Read Bourne and Chalupa's concise and helpful Ten Simple Rules for Getting Grants . Adhere to the formatting and content requirements laid out on the Web site. These requirements are inflexible. Proposals not meeting these requirements will not be considered. Avoid rhetoric and hyperbole. Illustrate with real instances or examples. For grant proposals in support of meetings or conferences, include a draft agenda, draft list of invitees, and draft letter of invitation if possible. Be specific about outputs and outcomes. The proposal should explicitly state expected practical, tangible outputs (such as number of students whose training or careers are affected, data collected, scientific papers produced) and outcomes (such as new knowledge, institutional strengthening, etc). BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT OUTPUTS OR OUTCOMES WOULD MAKE YOU THINK THE PROJECT HAD BEEN A SUCCESS (big sales of a book, a prize awarded for research, a government grant to continue the project, web traffic, high enrollments, better salaries, etc.). If the effort connects to or benefits other areas of Alfred P. Sloan Foundation interest such as DNA Barcoding, the Census of Marine Life, or the Public Understanding of Science, point this out. Be explicit about the duration of the project (e.g. 12 or 18 months). Be clear about management. Who will do what jobs and who will have what responsibilities, obligations, and powers (both carrots and sticks)? Make constructive use of milestones to the extent applicable (for example, include a schedule of events over time indicating when certain things should be accomplished or happen). Include Letters of Support if a project’s success depends crucially on support of key figures other than the PI. Keep proposal compact in terms of total megabytes and also in terms of files into which a proposal is divided. A proposal should not come in more than 3 files (such as main proposal, appendices, budget), though a single file in .pdf format is preferred. While draft files may be sent as Word files (.doc or .docx format) to make it easy for the Foundation to return comments, finals should be sent in .pdf format. Links What We Do Not Fund The Grant Application Process Letters of Inquiry Grant Proposals Forms Tips for Writing a Successful Grant Proposal Other Web sites for Grantseekers
In this program, the Foundation makes grants to encourage playwrights and theater companies to write and produce new plays about scientists, engineers and mathematicians that will break down the barrier between "the two cultures." The Foundation's major partners include: The Ensemble Studio Theatre The Manhattan Theatre Club Playwrights Horizons The Foundation has been a leading force in commissioning and producing new science and technology plays. In this role, it has helped to stimulate numerous playwrights to tackle these subjects while also creating a more hospitable environment among the theater-going public for such fare, heralding an important cultural shift. Program Director: Doron Weber Bio Apply Spotlight Isaac's Eye , a play about a young Isaac Newton and his nemesis Robert Hooke, premiered at Ensemble Studio Theatre's Mainstage. more Headlines Victorian England is Comic Gold in "The Explorer's Club" New York Post "Explorer's Club" a "Hijinks-Happy" Romp New York Daily News Jennifer Westfeldt Charms in "Explorer's Club" Bloomberg Talkin' Broadway Reviews "Explorer's Club" at MTC Talkin' Broadway Time Out NY Reviews "The Explorer's Club" Time Out New York Program Updates March 2013 June 2013 Public Understanding Sub Programs Books Film Radio Television New Media
Sloan Centers on Working Families To build a body of quality scholarship that provides perspective to and understanding of the lives of working families and the work conditions that affect them, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s program on Workplace, Work Force and Working Families created six Sloan Centers on Working Families. Four of these centers are engaged in ongoing research. The Center on Parents, Children and Work at NORC, University of Chicago and Michigan State University The Center on the Ethnography of Everyday Life of Families (CELF) at the University of California, Los Angeles The Center for Myth and Ritual in American Life (MARIAL) at Emory University The Center for the Ethnography of Everyday Life (CEEL) at the University of Michigan The remaining two centers have completed their funded work. The Center on Working Families at the University of California, Berkeley The Employment and Family Careers Institute at Cornell University Each of these interdisciplinary Centers is directed by leading scholars who have developed research programs built on their intellectual strengths. As a result, each Center has developed its own distinctive approach to its study of working families. In addition, the Centers have played an instrumental role in developing the next generation of scholars interested in studying working families. Other important grantee partners include: The M.I.T Workplace Center , which is devoted to building—in theory and in practice—a mutually supportive relationship between the performance of firms and the well being of employees, their families, and communities The University of California Hastings Center for WorkLife Law , which researches the employment discrimination faced by parents and and other caregivers. Program Director: Kathleen Christensen Bio Grants History Apply Books & Publications Spotlight View a complete list of the grants in the Workplace, Work Force and Working Families Program more Spotlight more Headlines Why Do So Few Mothers Want to Work Full-Time Slate Links Basic Research The Sloan Centers on Working Families Faculty Career Flexibility in the Academy National Workplace Flexibility Initiative Aging and Flexible Work
Grantmaking in this program aims to improve the quality of higher education in STEM fields through the support of original, high-quality research on the factors affecting undergraduate and graduate student learning and retention in STEM fields. Grants primarily support consortia of colleges, universities, and other educational institutions with plans to develop and to study the impact and effectiveness of new approaches to STEM pedagogy, especially in “gateway” courses, with an explicit commitment to institutionalize successful initiatives.. Successful proposals are expected to be hypothesis-driven, sensitive to the heterogeneity of STEM disciplines, attentive to differences in student motivations to choose STEM majors and persist in STEM careers, and concerned with the dissemination and portability of results to other institutions. Program Director: Elizabeth Boylan Bio Apply Headlines UW Researcher to Study Why Students Drop Out of Sciences Wisconsin State Journal Studying Why Some Shy Away from Math and Science Wisconsin Public Radio Study Looks at Why Students Leave STEM Majors University of Wisconsin - Madison
Important Note Nominations for the Sloan Research Fellowships are processed online through Interfolio.com. Candidates will use the new system to request letters of nomination and confidential letters of support from their senior colleagues, as well as to directly upload their CV, personal research statement, publication history, and scholarly articles. Candidates may begin uploading nomination documents to Interfolio.com immediately and must submit completed nomination packets by September 16, 2013. The Foundation strongly encourages candidates to begin the nomination process well in advance of the September 16 deadline. Candidates must be nominated by a department head or other senior researcher. Submissions unaccompanied by a nomination from a senior researcher are not accepted. More than one candidate from a department may be nominated, but no more than three. Candidates must submit the following materials to be considered for a Sloan Research Fellowship. A letter from a department head or other senior researcher officially nominating the candidate and describing his or her qualifications, initiative, and research ( Note: Nominators must upload their letters of nomination through Interfolio.com. Click here for more information); The candidate's curriculum vitae (including a list of the candidates scientific publications; Two representative articles by the candidate; A brief (one-page) statement by the candidate describing his or her significant scientific work and immediate research plans. Three letters from other researchers (preferably not all from the same institution) written in support of the candidate’s nomination. ( Note: Letter writers must upload their letters of support through Interfolio.com . Click here for more information.) Nominated candidates are normally below the rank of associate professor and do not hold tenure, but these are not strict requirements. In keeping with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's longstanding support of underrepresented minorities in the sciences, the Foundation strongly encourages the nomination of qualified women and minority candidates. Materials are submitted electronically through Interfolio.com To be considered, candidates must submit all required materials, including nomination letters and all letters of support, no later than September 16, 2013. Nominations are reviewed and candidates selected by a selection committee of three distinguished scientists in each eligible field. The committees review more than 700 nominations each year. Fellows are selected on the basis of their independent research accomplishments, creativity, and potential to become leaders in the scientific community through their contributions to their field.
Manhattan Theatre Club The Foundation's partnership with the Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) has helped to develop new plays about science and technology and to nurture playwrights with an interest in these subjects. Beginning with its collaboration in MTC's 2000 production of David Auburn's Tony Award and Pullizer Prize-winning drama, Proof , the Foundation has expanded its partnership with MTC to include multiple annual commissions for emerging, mid-level and established writers as well as a production grant to stage Alfred P. Sloan-related works. In addition to Proof , the Foundation supported MTC's production of Charlotte Jones's Humble Boy in 2003 and has commissioned a total of 22 writers, including Craig Lucas, Shelagh Stephenson, Ron Hutchinson, Rona Munro, Itamar Moses, Bryony Lavery, Steve Belber, Eric Simonson, Dava Sobel, Liz Mierwether, Peter Morris, Kenneth Lin and Bret Neveu. Learn more about the MTC/Sloan Initiative View plays commissioned by the MTC/Sloan Initiative View productions supported by the MTC/Sloan Initiative Apply: Application deadline in March 2013 Program Director: Doron Weber Bio Apply Spotlight Isaac's Eye , a play about a young Isaac Newton and his nemesis Robert Hooke, premiered at Ensemble Studio Theatre's Mainstage. more
STEP 1: Visit the Sloan Web site The first step in the grant application process is learning if grant support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is available for your project. Review carefully the program descriptions on the Foundation’s Web site. Each program has an APPLY button that will take you to an explanation of the availability of grants in that program and whether unsolicited letters of inquiry are accepted. If nothing is specified, you may assume that unsolicited letters of inquiry are accepted. STEP 2: Submit a Letter of Inquiry The next step is to submit a brief letter of inquiry outlining your idea and inquiring about the possibility of funding. Visit our letters of inquiry page for guidelines on composing and submitting a letter of inquiry. STEP 3: Submit a Grant Proposal The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant proposals. Grantseekers interested in obtaining funding from the Foundation are strongly encouraged to first submit a Letter of Inquiry, as described above. Those submitting promising letters of inquiry will be contacted by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and invited to submit a formal grant proposal. Visit our Grant Proposals page for guidelines on composing and submitting a formal grant proposal. Once a formal grant proposal has been submitted, the Foundation will evaluate the proposal and come to a decision about whether it meets the Foundation’s standards and advances current Foundation priorities. Depending on the funds requested and the complexity of the work to be performed, the Foundation may seek outside expert review of the proposal. NOTE: The process detailed above does not apply to nominations for the Sloan Research Fellowships. To learn more about how to be nominated for a Fellowship, visit the Sloan Research Fellowships section of the website. Links What We Do Not Fund The Grant Application Process Letters of Inquiry Grant Proposals Forms Tips for Writing a Successful Grant Proposal Other Web sites for Grantseekers
Ensemble Studio Theatre With Foundation support, the Ensemble Studio Theater (EST) has established a major program focused on science and technology plays including a national competition for new dramatic works exploring the worlds of science and technology. The annual EST/Sloan First Light Festival , a month-long festival focused on new science and technology plays, features a mainstage production and a series of staged readings, workshops, cabarets and satellite events in New York. Plays originally commissioned by the EST/Sloan project have been produced at major venues around the country, including the Black Repertory Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, The Empty Space Theater, Actors Theater of Louisville and the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Since 1998, over 100 writers, composers, choreographers, and theater companies have received EST/Sloan commissions with the resulting work presented in developmental readings and workshops engaging over a thousand artists. Le arn more about the EST/Sloan Project View EST/Sloan Productions View EST/Sloan Commissions Apply: Deadlines in Fall 2013 Program Director: Doron Weber Bio Apply Spotlight Isaac's Eye , a play about a young Isaac Newton and his nemesis Robert Hooke, is now playing at Ensemble Studio Theatre's Mainstage through February 24th. more Headlines NYTimes Magazine Interviews The Other Half's Laurie Metcalf New York Times Magazine Attend a Panel Discussion of the Science Behind Shar White's Hit Play "The Other Place" this Sun., 1/27 at MTC Broadway World Previews Begin for Isaac's Eye at NYC's Ensemble Studio Theatre Broadway World Manhattan Theatre Club Extends Run of "The Other Place" Due to Popular Demand Broadway's Best Shows Links Panel Discussion: Photograph 51 and the Race for the Double Helix of DNA, Part 1 of 2
The Blackwell-Tapia Conference 2012 David Blackwell (1919 - 2010) Richard Tapia Carlos Castillo-Chavez The Sloan Foundation has provided partial funding for the Blackwell-Tapia Conference 2012 at Brown University, which honors the inspired leadership of David Blackwell and Richard Tapia by showcasing mathematical excellence by minority researchers and efforts to address underrepresentation. The original conference and funding was organized in 2000 by Carlos Castillo-Chavez, then a professor at Cornell University. Both Professors Tapia and Castillo-Chavez are program directors in the Sloan Minority PhD Fellowship program. The conference will be held November 9-12, 2012. For more information, visit the conference website . Program Director: Elizabeth Boylan Bio Links Minority Ph.D. Program Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership Sloan Foundation announces support for Blackwell-Tapia Conference 2012
Sloan Research Fellowships are awarded for a two-year period; if unexpended funds remain at the end of two years, an extension of the termination date may be obtained. Extensions are limited to a maximum of two years. Funds remaining at the end of that period must be returned to the Foundation. If a Fellow transfers to another eligible institution during the term of the Fellowship, the Foundation will transfer unexpended funds to the new institution. The size of the award is $50,000 for the two-year period. Funds are awarded directly to the Fellow's institution and may be used by the Fellow for such purposes as equipment, technical assistance, professional travel, trainee support, or any other activity directly related to the Fellow's research. Funds may not be used to augment an existing full-time salary or for indirect or overhead charges by the Fellow’s institution. Expenditures must be approved by the Fellow's department chair and must be in accord with the policies of the institution.
