FIRAH Call for Projects - Self-esteem and Disability
A person who lacks self-esteem cannot believe he or she is valued by others. Lack of self-esteem may lead to the neglect of one's appearance, a common reaction, which leads to social and employment exclusion.
Persons with disabilities often suffer from how others react to them and this contributes to diminishing their self-esteem and to a tendency to take little care of themselves, which may subsequently hinder social inclusion. These two social exclusion factors are mutually aggravating.
Beauty and wellness therapy is still rarely included among the forms of support provided to persons with disabilities, even though they can contribute to growing self-esteem and to improving general self-image, self-confidence and relations with others. All of which are essential to social inclusion.
Cognizant of these issues, the L’Oréal Foundation and FIRAH decided to organize a call for applied research projects entitled "Self-esteem and Disability". The aims are to improve support for persons with disabilities for affirming their dignity and identity, and thereby contribute to the necessary change in how society sees persons with disabilities.
What applied research on disability encompasses
Applied research complies with the rules that apply to all forms of scientific research with regard to ethics, methodology, rigour, and evaluation. The goal of applied research is to provide solutions to the difficulties encountered daily by persons with disabilities and their families. Applied research must be construed as concrete collaboration, throughout the research process, between the persons with disabilities, their families, carers, professionals and researchers.
As in all other fields of research, findings should be disseminated through all possible channels to the research communities, particularly through open databases or scientific articles published in peer-reviewed journals.
Knowledge generated by research projects must be disseminated to the field stakeholders (persons with disabilities, their families, carers and professionals). It is essential to share information with non-scientific audiences for the purpose of ensuring that research findings are truly applied and improve the daily lives of the disabled persons and their families. Information must be presented using language and materials that are adapted to the targeted audiences.
The “field stakeholder” refers to persons with disabilities and their families, organisations representing them, human rights defence organisations (to encourage them to include disabled persons in their activities); service providers and other organisations working with disabled persons or who need to take into account the requirements of persons with disabilities, (e.g. architects, teachers, business firms, industry…), policymakers at the local, national and international levels.
The implementation support tools are findings and knowledge from applied research will be developed into products, services and content that meet the expectations and needs of persons with disabilities. Through proper adaptation they should help the field stakeholders improve their practices. These implementation support tools must include training and application tools, adapted written texts, videos, etc.
The six selection criteria applied in the call for projects
The six criteria that will be used to evaluate and select applied research project proposals are described below.
Everyone submitting a proposal should read them carefully and present projects that correspond to them. The criteria should serve to structure the letter of intent and the complete application.
The current document, particularly pages 3 to 6, will assist you when completing the Letter of Intent Application Form (available to download on the FIRAH website).
- Criterion no. 1 – Overall objective of the project
The overall objective of the research project should be to contribute to obtaining greater access to human rights for persons with disabilities, in compliance with the principles of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities:
- Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one's own choices, and independence of persons;
- Non-discrimination;
- Full and effective participation and inclusion in society;
- Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity;
- Equality of opportunity;
- Accessibility;
- Equality between men and women; and
- Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities.
These principles will be used as the first frame to assess research project proposals.
- Criterion no. 2 – Originality and innovative nature of the project
It is necessary to include an initial review of the literature for the thematic of the research proposed.
Special attention will also be given to the taking into account of new approaches, evolutions in concepts and terminology related to disabilities.
If relevant, project proposals may include ways of transitioning from traditional ways of working to innovative and inclusive methods and should clearly highlight issues affecting resistance to change.
The originality of the research must also be demonstrated in the methods used to measure quality of life, quality of social participation, levels of satisfaction, self-determination and empowerment of the people involved.
The project’s particular context and any elements in the context that generate change will also be seen as sources of innovation.
- Criterion no. 3 – Presentation of research project leader and partners and their respective roles in the project
Priority will be given to participatory research projects that are able to demonstrate an organised and cohesive structure with strong links between field stakeholders (with special attention to persons with disabilities and their relatives, disability people organisations and professionals) and researchers.
The involvement of field organisations must be demonstrated through their intentions as well as their role in the planning, coordination and evaluation of the research project and in the dissemination of its findings.
Persons with disabilities, their families, and organisations that represent them must be seen as the ‘subject’ of the research and not only as the ‘object’ of the research. Priority will be given to projects that address problems identified by persons with disabilities and their families. Proof of this participatory approach must be provided by the description of their role in the different phases of the research.
The proposal must specify the names of the participating researchers, their areas of expertise, their respective role in the project, their previous involvement in relevant and funded research projects and any articles they have published that may be of importance to the proposal.
Research project leader and partners must demonstrate their ability to meet their goals by citing previous research outcomes and by describing their knowledge of current problems encountered by persons living with disabilities and their families.
Unless there are exceptional circumstances, which must be explained in the application file, the team of researchers must be comprised of at least one scientist working in an institutional or academic setting whose official responsibilities include a research.
- Criterion no. 4 – Methodology and expected outcomes
The research hypothesis or question should be clearly stated.
Clear and coherent scientific methodology is required. Expected results will be clearly announced. The methodology of data collection as well as those concerning data analysis will be presented.
The expected results will not be limited to description or ascertainment but will also provide concrete, operational recommendations, solutions and tools for driving change.
- Criterion no. 5 – Tools produced to disseminate and capitalise on knowledge generated by the research project (and methods for transferring these tools)
Special attention must be given to the means used to facilitate the transfer of the knowledge generated by research, quantitatively and qualitatively.
To be useful to academic and scientific circles, project outcomes must by described in articles published in open databases or in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented at scientific gatherings.
In addition to scientific articles, the evaluation committee will pay particular attention to the production of other implementation support tools to be used by the stakeholders in the field. The term “implementation support tools" encompasses training tools, videos, practical written materials, computer applications, or any other means required by the target audience to appropriate the knowledge. To reach as large an audience as possible, those documents must be made available online, free of charge. These documents will have to be translated into French and English to ensure the widest possible dissemination.
Project leader must explain how field stakeholders will contribute to the creation of the research-derived material they will use.
Networks and other mechanisms that could have a lasting multiplier effect in circulating and optimising the outcomes must be identified for each target audience.
- Criterion no. 6 – Objectives, activities and resources must be coherently matched
Coherence will be required in the following areas:
- An adequacy of the project in terms of resources (human and material), completion time and funding requested.
- Job descriptions for everyone working on the project and the amount of time allocated to the project.
- The rationale for how financial resources are allocated to research activities, dissemination and practical applications, which includes the creation of implementation support tools for stakeholders in the field and English and French translations.
Features of this call for projects
The main objectives of this call for projects is to identify and fund applied research projects focused on self-esteem in persons with disabilities and to evaluate the value of interventions and activities linked with physical appearance and personal hygiene of persons with disabilities with a view to improve their quality of life and social and employment inclusion.
Research process must include:
- concrete recommendations to determine the best ways to increase self-confidence among persons with disabilities by working on their physical appearance;
- solutions - technical aids, digital or otherwise - which are tailored to the functional needs of persons with disabilities which they can use on their own to setting her appearance to their best advantage;
- awareness raising tools that underscore the importance of appearance to persons with disabilities, families, professionals providing care, associations and other relevant entities. These tools (MOOC, e-learning materials, or web documentaries) are to be made available via the internet free on open access.
ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS
Organizations eligible to be project leaders
All public and non-profit research organizations and other non-profit associations/societies and organizations.
Private entities may be involved in the research as partners but cannot be project leaders.
A natural person cannot be a project leader.
Geographical scope
Projects submitted for funding must have as main project leader either a French entity or an entity based in the European Economic Area (EEA) working on areas of research focused on France or on one or more EEA Member-States. It should be noted that international collaboration is allowed and encouraged. Comparative research study proposals involving different countries are also welcomed.
Population to be studied
Persons with physical, sensory, intellectual or mental disabilities, regardless of age, gender, or cause of their disability.
Eligible areas of activity
Projects will focus on interventions and activities that help to improve physical appearance and that are made available to persons with disabilities in public or private medical, social and medico-social services, and in not-for-profit associations. Interventions and activities specifically involve beauty and wellness therapy aimed at improving well-being: advice on beauty enhancing techniques, facial and body massages, makeup and skin care, nail and hair care, hairdressing, and image consulting.
Special attention will be paid to research projects involving activities performed by aestheticians and hairdressers having a certification or diploma allowing them to work in medical, and medico-social and social contexts.
Conducting research in different experimental areas may be an asset.
GRANTS
Grant amount awarded to projects will be no greater than € 100,000 per project. Projects that have raised all the funding needed for a start early 2020 will be given preference. Research projects must be no longer than two years.
SELECTION PROCESS
- 7 January 2019 - Launch of the call for projects;
- 25 March 2019, midnight - Deadline for letters of intent;
- 21 June 2019 - Announcement to project leaders of letters of intent that were short-listed and those that were declined;
- 30 September 2019, midnight - Deadline for the full project proposal;
- 9 December 2019 – Announcement to project leaders concerning selected and declined proposals.
Letters of intent and the finalized proposals must be drafted in either French or English using the forms provided for this purpose, which are available on the Foundation's website (www.firah.org) in the "Call for Projects" tab.
All applicants whose letters of intent are selected will be invited to submit a full project proposal. Recommendations may be provided by the Evaluation Committee, after reception of the letters of intent, to guide project leaders with the completion of the full project proposal. The extent to which said recommendations are taken into account will be a key factor in the final selection of the full project proposals.
The FIRAH form must be used to draft the letter of intent and the complete dossiers. The form can be downloaded from www.firah.org under “Call for Projects” tab.
Applicants whose letters of intent are selected will be asked to submit a full project application. Recommendations for submitting the application may be sent to the project leader as guidance. How the recommendations are addressed will be a key factor in the final project selection process.
For more information and a clear understanding of the type of projects targeted by this call for projects, we advise you to consult our Applied Disability Research Resource Centre. You will be able to consult applied research projects funded by the FIRAH, as well as their results.
Methodological tools are also presented, with a view to promoting:
The Resource Centre database holds applied research from different sources, which may prove useful in the preparation of your project.
