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Preparing a Proposal
Preparing A Proposal
Essential Elements of OERC Research Funding Request
Please refer to the list of 2027 Research Priorities, which can be found here.
Proposals must be submitted to director@oerc.org
Proposals must be prepared using the OERC proposal template:
Office Ergonomics Research Committee Request for Proposals
The Office Ergonomics Research Committee (OERC) invites research proposals for 2027 funding that advance knowledge in human factors and ergonomics for office workers in conventional offices as well as hybrid and remote work environments. We encourage proposals that explore novel approaches, address underexplored challenges, and generate research with actionable insights that support healthier, more productive, and equitable office environments. In each of the priorities, we are interested in understanding the “human factors/ergonomic effects” on physical and mental health, productivity, and/or behavior for each topic and practical recommendations for applying the research findings. The term effects can encompass positive and negative effects (benefits/risks). The following topics are of particular interest to OERC member companies:
NOTE: The research priorities are presented in random order. Position on the list does not indicate importance, and all topics should be considered equally important to the OERC.
• Artificial Intelligence and Human Factors/Ergonomics: Investigate the emerging intersections between artificial intelligence (AI) and ergonomics, focusing on knowledge workers. Explore how AI-driven tools such as agents, intelligent assistants, machine learning algorithms, and multimodal input systems reshape cognitive load, productivity, and workplace metrics in hybrid and digital work environments. Proposals may examine but are not limited to areas such as how AI can enhance behavioral insights through telemetry and data analytics, how AI may impact worker safety, health, or privacy, explore user adaptation to AI systems, implications of AI-based monitoring on workers and organizational decision-making, development and use of tools and policies for AI risk management relative to office workers, and AI use in the development of and implementation in hardware or software products.
• Organizational design/macroergonomics: Identify interventions that effectively manage and reduce employees’ workload, psychosocial stress, fatigue, burnout, and presenteeism/absenteeism, while enhancing performance. Investigate novel work system mechanisms or approaches to improve management performance and to sustain or enhance employees’ well-being, health, safety, and performance. Consider factors such as organizational policies, job design, environmental and social factors, and technology integration in a longitudinal field study.
• Office Workplace Design: Explore new and emerging trends, technologies, and designs in office workplace design and organizational policies to reduce physical symptoms and support cognitive performance for both typical and neurodivergent workers. Field studies with mid-to-long-term exposure measures and intervention assessments are of particular interest.
• Physical and Visual Environment Factors: Investigate the effects of physical and visual environmental factors, including lighting, glare, noise, and acoustic properties, in new work environments supporting hybrid and collaborative work as well as remote work, on associated health, comfort, productivity, and well-being issues.
• Worker Training and Knowledge: Investigate how new and emerging tools and capabilities, such as adaptive and personalized learning pathways, sensing technologies, and feedback, can be leveraged to improve worker self-awareness, training, and knowledge, reduce the risk of injury, improve behavioral metrics, and increase worker well-being, health, and performance.
• New and emerging technologies: Examine the human factors/ergonomics design implications when integrating and implementing novel technologies in the office or knowledge work on user physical and mental health, productivity, comfort, and capability. These technologies may include: hardware & collaborative tools, mobile devices, combined AI/hardware systems, gestures, wearables, voice, Extended Reality (XR), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) displays, and mixed-modal interactions.
All proposals must be in English
In order to receive consideration for OERC funding, you must submit the following:
- All proposals must be submitted by October 29, 2026
- Proposals will be evaluated in two stages. Initial reviews and scores will be completed, then finalists will be selected for further review and presentation (December 1-3, 2026). All researchers will be notified as to the status of their proposal in mid-November 2026. A preliminary decision as to which proposals will be funded will be made late December 2026 and all researchers will be notified as to their proposal’s status at that time.
- The proposal should be 2-5 pages in length and utilize the template provided at oerc.org, under research (preparing a proposal).
- Include a summary review of literature that characterize the pros and cons regarding the question of interest and advances and support the research problem. This is not expected to be an exhaustive literature review, but any literature cited should be included in a reference list at the end of the proposal.
- Present a clear, concise statement of the research objective or objectives, independent and dependent variables and the research hypotheses.
- Give a description of the research methodology, including the number of participants, apparatus, procedures, etc.
- Describe the statistical analysis techniques to be employed.
- Provide a timeline for all major milestones associated with the project proposal.
- Identify any critical dependencies such as obtaining permission to conduct the study at the only feasible site, etc.
- Give a budget estimate for the study (the total amount of funding requested from OERC). This must include all funds expected from OERC, e.g. direct and indirect, overhead, taxes, etc. OERC limits overhead in funded studies to a maximum of 10 percent. Funding options could include a gift to the University to support project.
- The median award is approximately US$ 25,000. Please note that projects proposing greater or lesser budget amounts will be considered.
- Please indicate whether you will request in-kind support such as computer keyboards, access to worksites, ergonomic chairs, etc. Be specific as to quantities, model numbers, required features, etc.
- Identify any other funding sources solicited, particularly if they are necessary to initiate or complete the OERC funded research
- Provide a list of the expected project deliverables. For research proposals, expected deliverables must always include submission of the research report to a peer-reviewed journal for publication and submission of a final report to OERC as soon as the project is completed.
- Please indicate which research topic or topics that your proposal is intended to address. A proposal need not cover every aspect of a topic.
- Please note that Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval or its equivalent regarding human subject research is a necessary condition of funding.
- Careful adherence to this research proposal format will facilitate the processing of your proposal.
- Please provide the PI and Co-PIs CVs.
- Funding decisions are made at general meetings of the Office Ergonomics Research Committee, which occur three times per year, typically winter, spring and fall. The lead researcher will be asked to participate in conference calls during an OERC meeting to provide a progress report presentation and answer questions from OERC members.