2020 ACR Grants on TCR: Call for Proposals for 2020 Association for Consumer Research research grants on Transformative Consumer Research |
Website | https://www.acrwebsite.org/web/tcr/tcr-grant-proposals |
Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=2020acrgrantsontcr |
Submission deadline | June 15, 2020 |
Transformative Consumer Research (TCR) focuses first and foremost on matters of well-being. TCR projects involve almost exclusively a specific consumption problem or opportunity that is related to consumption and directly impacts well-being. Accordingly, such projects strive to develop insights that can be acted upon by consumers and/or their agents (e.g., family members, professional caregivers, NGOs, policy makers, social enterprises, corporates), for the purpose of upholding and improving well-being for individuals, subgroups, societies, other living entities, and/or the natural environment. Aside from having an immediate practical orientation, TCR strives to employ rigorous and responsible methodology and develop or apply consumer theory.
Examples of TCR-compatible consumption problems and/or opportunities include, but are not limited to: overconsumption; addictive consumption (e.g., drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, television, gaming, Internet); consumer safety; parenting and consumption; product labeling and advertising; social and ecological degradation; low income and other facets of impoverished living in developed and developing countries; vulnerable consumers (e.g., elderly, child, or adolescent), including those who are disadvantaged or challenged (e.g., low literacy or numeracy), or discriminated or empowered in/through the market due to social identities (e.g., gender, ethnicity, class); servicing vulnerable consumers; micro- and macro-level consumption behaviors in emerging economies; and behaviors/decisions that affect quality-of-life. Examples of topics with direct implications for well-being include, but are not limited to: the environment (pro-environmental consumption such as repurposing or recycling); health (e.g., organ donation; health-regimen compliance, access to/provision of services for physical and mental health), personal and social development (e.g., consumer activities related to the arts, spirituality, exercise); finances (money and credit management); and subsistence (food, water, shelter, clothing).
TCR’s success since its inception in 2006 has resulted in a global reach and a greatly expanded scope for its research, due, in part, to the generous research-focused support from the Association for Consumer Research, and an anonymous donor who supports the mission of TCR. In light of TCR’s mission, part of this funding is being made available to support research projects. Two tiers exist. Tier 1 funding generally retains the process we used in the past, encouraging new scholarly projects. Tier 2 funding aims to support high-potential projects that were already vetted through initial inquiry and are seeking to expand on insights already gained.
For 2020-2021, TCR will again sponsor a two-tier research project-funding framework.
- Tier 1 funding generally retains the process we used in the past.
- Tier 2 funding aims to support high-potential projects that were already vetted through initial inquiry and are seeking to expand on insights already gained.
Available Funds
ACR and the anonymous donor have generously provided a total of $40,000 in potential funding. There are two tiers of funding as defined below.
Tier 1 Funding
Tier 1 funding seeks to (1) encourage innovative exploratory inquiry that is consistent with TCR’s mission (see above) and (2) provide seed or supplemental funding for already-conceptualized projects where early empirical confirmation is likely to facilitate larger grants from other agencies and organizations. Tier 1 funding is not to exceed $3,000 per grant, and most grants will be in the $2,000-$3,000 range.
Covered Research Expenses and Common Funding Levels
The research expenses covered by this funding program include compensation to research participants, costs of preparing research materials and executing studies, travel for the purpose of data collection, transcriptions, data set acquisition, the purchase of equipment and software, and other project-related expenses. TCR asks that Tier 1 funding not be used for researcher compensation purposes, or to fund thesis or dissertation projects.
Submitting Proposals
Tier 1 proposals should be well-crafted and aligned with TCR’s mission and priorities as described above. Connections between the proposed research project and TCR’s mission and goals must be made explicit in the narrative. An expert panel will review the proposals and funding notifications will be sent no later than September 10, 2020. If questions arise, researchers should contact the ACR/TCR representative listed below.
A Tier 1 proposal requires the following:
- The online form requires the name and contact information and address of the principal investigator, plus a short biographical note (maximum 100 words) about the PI’s background, research accomplishments, and so forth.
- Cover letter as a PDF file (content described in a subsequent section).
- The proposal is a 5-6 page PDF file with the following elements:
- 2-3 page single-spaced proposal narrative that addresses the following:
- The consumption problem or opportunity being addressed and its seriousness or importance.
- A short overview of prior research on the topic, focused on how and why prior research has not sufficiently produced insights that can be communicated to and acted upon for improved well-being.
- A description of the proposed project, including (a) theoretical frameworks to be used a priori or to be inducted from this work; (b) research hypotheses (if any); and (c) the research design and methodology.
- An overview of the most pragmatic insights related to TCR’s mission and goals, and how the researcher intends to disseminate them and their implications, plus any other knowledge advances related to theory, substantive topics, practice or methodology.
- A project timetable, including major mileposts and expected completion dates.
- An item-specific budget that can be verified by reviewers.
- When applicable, a detailed explanation of how this project will lead to additional funding from other organizations, and the names of those possible sources of funding (organizations, agencies, etc.).
- Evidence of IRB approval is desirable though not required at the application stage, but it is required before any funds will be dispersed.
- 2-3 page single-spaced proposal narrative that addresses the following:
Tier 2 Funding
Tier 2 funding seeks to advance projects already vetted and found consistent with TCR’s mission where (1) initial inquiry by the researchers found interesting results with discernible TCR implications and (2) a case can be made that additional funding is needed for the project to maximize its impact potential. Tier 2 funding is not to exceed $7,500, and most grants will be in the $4,000-$6,000 range.
Covered Research Expenses and Common Funding Levels The research expenses covered by this funding program include compensation to research participants, costs of preparing research materials and executing studies, data transcription, coding, and analysis, travel for the purpose of data collection or solicitation of additional substantial funding from government agencies (e.g., NSF, NIH), large data set acquisition, and the purchase of specialized equipment and software. TCR asks that Tier II funding not be used for exploratory research projects, researcher compensation purposes, or to fund thesis or dissertation projects.
Submitting Proposals
Tier 2 proposals must be well-crafted and aligned with TCR’s mission and priorities as described above. They must also be supported by empirical findings from the researchers’ own prior research that affirm the underlying theory and well-being enhancing potential of the research. Connections between the proposed project, TCR’s mission and goals, and the already conducted TCR-focused research must be made explicit. An expert panel will review proposals and funding notifications will be sent no later than September 10, 2020. If questions arise, researchers should contact the ACR/TCR representative listed below.
The typical format for a Tier 2 proposal is as follows:
- The online form requires the name and contact information and address of the principal investigator, plus a short biographical note (maximum 100 words) about the PI’s background, research accomplishments, and so forth.
- Cover letter as a PDF file (content described in a subsequent section).
- The typical proposal will be 8-9 pages in length including:
- A 5-6 page single-spaced proposal narrative that addresses the following:
- The consumption problem or opportunity being addressed and its seriousness or importance.
- A thorough overview of prior research on the topic, including the empirical results from initial research by the researchers that make the case for the extended and expanded project being proposed.
- A summary of why prior research has not sufficiently produced insights that can be communicated to and acted upon for improved well-being.
- A detailed description of the proposed project, including (a) theoretical frameworks to be used a priori or to be inducted from this work; (b) research hypotheses (if any); (c) the research design and methodology including details about sample size, sample recruitment, measures, manipulations if applicable, and other data collection efforts, (d) analysis plan, and (e) letters from collaborators (e.g., research sites) if applicable.
- An overview of expected additional insights related to TCR’s mission and goals, contributions related to theory, substantive topics, or methodology, and how the researcher intends to disseminate findings, practice and their implications.
- A project timetable, including major mileposts and expected completion dates.
- An item-specific budget that can be verified by reviewers.
- When applicable, detailed explanation of how this project will lead to additional funding from other organizations, and the names of those possible sources of funding (organizations, agencies, etc.).
- Evidence of IRB approval is desirable though not required at the application stage, but it is required before any funds will be dispersed.
- A 5-6 page single-spaced proposal narrative that addresses the following:
Submission Guidelines
Each proposal will be sent for review to 2–4 knowledgeable experts. Decisions on proposals will be made by members of the ACR Advisory Committee on Transformative Consumer Research (members are listed on the ACR website). All submissions receive comments from reviewers.
Proposals are evaluated in terms of (1) their potential contribution for generating knowledge that can lead to improved well-being regarding the focal consumption problem; (2) their potential to generate additional funding opportunities or decisive action by practitioners, government officials, or organizations; (3) the quality of literature review, conceptual development, and research design; and (4) the qualifications of the principal investigator. Early-career scholars are encouraged to apply, but should generally seek guidance from senior-scholar partners that can help strengthen the project potential. Priority will be given to first time submissions, as compared to work that has been previously funded by a TCR grant.
Cover Letter Content and Requirements
Applicants for TCR funding must comply with the following conditions and should address these issues, as relevant, in a cover letter accompanying the proposal:
- The cover letter should clearly state if the proposal is for Tier I or Tier II funding.
- The principal investigator must be a current member of the Association for Consumer Research.
- The proposed project must be approved by the IRB (institutional review board) of the principal investigator’s institution, and thereby comply with the ethical precepts of leading research universities. This approval can be acquired before applying for TCR funds or after receiving a positive evaluation of a proposal. If the applicant is in a setting where no institutional review board exists, he or she should state this and describe plans to comply with ethical precepts. Approved funds will not be disbursed until evidence of IRB approval is provided by the P.I.
- If the research involves purchasing or acquiring existing data sets that are not restricted by license or other means for sharing with like-minded researchers, the principal investigator must agree in writing to make the data set available on request from other TCR members.
- The principal investigator must agree in writing (in the cover letter) to serve as an occasional resource to other proposal writers and researchers seeking to conduct TCR, and to share his or her proposal for TCR funding on request.
- The principal investigator must agree in writing to acknowledge the funding support from the Association for Consumer Research and the anonymous donor to Transformative Consumer Research in any subsequent publications or press releases associated with the research project.
- The principal investigator must agree in writing to proactively inform the Chairperson of the ACR advisory committee on TCR of any presentations, publications and/or grants that arise from the research project.
- It is also considered favorable, though not required, that the principal investigator plans to present the research at a conference of the Association for Consumer Research or another venue where the work can be shared with other scholars and interested individuals.
Committees
The Association for Consumer Research has established an Advisory Committee on Transformative Consumer Research that reports to the Association’s Board of Directors. The purpose of the Advisory Committee is to consider, plan, and implement a variety of strategies and programs that will encourage, support, and publicize Transformative Consumer Research. This advisory committee serves to review grant proposals.
The current members of the Advisory Committee are:
- Jeff Murray University of Arkansis
- Melissa Bublitz, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
- Jesse Catlin, Sacramento State Univ
- Brennan Davis, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
- Martin Mende, Florida State University
- David Mick, University of Virginia
- Aronte Bennett, Villanova University
- Julie Ozanne, University of Melbourne
- Connie Pechmann, University California Irvine
- Laura Peracchio, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukie
- Eva Kipnis, Sheffield University
- Ekant Veer, University of Canterbury NZ
- Roland Gau, National Chiao Tung Uni
- Helen Duh, Inseng University of the Witwatersrand
- Samuelson Appau, RMIT University
- Maria Piacetini, Landcaster University
- Laurel Steinfield, Bentley University
- Tiffany White, University of Illinois
- Joshua Dorsey, Cal State Fullerton
- Carlos Valencia, Universidad de los Andes
- Srinivas Venugopa,l University of Vermont
- Ann Mirabito, Baylor University
- Samantha Cross, Iowa State University
- Jennifer Escalas, Vanderbilt University
- Stacey Finkelstein, SUNY-Stonybrook
Contact
Brennan Davis bdavis39@calpoly.edu