Preparing a Proposal

Essential Elements of OERC Research Funding Request

Please refer to the list of 2024 Research Priorities, which can be found here.

Proposals must be submitted to director@oerc.org

Proposals must be prepared using the OERC proposal template: download it here:

• Proposal Template

In order to receive consideration for OERC funding, you must submit the following:

1. All proposals must be submitted by September 11th, 2023.
2. Proposals will be evaluated in two stages.  Initial reviews and scores will be completed, then finalists will be selected for further review and presentation (October 22-23, 2023). All researchers will be notified as to the status of their proposal early October 2023. A preliminary decision as to which proposals will be funded will be made mid- December 2023 and all researchers will be notified as to their proposal’s status at that time.
3. The proposal should be 2-5 pages in length and utilize the template provided at oerc.org, under research (preparing a proposal).
4. 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.
5. Present a clear, concise statement of the research objective or objectives, independent and dependent variables and the research hypotheses.
6. Give a description of the research methodology, including the number of participants, apparatus, procedures, etc.
7. Describe the statistical analysis techniques to be employed.
8. Provide a timeline for all major milestones associated with the project proposal.
9. Identify any critical dependencies such as obtaining permission to conduct the study at the only feasible site, etc.
10. 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.
11. The median award is approximately US$25,000. Please note that projects proposing greater or lesser budget amounts will be considered.
12. 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.
13. Identify any other funding sources solicited, particularly if they are necessary to initiate or complete the OERC funded research
14. 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.
15. Please indicate which research topic or topics that your proposal is intended to address. A proposal need not cover every aspect of a topic.
16. Please note that Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval or its equivalent regarding human subject research is a necessary condition of funding.
17. Careful adherence to this research proposal format will facilitate the processing of your proposal.
18. Please provide the PI and Co-PIs CVs.
19. 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.