SMHS Education Research Grants

School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Call for Proposals: Medical and Health Sciences Education Research Grants

Submission deadline: April 10, 2024
Notification of selections: June 2024
Funds available: July 2024

Purpose

The GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) encourages and supports scholarship in medical and health sciences education. To help faculty implement scholarly initiatives, SMHS provides grant funding for the initiation of new medical and/or health sciences education research studies. Proposals may be submitted for up to $15,000 for one study.

Eligibility

All regular active status SMHS faculty* (tenured, tenure-track, or non-tenure track) are eligible to submit a proposal as the Primary Investigator (PI). Clinical, adjunct, and part-time faculty members of SMHS, students, residents, and fellows, as well as faculty members from other GW schools, may be members of the research team. PIs may not apply to extend funding for a proposal that has been submitted or that is receiving funds from another source. Each PI may submit only one proposal per year. PIs who received funding in the prior year or who have not yet completed previously funded projects are not eligible to submit proposals (they may be members of the research team).
*appointment as University professor, professor, associate professor, assistant professor, or instructor

Application Requirements

Applications must contain the following: 

A Cover Page with:

  • The title of the study
  • Names, academic titles/rank, and schools of the PI and other members of the research team
  • Contact information for the PI (email; telephone)
  • Area of medical and/or health sciences education the proposed study focuses on (i.e.: degree program(s), CME, etc.).

The Proposal: No more than 5 single-spaced pages as follows in one document:

  1. Background and Justification for the Proposed Study:
    1. A statement of the problem being addressed by the research (including appropriately cited literature)
    2. The significance of the need for the proposed study
    3. The relationship of the proposed study to a specific strategy(ies) in the SMHS Strategic Plan. 
  2. Impact of the Proposed Study:
    1. Goals of the proposed study (e.g. what is expected to be achieved as a result of the research?)
    2. The potential impact of the results of the proposed study on medical and/or health sciences education at GW, nationally and/or internationally
    3. The potential impact of the results of the proposed study on achieving the mission and vision of SMHS.
  3. Research Methods:
    1. The type of research and design (i.e. quantitative—experimental, quasi-experimental, correlational, descriptive, etc.; qualitative—basic, phenomenology, case study, grounded theory, etc., or mixed methods) being conducted (including appropriate references)
    2. The hypotheses or research question(s) to be addressed
    3. The conceptual and theoretical framework
    4. The target population/participants
    5. Recruitment methods
    6. Data collection methods (including any specific tools to be used)
    7. Data analysis methods
    8. Outcome measures
  4. The Study Completion Timeline (listing the major steps to be completed)
  5. The Study Budget
    1. Itemized expenses and their justification. Allowable expenses to support the research include the time of a research assistant; equipment; office supplies; and IRB-approved incentives for participants. Please inquire if you have an expense that is not listed.  Basic statistical and graphics packages are not allowable expenses if the same or similar resources are available through the Himmelfarb Library
    2. Registration and travel to educational research meetings are also not allowable expenses; however, up to $1,500 in costs for publication or meeting presentations may be submitted to the CFE for approval when research outcomes are available and will be funded on a first-come, first-served basis).
      Faculty time is not an allowable expense. The SMHS “Use of Designated Funds” policy provides further elaboration on SMHS Policies for Operational Funds.
    3. A justification of the budget must be included.
    4. It is expected that IRB approval, as necessary, will be obtained and a copy provided to the CFE within 2 months of an award.
      It is also expected that most expenditures and data collection will be completed within one year for the majority of studies. A clear plan and justification should be included for projects expected to take more than one year. Progress Reports will be expected every 6 months until the project is completed. 
  6. The Research Team: Names, academic rank, education research experience (one paragraph), and role in this study. Please do NOT include CVs.
  7. References (no more than 10).

Evaluation of Proposals

Evaluation Criteria

Each proposal will be reviewed by at least three faculty members and final decisions will be made by the committee of reviewers who will consider the following criteria. All criteria must be met for the proposal to be considered for funding.

  1. How the study will further the implementation of the SMHS strategic plan and the achievement of SMHS’s mission and vision.
  2. The clarity of the statement of the problem being addressed and the significance of the need to address it.
  3. The clarity of the goals of the study.
  4. The clarity of the hypotheses/research question(s) the study addresses.
  5. The appropriateness of the research methods proposed to meet the goals of the study and address the hypotheses/research question(s).
  6. The reasonableness of the proposed timeline for conducting the study.
  7. The reasonableness of the proposed budget for the study.
Most Common Reasons Proposals are Not Funded

Based on the proposals submitted over the past few years, the most common reasons for not receiving funding were: (1). No clear link or a poor connection between the purpose of the study and SMHS’s strategic plan, (2). Unclear problem being addressed and/or lack of literature supporting the need to address the problem, (3). Lack of alignment between two or more of: the problem being addressed, the study goals, the hypotheses/research question(s), and the proposed research methods, (4). (4). Evidence of a conceptual or theoretical frame; (5). Lack of detailed steps (i.e.: recruitment, IRB approval) in the proposed timeline, (6). No justification for proposed expenditures, (7). Insufficient experience of team members to execute the study as proposed or (7). Missing sections of the proposal.

Grants Awards and Requirements

Proposal submissions may be funded in full, in part, or not at all. The PI must request approved funds from the CFE using the established process that will be outlined in the award letter. The PI must submit progress reports and an accounting of expenses to the Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE) every 6 months until completion or termination of the project.    

Submissions

Applications are currently closed, please check back for future offerings.

Questions?

Inquiries about the proposal content should be addressed to Dr. Patricia Latham, CFE Associate Director for Education Research and Scholarship, pslath@gwu.edu.