The following article was reprinted from Psychological Science Agenda (Vol. 14, No. 1; January/February 2001), with permission of the American Psychological Association (APA) Science Directorate

$how Me the Money!!!
by Richard C. McCarty, PhD, Executive Director for Science

 
As we begin the New Year, I am pleased to announce a valuable new resource for the behavioral and social sciences courtesy of the Decade of Behavior initiative. This gift comes to you in the form of a searchable website with funding opportunities that span the gamut of behavioral and social science disciplines. Many people put this amazing new resource together, and I'd like to inform you of the key contributions, then encourage you to visit the site.

In August 1999, Bennett Bertenthal was nearing the end of his 3-year tenure as Assistant Director for the Social, Behavioral, and Economic (SBE) Sciences at the National Science Foundation (NSF). Based on his experiences at NSF, Bennett saw the need for greater coordination among various federal agencies and private foundations that had an interest in funding research in behavioral and social sciences. He convened a conference that brought together federal and private funding agencies to discuss research opportunities that were not being covered by the ongoing efforts of the various funding groups.

An outgrowth of this conference was a decision by Bennett to develop a web-based resource of funding opportunities in the SBE disciplines. Bennett and his colleague at NSF, John Gawalt, spent several months on this resource and developed a prototype database. However, they decided not to pursue it further, as it was deemed inappropriate for NSF to serve as a platform to advertise funding opportunities for other federal agencies and private foundations.

My colleague, Merry Bullock, and I approached Bennett about the possibility of transferring the prototype funding website from NSF to the Decade of Behavior initiative. We also received a favorable response from the SBE Advisory Committee in late 1999 when Bennett proposed the transfer to them. In early 2000, NSF awarded a contract for approximately $20,000 to support the development and maintenance of a searchable funding database website to be maintained on the Decade of Behavior website for at least 5 years. We, of course, have the benefit of significant server capacity for the site thanks to the resources of APA.

For the next several months, Merry Bullock coordinated a multi-disciplinary team of senior graduate students who scoured the countryside for funding sources appropriate to our many disciplines and who expanded the scope of the project to include international funding opportunities. Hal Warren and his colleagues in APA Internet Services have been generous with their time and talents in moving this project along, and we are most grateful for their support.

What will you encounter when you visit this site, affectionately known as "FundSource?" A description of the kinds of searches and architecture will illustrate FundSource's versatility. FundSource allows two kinds of searches. The first type is of the FundSource database. This database includes names, contact information, website URLs, and a short description of funding areas and programs for each entry (foundation, agency). A search of this database by name of organization, research discipline(s), or research topic(s) will provide a list of those database entries for foundations or agencies relevant to the search terms. The second type of search, WebSearch, is of the actual websites of relevant funders, focused on their information about programs and opportunities. For this search, you may enter terms, phrases, or names, and you will be provided with links to the relevant funding information.

FundSource is unique in several respects. It is the first searchable funding resource devoted exclusively to the behavioral and social sciences. In addition, it allows searches to be done separately for foundations, federal agencies, and international sources. At present, FundSource concentrates on funding for research activities. As it expands, it will include information on training opportunities at all levels (graduate students, post docs, and early career fellowships, among others), on resources for improving grant-writing skills, and on funding for sabbatical opportunities.

Keeping up with research funding is a full-time job. Our hope is that this website will save you time and increase your ability to match your research interests with a federal agency or private foundation that funds your specialty area. We are also counting on receiving feedback from users of this database. Please let us know your thoughts on ways to improve the resource, as we are committed to making this the best resource of its kind in the behavioral and social sciences.

In hosting this funding website, the Decade of Behavior initiative hopes that this resource will be an important element in fostering a spirit of increased cooperation among the behavioral and social science disciplines. Happy New Year and happy surfing at: www.decadeofbehavior.org.