RSF’s Program on Social, Political and Economic Inequality (US)

The Russell Sage Foundation seeks innovative investigator-initiated research that will expand the understanding of social, political, and economic inequalities and the mechanisms by which they influence the lives of individuals, families, and communities. They welcome projects that explore the relevance of economic, racial, ethnic, age, gender, immigration, residence, or other statuses for the distribution of social, political, and economic outcomes within and across different status groups.

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.

Topic Areas

• The kinds of questions that are of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Economic Wellbeing, Equality of Opportunity, and Intergenerational Mobility.
  • Inequality and Policymaking.
  • Political Institutions and the Democratic Process.
  • Neighborhoods and Communities.
  • Criminal Justice & the Legal System
  • Psychological and/or Cultural Changes.
  • Educational Attainment.

Funding Information

• Funding can be used for research assistance, data acquisition, data analysis, and investigator time for conducting research and writing up results. 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).

Eligibility Criteria

• All applicants (both PIs and Co-PIs) must have a doctorate. In rare circumstances, RSF may consider applications from scholars who do not hold a doctorate but can demonstrate a strong career background that establishes their ability to conduct high-level, peer-reviewed scholarly research. Students may not be applicants.
• RSF particularly encourages early career scholars to apply for Presidential grants or the Pipeline Competition. For the November deadlines you can apply for either the pipeline grants or the regular research grants but not both. All nationalities are eligible to apply and applicants do not have to reside in the U.S., but the focus of the proposed research project must be on the U.S. as per the mission.

For more information, visit RSF.