Office of Research
Signature Employer Grant 2018
Signature Employment Grants are awarded nationally to fund new pilot initiatives, demonstration projects, or social ventures that lead to the generation of new ideas to solve the high unemployment and underemployment of individuals with disabilities. Preference is given for interventions that overcome specific employment barriers related to long-term dependence on public assistance or advance competitive employment in a cost-effective manner. Signature Grants are not intended to fund project expansions or bring proven projects to new communities, unless there is a significant scale, scope, or replicable component. Innovation lies at the core of all Signature Employment Grants. We define innovation as a new idea or process that will improve systems to increase employment outcomes for people with disabilities. Innovation can often improve systems already in place. Innovation requires careful analysis of the needs of individuals served: identifying the idea, program, service, or workflow necessary to promote employment. It may require deliberate application of information, imagination, and initiation for generating new ideas that can serve as a catalyst for creating better solutions to obtain and maintain employment. These ideas may be original or may use existing solutions or technologies in a new way. Kessler Foundation does not fund any purely research-based projects.
Application Instructions
Please submit:
- a one-page letter of intent with a description of proposed aims and approach
- Biosketch or CV of the PI
- A letter of support from the Dean or Chair. This letter of support signifies that the Dean or Chair have ensured that the nominee and application are likely to be of sufficient quality to be competitive nationally
to research@uw.edu by 5:00 PM Monday January 29, 2018. Proposals are due to the sponsor 2/18/18, so you will need to have your materials in to OSP by 2/8/18 for processing, if given the go-ahead by the review committee.
Inquiries and Contact Information
Investigators who identify a grant, award or fellowship program that restricts the number of applications that can be submitted from an Institution should immediately contact their Chairperson, Associate Dean for Research (or Dean, if no ADR) and the Office of Research (see below) if they intend to prepare a response. Failure to do so, or to meet the deadlines for submission of pre-proposal, will preclude submission of the application through the Office of Sponsored Programs.
For general inquiries, or to request a listing of a limited submission opportunity that should be but is not already listed, please email us at limitedsubs@uw.edu.