The SIOP International Research and Collaboration (IRC) Small Grant supports research of an international or cross-cultural nature. The aim of the IRC Small Grant is to encourage international or cross-cultural collaborations on research projects that examine data from different cultural groups. Proposals can be made in any area of I-O Psychology, as long as the main research topic is approached from an international or cross-cultural lens.

The proposal must include an international or cross-cultural research partnership involving collaborators from at least two different national cultures or subcultures within one country. The proposal also must include data collection from at least two different cultural populations within a nation (e.g., indigenous people in Canada and Euro Canadians) or across nations (Germans in Germany and Chinese in China). Proposals for exploratory or “proof of concept” research are welcome.

The maximum size of the grant is $5,000.

 

Nomination deadline is June 30, 2025

 

General Procedures and Policies

An overarching goal of the IRC Small Grant Program is to provide funding for international, global, or cross-cultural collaboration. Research projects from any area of I-O psychology (e.g., leadership, selection, performance management, motivation, job satisfaction) would be appropriate as long as they have both a significant international element and include significant international collaboration. (Example: A cross-cultural study of the antecedents of job satisfaction by a team from Africa, Europe, and Asia.)

The grant submission package must include a grant proposal (see formatting guidelines below).

The principal investigator of the project must be a SIOP member (which includes Students). Proposals submitted with a Student as the principal investigator must include a letter of endorsement from a SIOP professional member.

To encourage wide participation and a large variety of individuals and institutions involved in the program, an individual can only be involved in one proposal per review cycle per grant. In addition, individuals who received an IRC grant within the last 2 years are ineligible. Before submitting a grant proposal, check with each of your co-authors to ensure that neither of these requirements are being violated.

When submitting application materials, applicants will also be asked if they are being investigated, or have been found responsible, for misconduct prohibited in SIOP’s Anti-Harassment Policy and to provide a brief explanation if this is the case.

 

Guidelines for Proposal Budgets

It is the explicit policy of the SIOP IRC Grant Program that grant funds may not be used for overhead or indirect costs. In the committees’ experience, most universities will waive overhead and indirect costs under two circumstances: (a) the grant is relatively modest in size, and/or (b) the awarding institution (i.e., SIOP) does not allow it. If the above statement disallowing funds to be used for overhead is insufficient,  a Chair of the  Awards Committee will provide additional documentation and evidence explicitly recognizing this policy.

The IRC Small Grant can be used in conjunction with other funding for a larger-scale project. If this is the case, the proposal should describe the scope of the entire project, the entire budget, and the portion of the budget for which SIOP grant money will be spent.

In addition, grant funds should not be used to pay for ancillary costs related to the project (i.e., publication or presentations at conferences, such as open access and registration/ travel costs).

 

Format of Proposals

The proposal should adhere to APA formatting guidelines and should include the following sections:

  • Title Page (include the names of all authors of the grant proposal)
  • Abstract
  • Literature review and rationale for the project
  • Method—including information about the sample, measures, data collection strategies, and analytical strategies
  • Implications for both academicians and practitioners
  • References, Tables/Figures and Appendices
  • Project plan, defined deliverables, and budget

Proposals should not exceed 10 pages of text (this does not include: title page, abstract, references, tables and figures, and appendices). The proposal should be double spaced and use a 12-point font and 1” margins. The proposal must be a single document, either a Word document or a .pdf file.

If applicable, the names of all participants must be entered during the online nomination/application process. Please ensure that all participants in your nomination have current information in their siop.org profiles. All non-members should create an account at siop.org (creating accounts is not equivalent to applying for membership).

All proposals need to certify, by signature or other means, that the research will be carried out in compliance with ethical standards regarding the treatment of human subjects (e.g., institutional review board or signed statement that the research adheres to the accepted professional standards regarding the treatment of human subjects).

 

Evaluation Criteria

At least three members of the Grant Subcommittee will evaluate each proposal based on the following criteria:

Topic choice: The research examines an I-O psychology relevant topic from an international or cross-cultural perspective, focusing on important practical and/or theoretical implications. The proposal includes an international or cross-cultural research partnership involving collaborators from at least two different national cultures or subcultures.

Introduction: Introductory section and the literature review are comprehensive, relevant, and current, with gaps to be filled clearly documented.  Problem statements, research questions, and/or hypotheses are correctly formulated and consistent with the gaps documented in the introduction. Relevance for the research is clear (i.e., the rationale for why this research is important is made evident through the literature review).

Methods: Research design has internal validity, addressing potential biases and/or confounded effects. Research design has external validity (consideration given to a range of participants, settings, and conditions).  Procedure(s), measurements, and/or qualitative methods are appropriate and aligned with the research objective(s). Adequate statistical or other data analytical procedures will be used to analyze data associated with the proposed topic.

Impact: The proposal clearly outlines how the pursued research contributes to an international or cross-cultural perspective on a topic in I-O psychology.  The proposal describes the expected impact at both theoretical and practical levels. The proposal includes a detailed understanding of current research constraints and limitations. The proposal must demonstrate the potential contribution of the proposed study or studies to the literature.

Budget: The proposed use of the grant funds must be essential to the research project (examples of appropriate use of funds include but are not limited to: purchase of research materials, participant incentives, faculty release time, summer support, translation services, travel related to data collection & collaboration, stipends to support a research assistant0. When funds are being used for participant incentives, researchers must demonstrate an understanding of the contextual implications of the funding amount and distribution plan.

 

Administrative Procedures

The International Affairs Committee will review and administer the IRC Small Grant. Given the specific objective of fostering international cooperation, this subcommittee will include SIOP members from various international locations. The subcommittee reserves the right to recommend that the award be withheld if a suitable candidate does not apply.

Although a student can apply for multiple SIOP grants and scholarships, they cannot win multiple awards that fund the same project in the same year. Additionally, a student cannot be funded on multiple scholarships in the same year. If a project is recommended to receive two awards, the Awards Chair for grants and scholarships will make the determination of which award the individual will receive. If an individual is recommended to receive a scholarship by two different subcommittees, the Awards Chair for grants and scholarships will make the determination of which award the individual will receive.

Funds will be distributed to the recipient in a single payment in January following the submission deadline.

 

Deliverables

All grant recipients will be required to deliver a final report to the SIOP office within 2 years of the date of the award. An abstract of the research will be placed on the SIOP Web site.

Recipients are encouraged to submit the results of their research for presentation at SIOP’s annual conference.

Recipients should acknowledge funding from the SIOP Foundation in any presentations or publications resulting from the grant-funded research.

Current Award Recipients

Hwayeon Myeong, Meejung Chin, & Eden B. King
Not All Mothers Feel Alike: Cultural Differences in Identity Integration and Guilt

Award Type

Grants & Programs, Research Grants

Previous Award Recipients

James M. Diefendorff, Tae-Yeol Kim, Xin Wei Ong, & Meghan A. Thornton-Lugo
University of Akron
2024
Jennifer Feitosa, M. Gloria González-Morales, Patricia Costa, and Ramón Rico
Claremont McKenna College
2023
Yihao Liu, Tianjun Sun, Pauline Schilpzand, and Jack Ting-Ju Chiang
Peking University
2022