Type of Research Funded
The SHRM Foundation seeks to fund high impact research on all aspects of HR management with a focus on addressing current challenges or understanding emerging trends. Any topic may be funded however the research must be aimed at an academic audience while also having direct, actionable implications for HR practice.
Research topics should contribute to evidence-based management by yielding actionable implications for enhancing the effectiveness of (a) HR professionals, (b) specific HR practices, functions, or systems, or (c) organizations through HR practices. Projects are more likely to receive funding if the findings will result in new evidence that contributes to both the science and practice of HR. Specifically, to receive serious consideration for funding, proposals must meet both of the following criteria:
- The proposed research should advance the HR academic literature (i.e., likely to result in a top-tier HR academic journal publication).
- The proposed research should yield practical, actionable implications for HR professionals (i.e., help inform HR practice such that a summary of the research findings would be of interest to outlets such as HRMagazine, Business Week, Fortune, Financial Times, or Wall Street Journal).
Any type of research methodology may be used as long as it is sound and appropriate for the proposed research question(s). Those research questions typically (but not solely) take the form of theoretically derived hypotheses.
How Proposals are Reviewed
The SHRM Foundation has a limited amount of funding to award in each review cycle, so the funding process is very competitive. The SHRM Foundation Research Committee--a subset of Foundation Board members--leads the proposal review process. Each grant proposal is reviewed by at least three individuals including both academics and HR practitioners. Projects are not blind reviewed. Reviewers include both SHRM Foundation Board members and additional outside volunteers with relevant expertise. Reviewers evaluate each proposal using a standard rating sheet. View the rating sheet.
After all the proposal ratings are collected, the Research Committee meets via conference call to decide on their final funding recommendations. Those recommendations are made to the full Foundation Board of Directors who then vote on the committee's recommendations at their meetings which occur three times annually. Over the past few years, approximately 24% of proposals have been funded though there is no set number or percentage of proposals that will receive funding.
All applicants will be notified via e-mail of the Board's final funding decision approximately 3-4 months after submitting a proposal. Applicants who are not funded will receive a high-level summary of reviewer feedback- generally 1-2 paragraphs. Note: the feedback will not be extensive like a journal review and applicants will not receive detailed comments from individual reviewers.
Before submitting a proposal to the SHRM Foundation, researchers are strongly encouraged to contact the Foundation's Research Coordinator, listed below, to discuss their proposal. The intent of this process is to help facilitate the match between submitted proposals and the SHRM Foundation's funding objectives and evaluation criteria.
Research Coordinator
Lynn McFarland, Ph.D.
Chapin, South Carolina; USA
Phone: 803-767-6992
E-mail: lynnmcfarland@bellsouth.net
How to Submit Your Proposal
Researchers should submit the entire completed proposal via e-mail to:
Beth McFarland, CAE
Manager, Special Projects
SHRM Foundation
1800 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
bmcfarland@shrm.org
After submitting your proposal, you will receive an e-mail acknowledgment from the SHRM Foundation to confirm receipt of your grant application.
Important: If you do not hear from the SHRM Foundation within three business days of submitting your proposal- or within one day after the submission deadline- please contact Beth McFarland at (703) 535-6371 or bmcfarland@shrm.org to verify that your proposal was received.
All applicants will be notified via e-mail of the Board's final funding decision approximately 3-4 months after submitting a proposal. Please notify the Foundation if your e-mail address changes during this time.
Contact Us
For questions on the content/design of your research or the fit with SHRM Foundation funding objectives, contact:
Research Coordinator
Lynn McFarland, Ph.D.
Chapin, South Carolina; USA
Phone: 803-767-6992
E-mail: lynnmcfarland@bellsouth.net
To find out if your proposal was received by the Foundation, or for questions relating to grant administration, contact:
Manager, Special Projects
Beth McFarland, CAE
Alexandria, VA; USA
Phone: 703-535-6371
E-mail: bmcfarland@shrm.org