SHRM Foundation Grants for Human Resources Research

The SHRM Foundation is a leading funder of HR research, having awarded more than $3.8 million in research grants since 2007. We fund original, rigorous, empirical research studies that are aimed at an academic audience but also have direct, actionable implications for HR practice. More than 85% of our projects result in significant impact including articles published in top-tier, peer-reviewed journals—including Human Resource Management, the Journal of Applied Psychology and Personnel Psychology-- and presentations at national academic conferences.  Our grant program features two open calls for proposals annually, plus periodic special research calls.

The Foundation is seeking grant funding proposals for up to $200,000 each from individuals and institutions.

The Foundation welcomes proposals from any country. Submissions must be written in English and applications will be read by reviewers whose first language is English. Projects are eligible for funding as long as they meet the funding criteria specified on the SHRM Foundation website. There is no requirement that researchers be based in the United States. In recent years, the funding rate has been similar for researchers both inside and outside the U.S.

If you would like to submit a grant application, the next SHRM Foundation grant submission deadline is April 1, 2016. The online application system will open on  February 1, 2016 and the Foundation will begin accepting spring grant applications at that time.  

What kind of research does the Foundation fund?

The SHRM Foundation funds high impact HR research, aimed at an academic audience while also having direct actionable implications for HR practice, whether the focus is on addressing current challenges or understanding emerging trends. Any topic will be considered, however the grant must be for original rigorous empirical academic research that advances the HR profession. While aimed at an academic audience, funded research should also have clear applicability for HR practice and help contribute to evidence-based HR. As such, projects submitted for funding should have a high likelihood of both adding value to the HR academic literature (i.e., be suitable for leading academic journals) and yielding practical implications for HR managers (i.e., applied outlets should be interested in the research results).

It is crucial that there is continuity between the research questions proposed and the methods used.  The research should also be able to reasonably generalize across people and settings.  Investigators should include a statement in the proposal regarding the individuals, groups, industry sectors or countries for which their findings are expected to generalize, given the sample and study design.The SHRM Foundation is open to funding research using any type of research methodology as long as the proposed methodology 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 many grants does the Foundation fund annually?

This varies depending on the number of qualified proposals the Foundation receives and the funds available. During the past two years, the Foundation has funded 4-8 proposals per year at an average of $67,100 per project; an average of 12% of the research proposals it has received. However there is no set target for the number or percentage of proposals funded. This percentage fluctuates each year depending on the availability of funds, and the number and quality of the proposals received.