What types of research do we fund?
Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources (IRC4HR®) funds research on all aspects of HR management and the employment relationship, with a focus on addressing current issues and exploring emerging trends.
We seek to fund academically-sound studies that generate practical results and that can be generalized across industries and organizations. The methods employed to conduct the research must be appropriately designed to address the proposed research questions.
Studies should be designed to contribute to the quality of management practices by producing evidence-based, actionable insights for enhancing the effectiveness of business leaders, HR professionals, and/or public policy-makers who have an interest in enhancing workplace productivity, engagement, and performance.
Projects are more likely to receive funding if the findings will result in new evidence that contributes to “the knowledge and practice of human relationships” across types of organizations and industries, as defined by our mission.
How do we select grant proposals?
Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources (IRC4HR) has a limited amount of funding to award in each annual review cycle, so the funding process is competitive. Each grant proposal is reviewed by at least five individuals, including academics, business leaders, and HR practitioners. Reviewers may include both IRC4HR Board members and additional volunteers with relevant expertise.
Each proposal is evaluated based on the types of research we fund.
After all the proposals are reviewed, the group of evaluators meets face-to-face or via conference call to discuss recommendations and agree on final funding decisions.
The annual amount of funding varies from year to year and could be allocated to a single project or to multiple projects, depending on the number and quality of proposals received. There is no typical funding amount but, for estimating purposes, grants can be as small as $5,000 USD and as much as $250,000 USD. Once the available funding for a cycle is allocated, IRC4HR will continue to consider proposals, but they will be evaluated for the next funding cycle (our funding cycle begins May 1st and concludes April 30th).
Proposals are generally reviewed in November and April, (although could be done more frequently, as required), after which a decision will be made or you may be contacted for further information. Hence, depending upon when your proposal is submitted, you should expect to hear about the funding decision – or the need for some follow up – within six months after submitting a proposal.
Please review the information on this site to determine whether your project may be a good fit with IRC4HR’s funding priorities. Then review the Grant Application Guideline and follow those guidelines in preparing your submission. There is no need to speak with IRC4HR staff prior to submitting a proposal.
How to submit your proposal
Grantseekers should submit the entire completed proposal in a Microsoft Word file or PDF following the guideline outlined on this website. Endorsement letters, survey instruments, etc., may also be submitted.
To submit your proposal, please send your file(s) to info@irc4hr.org. You will receive an email acknowledgment from IRC4HR within 48 hours confirming receipt of your grant application.
Important: If you do not receive confirmation from IRC4HR within 48 hours of submitting your proposal, please contact Jodi Starkman, Executive Director, at jodi.starkman@irc4hr.org to verify that it was received.
All applicants will be notified via email of the Board’s final funding decision within approximately six (6) months after application. Please notify IRC4HR if your email address changes during this time.