News

ICEOL Announces Proposal Request for 2008 Research Grants Program

February 1, 2008

The Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life supports a research grants program to promote innovative scholarship on the intersection of spirituality and care at the end of life. 

Funding Objectives

Proposals are welcome from any discipline on topics related to the spiritual dimension of death and dying, and may pertain to persons of any age.  We particularly welcome projects which emphasize the translation of research knowledge into practical application.  Potential areas of study include:

  1. Spiritual care at the end of life — including studies of pastoral care and chaplaincy, and interventions for responding to patient and family spiritual concerns.
  2. Theological, literary, or historical aspects of suffering, death and dying
  3. Cultural variations in spiritual practices

Terms of the Award

Grants may be awarded up to $15,000, and may be expended over 2 years.

Eligibility

Proposals will be considered from scholars in any discipline.  Applicants must hold a faculty position at Duke University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, or North Carolina Central University.  Post-doctoral fellows may also apply; however, they must identify a faculty mentor. Funds may be used to support graduate student research assistants.  .

Selection Criteria

Proposals will be judged according to originality, scholarly merit, relevance to funding objectives, and feasibility.

Preference will be given to:

  1. junior investigators
  2. senior investigators seeking to establish a new area of research
  3. interdisciplinary collaborations
  4. proposals with financial or in-kind support from other university departments or community agencies
  5. projects likely to lead to future scholarship and support

Application Procedure

A complete application packet includes:

  1. Cover page on institutional letterhead that includes the application submission date, applicant’s name, title, name of institution, mailing address, phone, fax, email, project name, duration of project (start date – end date) and a 250-word abstract of the project.
  2. Please note: For non-Duke applicants, the following information needs to be included for the certifying representative at the applicant’s institution: Name, signature, employing institution, mailing address, phone, fax, email. These grants will be made with the institution not the individual, so this information is essential.
  3. Proposal describing the project, not to exceed five single-spaced typewritten pages in 12 point font, including the following:
    1. Specific aims
    2. Background and significance
    3. Research design and analytic methods, as appropriate to the discipline
    4. Brief (1/2 page) statement of principal investigator’s career goals and trajectory
    5. Project timetable
  4. CVs of all project investigators.
  5. Budget with line item justification. Please identify any additional sources of project support (direct financial and in-kind). Note that this grant award does not include indirect costs. Travel requests greater than $1,000 and major capital equipment expenditures will be carefully scrutinized. Please also include the duration of the project (start date – end date).
  6. Investigators whose proposals require IRB approval must have submitted their protocol to their home institution’s IRB prior to submission of this application.
  7. If applicant is a postdoctoral fellow, include a letter of support from faculty mentor.

Do not attach additional appendices.

Submit grants in pdf format electronically to Dana Hall with “ICEOL Research Grants Program” in subject line.

Questions should be directed to:
Dana Hall
Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life
Phone:  (919) 660-3537
Web: www.iceol.duke.edu

Application Process and Timelines

Proposals Due

April 14, 2008 (5:00pm)

Projects selected and recipients notified

May 23, 2008

Funds available

July 1, 2008

Successful applicants will be required to comply with ICEOL grant reporting requirements and to acknowledge ICEOL’s support in any publications.