Selection Process
The Institute grants for research into diversity and public relations are competitive and will be judged using a blind review process. The proposals will be judged by selected members of the Institute's diversity research advisory panel and the Commission on International Public Relations.

Application Method and Deadline
Initial application must be made online through a form available on the Institute's website. All other materials (described below) must be submitted electronically. For consideration in 2006, the online application and all materials must be received no later than September 30, 2006.

After submitting your initial application online, all of the following must be emailed to Michelle Hinson at mhinson@jou.ufl.edu, preferably as Microsoft Word (or comparable program) attachments.

1. Project abstract and amount of funding request (250 words maximum). Please DO NOT include your name or other identifiable information in the abstract but make sure that the title of the proposed study is EXACTLY THE SAME as in your online application.
2. Full project proposal (2,000 words or less describing proposed project, how it corresponds to relevant themes in the RFP, methods to be used, timetable for completion). Include a line-item budget that briefly describes how the funds will be used. Please DO NOT include your name or other identifiable information in the full proposal but make sure that the title of the proposed study is EXACTLY THE SAME as in your online application.
3. Curriculum vitae or professional resume for each applicant.
4. Highlight your past research in areas relevant to the RFP.

Criteria
Entries will be judged on:

1. Potential contribution to the advancement of research-based knowledge in the field of public relations and diversity (as defined above, i.e., relationships with diverse constituents, communicating with diverse audiences, through diverse means, and supporting the value of diversity).
2. The overall significance, design quality and feasibility of the proposed study, in conformance with accepted scholarly and legal research methods.
3. The potential for widespread distribution and practical application of the research findings.
4. The quality of the written proposal.

Ownership and Publication Rights

1. All applications become the property of the Institute for Public Relations and cannot be returned.
2. If your proposal is selected for funding, your acceptance of the grant will give the Institute full rights to copyright, publish, abstract and publicize your research on the Institute website and through any other means.
3. The Institute will publicly announce grant recipients and their research topics.
4. Final research reports from grant recipients must be made available to the Institute electronically (preferably Microsoft Word or other standard word processing program).
5. The Institute strongly encourages publication and presentation of research it commissions in peer-reviewed journals and conferences. To this end, we will be flexible and work with research authors to accomplish this, consistent with our goal of mainstreaming research-based knowledge into actual practice as quickly as possible.
6. Any publication or other dissemination of the funded work carried out by grant recipients should clearly acknowledge the support of the Institute for Public Relations. Copies of such publications or other materials should be forwarded to the Institute.

Grant Disbursements

1. The Institute for Public Relations may decide to fund any project at a different level than requested.
2. Institute research grants may be distributed in two or more installments. The first payment, typically about 40% of the grant, is provided after the research contract is signed. The final payment is distributed following receipt and approval of the final research paper.
3. The grant is to be used solely for the completion of the research project, not including institutional administrative costs.
4. All grants expire at the end of one year. If a project is not completed by then, any payments made up to that time must be returned.
5. Completion means that the grant recipient has provided the Institute with a final research paper that includes a clear executive summary suitable for reaching practitioners as well as academics, description of the research results and any related work still in progress, and how the project furthered understanding of diversity and public relations.