Youth Purpose Research Awards

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Up to four awards of no more than $10,000 each will be given in 2009 for dissertation, postdoctoral, and early faculty career research that sheds light on adolescent intention, involvement with beyond-the-self causes, and topics that lead to the development of purpose, function of purpose in a youth's life, and supports for and challenges to purpose.

Studies should be empirical with a clear research question and either a quantitative or qualitative (or mixed) design; address adolescents or adolescence; and take a positive youth approach that sees adolescents as contributing, productive members of society rather than as problems.

These awards are funded by generous grants from the Templeton Foundation and the Thrive Foundation for Youth. Awards may only cover research-related direct costs, such as materials, incentives for participants, non-capital equipment, software, supplies, transcription or coding or other services, and travel. All costs must be justified, with a clear rationale for how they contribute to the research and why they are necessary. We cannot fund salaries, stipends or other payroll for the applicant, course buy-out for applicants with instruction duties, tuition, or personal expenses.

Funds are provided directly to the awardees, not their institutions. Awardees are responsible for complying with their institution's funding guidelines, applicable taxes, and abiding by all ethical requirements of responsible research.

Awardees must complete and submit a mid-term report, end-of-study report, and financial statements to the Stanford Center on Adolescence. Awardees also provide to the Center's library one copy of any written product (dissertation, article, chapter, book, etc.) resulting from the award.

DEADLINE

1. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
2. Applicants must be affiliated with an accredited college or university in the United States. Stanford affiliates may not apply.
3. Applicants may be from any discipline that may inform youth purpose scholarship. These disciplines include but are not limited to: psychology, education, sociology, history, health/medicine/public health/nursing, social sciences, human development, counseling.
4. Doctoral students must be advanced to candidacy with their dissertation proposal passed by their home institutions.
5. Non-faculty postdoctoral scholars and junior faculty must have earned their doctorate degrees within the past five years.
6. Study budget must be less than $10,000. If the total cost of the study is more than this amount, applicant must explain where the additional funds will come from.
7. 2009 awardees must complete their studies by September 2010.
   

1. Select the (pdf) Application Form and save it to your computer. Type in your information and print two copies. Sign it. Send one copy to us with your other materials and retain one copy for your files.
2. Write a clear, concise, detailed proposal of your study. This proposal should be no longer than six pages double spaced, printed single sided on standard 8-1/2 x 11 white paper with 1-inch margins and 12-point type (Arial or Times New Roman). Include the following sections:
• research question
• hypotheses, if appropriate
• scholarly literature on which your study is based (including appropriate citations)
• overall methodology
• description of measures or other data collection tools and data analysis procedures
• rationale for why the study is important and how it contributes to our understanding of youth purpose
• timeline for completing the study
• bibliography
Figures and/or tables may be included only if they fit within the page limit and strengthen your presentation. Print four copies of your proposal. Send three copies to us and retain one copy for your files.
3. Write a clear, compelling abstract of no more than 150 words summarizing your study.
4. Print three copies of your up-to-date curriculum vitae that includes education, publications, presentations, and research and teaching experience.
5. Select the (pdf) Budget Form and save it to your computer. Type in your information and print two copies. Sign it. Send one copy to us with your other materials and retain one copy for your files.
6. Request one letter of recommendation from an academic advisor, mentor, or professor who can speak about your strengths and ability to carry out your proposed research. This letter may be included with your application or sent separately from the recommender. Be sure to provide the recommender with a copy of your proposal and a pre-addressed stamped envelope. The recommendation must be received by the same deadline as your materials.
7. Mail one application form, one budget form, and three copies of your proposal to:
       Stanford Center on Adolescence
       Stanford University, Barnum Center
       505 Lasuen Mall
       Stanford, CA 94305-3083
       ATTN: Youth Purpose Research Awards
   

1. The Stanford Center on Adolescence staff examines all applications for eligibility, completeness, and appropriateness. Applications that are incomplete, from individuals who do not meet eligibility requirements, are longer than the page limits, or have topics that are not relevant to youth purpose will not be considered further.
2. A select panel of distinguished scholars from Stanford and other universities whose research addresses or is related to youth purpose evaluates proposals for their contribution, quality, and feasibility. Criteria include: relevance to and ability to contribute new understandings of youth purpose, potential publishability, clarity of research question and proposal, soundness of methodology for the research question, and ability of the applicant to complete the study within the budget and timeframe constraints.
3. This panel makes recommendations to the Stanford Center on Adolescence, whose decision of awardees is final.
4. Feedback on individual applications and proposals cannot be provided to applicants.
5. Award recipients will be contacted in early April. Funds are disbursed in two installments: one in May or June, pending verification of Human Subjects Review Board approval of the study, and the second the following November. Funds are provided directly to the applicants.