Russell Sage Foundation: Future of Work Program (US)

They seek investigator-initiated research proposals that will broaden their understanding of the role of changes in employer practices, the nature of the labor market and public policies on employment, earnings, and job quality. They are especially interested in proposals that address questions about the interplay of market and non-market forces in shaping the wellbeing of workers.

RSF prioritizes analyses that make use of newly available data or demonstrate novel uses of existing data. They support original data collection when a project is focused on important program priorities, projects that conduct survey or field experiments and qualitative studies. RSF encourages methodological variety and inter-disciplinary collaboration. Proposed projects must have well-developed conceptual frameworks and rigorous research designs. Analytical models must be well-specified and research methods must be appropriate.

Topics

• The kinds of topics and questions of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Emerging Technologies and the Future of Work and Workers:
    • What are the effects of emerging technologies (including advanced communication systems, industrial robots, flexible manufacturing systems, computer-assisted design and manufacturing, and artificial intelligence-mediated decision making) on worker productivity, employment, employer decision-making, job skills, and labor-management relations? How do these effects vary with workers’ education, race/ethnicity, gender, immigration status, region, industry?
  • “The Big Shift”? Changes in Labor Force Participation and Increased Turnover During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic:
    • To what extent have concerns about workplace health and safety issues, family pressures due to schooling and daycare uncertainty, remote work options, spatial relocation of workers, and changes in the meaning of work contributed to increased labor force exits and reduced entrances post-pandemic?
  • Labor Market Power and Institutions:
    • How have changes in the availability of stable jobs at good wages affected the likelihood that the children of working-class parents will graduate from college and/or move into the middle-class? How do these effects vary by race/ethnicity/immigration status/gender?
  • Workforce Development, Training, and the 21st Century American Workplace:
    • To what extent do labor market intermediaries, such as community colleges, temporary employment agencies, social service providers, and labor unions, promote job mobility and opportunity?
  • Changes in Employer Practices and Alternative Work Arrangements:
    • How have changes in the incidence of nonstandard work arrangements, firm-to-firm contracting, and new business models that concentrate workers with similar skills levels in the same firm (sometimes known as “fissuring”) affected wage and nonwage compensation and other aspects of job quality? How have these effects varied by demographic group and contributed to the growth in inequality?
  • Changing Economies, Changing Families and Policy Responses:
    • What have been the effects of recent work-family legislation in cities and states on employers, workers, and families, and how do they affect racial and gender inequalities?

Funding Information

• Trustee Grants are capped at $200,000, including 15% indirect costs, over a two-year period.
• Presidential Awards are capped at $50,000 (no indirect costs) over a two-year period. However, when research projects have special needs for gathering data (e.g., qualitative research or survey experiments), gaining access to proprietary or restricted-use data, or when the proposal budget includes salary support for multiple assistant professor PIs, applicants may request up to $75,000 (no indirect costs).
• Funding can be used for research assistance, data acquisition, data analysis, and investigator time for conducting research and writing up results.

For more information, visit Russell Sage Foundation.