Submit Applications for Steven H. Sandell Grant Program (US)

The program is funded by the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide opportunities for junior or non-tenured scholars (within seven years of receiving their Ph.D.) from all academic disciplines to pursue cutting-edge projects on retirement or disability issues. Individuals from historically underserved or underrepresented communities are encouraged to apply.

Focus Areas

• Grant proposals must focus on at least one of SSA’s research focal areas:
  • Understanding service needs and improving service delivery
  • Studying causes and inequities of overpayment and underpayment
  • Addressing barriers to disability and SSI programs participation and processes
  • Understanding and improving communication
  • Identifying disparities by race, ethnicity, and sex
  • Examining economic security of program applicants and beneficiaries
  • Addressing employment barriers for people with disabilities.

Funding Information

• Two $50,000 grants will be awarded based upon the quality of the proposals and the proposed budgets. Recipients are required to complete the research outlined in their proposals within one year of the award.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI), if applicable, are required to have a Ph.D. or comparable professional certification. Grants are not intended to fund dissertation research.
• The PI and the Co-PI(s) must be junior or non-tenured scholar(s) who are within 1-7 years of completing their Ph.D. or comparable professional certification. Please note that applications with senior or tenured co-authors may be disqualified. The scholar(s) must be employed fulltime at an academic or research institution. The applicant must be affiliated with an institution (with accreditation equivalent to U.S. standards) willing to enter into a sub-agreement with Boston College.
• International scholars are eligible to apply, but proposals must have some relevance to U.S. policy.

Review Criteria

• Submissions will be reviewed by a panel of representatives from the RDRC and SSA. The following criteria will be used to evaluate proposals:
  • Relevance to retirement or disability policy as listed in the Research Focal Areas section.
  • Research design and methodology, with priority given to researchers using complex data sets which include the Health and Retirement Study and the Survey of Income and Program Participation.
  • Qualifications of the applicant and research setting.
  • Cost effectiveness.
  • Work plan design and schedule of deliverables.

Application Requirements

• All applicants must complete the online submission form. Required components of the online application include:
  • Contact information, educational information, and institutional affiliation.
  • Research proposal (PDF attachment).
  • Current CV of the PI and Co-PI(s).
  • Budget matrix from the Center’s website with signatures.
  • Name and contact information for two references.

For more information, visit Center for Retirement Research.