Evangelical Missiological Society
EMS Grant for Research to Advance World Evangelization (GRAWE)
Rationale
Prov. 18:15 says “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” Original research is a significant way to acquire knowledge. EMS’s mission statement is to advance the cause of world evangelization. Academicians may have the personal resources to carry out biblical or theoretical studies related to missiology; however, the costs involved in carrying out quantitative or qualitative studies can hinder such research. The EMS Grant for Research to Advance World Evangelization (GRAWE) seeks to incentivize high quality research on how the gospel spreads across cultures and to officially recognize (and reward) researchers who create new knowledge in the field of missiology.
Award
Up to $5000. $2500 by Dec 31 of the year of granting the award, to cover initial costs; and $2500 at submission of paper for presentation of the research at an EMS regional and annual conference. The registration fee for the annual conference will be covered.
The grant money must primarily be used to facilitate data collection and analysis. The money should cover things like:
Travel costs related to qualitative data collection in a research site
Incentives to participate in a quantitative study
Software required for data analysis
Transcription of qualitative interviews
Travel to and accommodation for EMS conference
Annual progress and financial accountability reports with receipts will be required.
Frequency
One award a year maximum. An awardee cannot receive the grant more than once every seven years.
Criteria for the study
The study does not need to be related to a current EMS theme but must involve original qualitative or quantitative research on how the gospel spreads across cultures.
Research that is innovative and stretches the field of knowledge is especially welcome.
The research cannot have already been collected for a grant application to be considered. Research must be completed within (and presented) 3 years from Jan 1st of the year after receipt of the initial portion of the money. The researcher should be ready to commence data collection in the year following the awarding of the grant
Criteria for the awardee(s)
Grants are for a study, not for an individual. Therefore, a grant can be given to a group of co-investigators, one of whom will be the principal investigator (PI). The money will be given to the PI or the PI’s institution. The PI must be an EMS member whose dues are current. In the case of a research grant applicant who does not have a doctorate or research experience in the area of the research, there needs to be a supervising co-investigator with relevant experience. If the applicant is applying for a grant in association with a research degree program, the institutional processes for the degree are considered as providing research supervision.
EMS membership details – Region and year commenced membership
CV for each investigator on the project which clearly demonstrates relevant research experience of each investigator
budget showing how the money will be used specifically for each step of the research
1500 word summary of the project that includes a:
rationale for the study (especially in relation to how the research aids the spreading of the gospel across cultures)
In this section, the grant application reviewers expect to see a clear connection between the research and the purpose of the EMS. They also expect to understand what the issue is that the research is seeking to address.
brief literature review
For the literature review, applicants must demonstrate that they have engaged with relevant missiological literature and can write a scholarly critical evaluation of that literature in relation to their research question.
research question or topic
The research problem or question that the research seeks to address must be clearly stated.
research methods outline
This section should include specific details about what the research will involve. This would normally include processes for data gathering and details about how the data will be analyzed. If human subjects will be involved, how participants will be selected should be clearly stated. A draft version of any data gathering instruments (e.g., questionnaire or interview protocol) should be appended. (The data gathering instrument(s) are not included in the word count of the application.)
plan for ethics review
The ethics review process for the research must be mentioned. If the applicant is not in an institution, a process of ethical review by senior researchers or by an ethics advisory committee for independent researchers (e.g., the ANC Ethics Advisory Committee) should be included.
research plan (timeline)
The research plan should be specific, detailing each step of the data gathering, analysis, and writing up process. It should be realistic, demonstrating good understanding of what the research will actually involve.
brief comment on any financial circumstances which might make this grant particularly helpful for you