The Labor Research and Action Network (LRAN) brings together workers’ rights advocates, academics, and students with the shared goal of building workplace and economic power for workers in the United States.  One of the organization’s key objectives is to help develop the next generation of labor scholars while also linking these scholars to labor activists.

LRAN is pleased to announce a competition for seed grants ranging from $1000 to $3,000 for graduate students and untenured faculty for research on U.S. labor-focused projects, broadly defined. Proposals will be judged based on their overall quality, but projects directly relevant to workers and worker rights organizations will be prioritized. In addition, LRAN encourages collaboration between academics and worker centers, unions, and community groups, and such collaborations will be seen as a plus factor in the judging. Graduate student applicants must be currently enrolled in a graduate program, including programs awarding either academic or professional degrees, and students in all academic disciplines are encouraged to apply.

Furthermore, the Omidyar Network has agreed to fund up to $10,000 for research projects using data from a recent Gallup poll on job quality (dataset available here). If you are using these data, please indicate so in the subject line of the email containing your application.

Applicants should submit a single PDF that includes the following information:

1.A brief project proposal, including information about whether IRB approval is required, and if it is required, where the applicant is in the IRB process (no more than five pages, double-spaced). Please, ensure you address the following.

A)    State the problem you are trying to address. B)    Indicate your research question. C)    Explain the significance of the study for the labor literature. D)   Identify the data, data collection methods, and data analysis plan.

2.A detailed budget that explains how seed funds will be used. LRAN grant money may not be used for overhead, tuition, or fees at the applicant’s university. Funds will be disbursed as reimbursement for budgeted research expenses.

3.For graduate students, a letter signing off on the proposal from the student’s academic advisor.

4.C.V.

5.If the proposed project collaborates with a union or other worker organization, please add the name, email, and phone number for the applicant’s contact at the organization.

Winners will be required to provide status reports on the state of their research projects six months and one year after receiving their awards. Completed applications and requests related to the Omidyar Network funding should be sent to lrangrants@jwj.org, with “LRAN New Scholars Research Grant” in the subject line. Grantees will receive a travel stipend of up to $500 to report their research proposal at the 2022 LRAN Conference. The deadline for the application is November 1st with winners announced by Dec. 17, 2021.