Channing Briggs Small Research Grant

Award Type: foundation

The NASPA Foundation supports the discovery of new knowledge through research and innovation in the field of student affairs. This is achieved through a continued commitment to funding selected proposals as submitted to the Foundation. The NASPA Foundation has re-opened the Channing Briggs Small Research Grants and will provide funding of small grants up to $5,000. NASPA encourages graduate students, student affairs professionals, faculty members, and research teams to apply. The applicant or at least one member of the team must be a NASPA member. 

Nominations have closed for the 2026 Channing Briggs Small Research Grant. The application for 2027 will open in August 2026. 

 

Application Information

Grant applications should be no more than four narrative pages (the cover page and the project budget can be separate pages), 12-point font, single-spaced, and should contain the following:

  • A cover page identifying:
    • The research proposal title
    • The primary investigator(s), and the investigative team names
  • The purpose and rationale for the study, and specifically how it is relevant to the profession of student affairs and at least one of NASPA’s four guiding principles
  • A brief description of the study which should include a brief summary of the literature review and its proposed methodology and methods
  • An explanation as to how this project will address and/or contribute to the discovery of new knowledge, new applications of theory to practice and/or innovation in the field of student affairs
  • A full budget for the project, as well as an indication of other sources of funding for the project, if any has been solicited or obtained
  • An explanation of how the funds sought from NASPA will be used (The Foundation will only fund costs directly related to conducting the research project. See below for more details).

Grant Selection Process

The NASPA Foundation will determine and publish the amount available for grant funding for the small grants. Upon review of applications, the review committee can determine how much funding to allocate up to the amount specified, provide the dissemination of funds, and gather the required submission of deliverables at the completion of the projects. Failure to provide the required deliverables in a timely manner as required by the Foundation may preclude the investigators from further eligibility to receive Foundation grant funding.

The following criteria will be used to determine the selection of small grant projects:

  • Clarity of the proposal: to what extent is the proposal clearly written, organized, and cohesive?
  • Purpose and rationale of the proposal: how well-defined is the study? Are the research questions clear? How is the study relevant to the profession of student affairs?
  • Research design and methodology: to what extent is the study well-crafted and the methodology appropriate to the research proposed?
  • Study’s “fit” to the Foundation grant guidelines: the extent to which the study appears to contribute to the discovery of new knowledge, new applications of theory to practice and/or innovation in the field of student affairs and NASPA’s guiding principles. Do the resources that are requested fit within the guidelines of what the foundation will fund?
  • Significance of the study: The study focuses on a contemporary and significant issue within student affairs.
  • Impact on the profession of student affairs: to what extent does the research have the potential to impact the student affairs profession?

FAQs

What costs are covered by the grant?

The Foundation will only fund direct costs related to conducting the research project. This might include the costs of transportation to conduct the research, the purchase of instruments, the costs of transcription, and costs of a graduate student to assist in conducting the research up to $3,000 of the total amount requested. Graduate students participating in the study may be included in authorship as appropriate.

What costs are not covered by the grant?

The Foundation will not fund the following: costs of travel to and from NASPA conferences or any other conference in order to gather data or present the findings; funding for salaries of faculty or staff conducting the research; a percent for institutional indirect cost recovery or overhead; funding for gifts, food, or incentives to participate in the research study; funding for equipment used in the research, or the costs of graduate tuition and fees.

What types of research are accepted?
  • Theoretical research: research that may not lead to immediate use or application, but is original and provides insight into a problem.
  • Applied research: research that solves problems by utilizing well known and accepted principles and theories and in which the main focus is on analysis of an issue or problem and how to best resolve it.
  • Quantitative research: research based on numeric figures or numbers in which the aim is to measure the quantity or amount and compare it with past records; it investigates the what, where, and when of decision making.
  • Qualitative research: research that presents a non-quantitative type of analysis conducted through collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data by observing what people do and say; it is more subjective and uses different methods of collecting information, mainly individual, in-depth interviews and focus groups to investigate the why and how and decision making processes.
  • Mixed methods research: research that relies on both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
  • Historical method: collection of techniques and guidelines used to research and write histories of the past
What are the areas of focus for grant applications?

NASPA strives to be a champion and role model of innovation for higher education and student affairs associations. As such, this grant application would be ideally tied to one of NASPA’s four guiding principles of integrity, innovation, inclusion, and inquiry.

Who “owns” the grant?

Although there must be a staff member to serve as the grant administrator, the grant is conferred to the institution. If the staff member leaves the institution, a new grant administrator must be identified within 30 days or the grant may be forfeited by the institution.

Does the grant expire? Are there any stipulations on the grant?

All funds must be used within 12 months of conferral. Once the project is completed, recipients are expected to present findings at a NASPA conference session or poster presentation or submit to a NASPA journal and be published within 18 months.