidelines

This section provides an overview of the basic parts of the grants application:

A) An online 'Cover Page' that includes Contact Information of Principal Investigator(s) and Project Budget,

B) CV for each Principal Investigator

C) Research Proposal and Bibliography

D) Letter of Support from each partner organization, and

E) Short SSRC Survey.

Please pay particular attention to the criteria that will be used to evaluate the applications.

SECTION 3: Contact Information of Principal Investigator

This is the first form that you will have to fill out.  Please provide here the contact information for the principal investigator(s) associated with the project.

Citizenship:  The Principal Researcher is not required to be an American citizen.

SECTION 4: Project Budget

Start / End Date of Proposed Research: Note that the research projects funded by the 2008 Large Grants project are intended to be conducted between July 2008 and July 2009.

Breakdown of the Overall Budget: Note that budgets with very high overhead, equipment/material costs, or administrative expenses are less likely to be considered favorably by the Grants Selection Committee.  As the proposal is for collaborative work, line items should include costs for participation of both the researcher(s) and the advocacy/organizing partner(s). 

SECTION 5: CV Upload

Please upload a current curriculum vitae for each principal researcher involved in the project.  These can only be uploaded in PDF format and must be compiled into a single PDF file.

SECTION 6: Proposal Upload

Please upload a completed proposal and bibliography in PDF format.  The proposal can be up to 10 pages long (Times New Roman 11-point font type, double-spaced, with at least one-inch margins on all sides).  The bibliography can be up to 2 pages long (Times New Roman 11-point font type, single or double-spaced).  The proposal and bibliography must be collated as one continuous document, not to exceed 12 total pages.

The proposal should contain:

• An explicit statement of the major hypotheses you will test or questions you will ask.
• An explanation of the significance of the issue addressed by the project; how is it relevant to concerns of your discipline and/or other fields?
• An explicit description and justification of your research methods and how they will address the issue.
• A brief description of how the impact of your project might be evaluated, including what early indicators of success might be.
• An account of relevant preliminary research already completed or any plans to conduct preliminary research.
• An account of the novelty and/or utility of the project vis à vis existing research.
• Proposed location(s) for research and an explanation of why your project requires the stated field research.
• A research schedule, justifying how much time you propose to spend in the field and at each field site.
• An account of the partners and their qualifications.
• Amount and breakdown of the funding requested (estimates are acceptable).

The bibliography should provide an overview of essential references for your project and a balances representation of the various types of reference materials used.  The bibliography is not limited to academic references and may also include:

• Reports, tools, and other publications by advocacy, organizing or funder groups
• Groups or campaigns (past or present) on which the proposed project is modeled, building, or responding

SECTION 7: Letters of Support

This section may seem a bit complicated.  Basically, we are asking each of the main partner organizations involved in the project to submit an electronic letter of support that details their commitment to the project and activities related to the proposal. 

Add Letter: This opens up a new window where the applicant can input the general contact information for each partner organization. You can add your own custom message to the organization or, if you wish, attach a file. When you are finished, click on “Send Email Request,” which will generate an automatic email from the application server to the organization. 

Submit Letter: The partner organization will receive a unique log-in name, password and URL to access the application server. They will need to respond and submit a letter of support before the April 30th deadline.  The applicant can track the status of these support letters on the application server.  If the organization hasn't responded to the request in a timely manner, the applicant can even choose to send the partner organization a reminder via the site.

SECTION 8: SSRC Survey

Please help us develop the program and our outreach activities by filling out this short survey. 

SECTION 9: Submit Application

Only fill-in your name and click on the Submit button when you are sure that you have completed the application.  Once you click Submit, you will not be able to retrieve or make changes to your application.  Prior to submitting, you can view a print-out of your entire application, which we recommend you save for your own records.

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This guide is intended to assist you in completing the online application for a large collaborative grant using SSRC’s online application system. We understand that this is a complicated process with several parts to the application.  We are committed to making this as painless and efficient as possible.