The goal of the Div. 34 (Society for Environmental, Population, and Conservation Psychology) (SEPCP) research grant program is to improve equity and expand access to opportunities to pursue research on topics of core interest to the society. Specifically, this program will support researchers who otherwise have limited access to institutional resources (e.g., internal funding mechanisms, access to research assistant support, grant writing resources) to support their research efforts. This small grants program seeks to support such "under-resourced" scholars, including PhD students at the dissertation stage and early career researchers within 10 years of receiving their doctoral degree. Funds may be used to compensate study participants (online or in-person), purchase supplies/software, travel to research sites, or pay research assistants. Funds may not be used for investigator stipends/salary or for travel to conferences. No indirect costs will be granted to the awardee’s institution.

SEPCP especially encourages proposals on unique and timely research topics that involve underrepresented institutions, PhD students, and junior scholars.

Awards

One grant up to $1,000 is available under this competition.

Evaluation Criteria

Alignment of research with SEPCP’s mission

Soundness of research design and methodology

Potential contribution of research to the field (accounting for novelty and timeliness of proposed research)

Feasibility of project

Demonstrated financial need (based on institutional resources)

Review Process

Applications that are incomplete or do not follow the instructions listed above will not be reviewed. Complete applications that comply with instructions will be reviewed by an SEPCP committee using a double-blind process. Reviewers will rate these applications on the evaluation criteria listed above.

1. The applicant must currently be enrolled in a doctoral program (at the dissertation stage) or be within 10 years of receiving a PhD or PsyD. Applicants can be at any type of institution.

2. The applicant must be a member of SEPCP (APA Division 34). Please note that you can become a member of SEPCP without becoming a full member of APA. The current membership fee schedule can be found online.

3. Leaders of the Division 34 Student Committee are eligible to apply, but current members of the Division 34 Executive committee are ineligible.

Applicants may submit only one Grant-in-Aid application (Research, Teaching, or Community Impact) per year. Applicants must demonstrate relative lack of opportunities for alternative sources of funding and support (e.g., internal funding mechanisms, institutional grant writing support). In case of proposals of comparable quality, preference will be given to applications from scholars with fewer available resources.

The application should include:

1. Anonymized proposal (no more than three pages, single-spaced, using 11-point font) including:

   1. Proposal title

   2. Abstract of 200 words or fewer summarizing the proposed research

   3. Project purpose, theoretical rationale, research methodology, and analytical procedures to be employed

   4. Relevance of research to SEPCP

   5. References

      For the sake of blind review, please leave identifying information out of your proposal. Proposals that contain identifying information will be returned without review.

2. Anonymized budget

   1. Please provide an anonymized budget and detailed justification outlining how funds will be used. Include any other funding sources you are applying for or have received. Applicants are encouraged to describe how SEPCP funding is critical to the proposed project (e.g., because of limiting internal funding opportunities, restrictions on who may apply for such funding, etc.).

3. Application packet that includes:

   1. A cover sheet with your name, address, phone number, email address and title of the proposal. For co-authored submissions, please indicate which individual will receive funds if selected for funding.

   2. Brief statement regarding the status of human subjects review (i.e., not yet submitted, under review, approved, or exempt): IRB approval is not required at the time of submission, but documentation of approval or exemption must be provided before funds will be transferred. If you have IRB approval, please include documentation in your application.

   3. Resume/CV of applicant(s)

4. For graduate students and postdocs: recommendation letter from a faculty sponsor

Submission

Send your application materials to the past president: pastpresident@sepcp.org

1. Please use the subject line: Research Grant – Your last name

2. Please send as few files as possible, preferably:

   1. One file for your anonymized proposal (Save the file as LASTNAME_Research Proposal)

   2. Another file with all other requested materials combined (Save the file as LASTNAME_Research Application)

Recommendation letters may be submitted with the rest of your application or emailed directly from the letter writer to the same address above. Please encourage your letter writer to reference the "Research Grant-in-Aid" and your last name in their email.