1. Call for Proposals – General Information
   1. The Institute invites proposals for original work squarely in the field of Jewish Genealogy, broadly defined.
   2. Proposals may be in the categories of pure genealogical research, or inter-disciplinary research. They may also seek to provide Jewish genealogists and family historians with innovative “tools and technologies” to advance their work.
   3. Preference will be given to:
      • Projects of broad interest to Jewish genealogists and a range of other scholars working in the humanities and social sciences.
      • Projects based on primary sources (or equivalent), whose scope goes well beyond information gathering and retrieval, or simple databasing.
      • Studies requiring a critical evaluation of the sources, analysis and synthesis of data.
      • Studies whose resultant narrative is firmly positioned in a pertinent Jewish Studies context, whether historical, social, economic, cultural, religious or other.
      • Projects that broaden the scope of Jewish genealogical inquiry – taking it, for example, into realm of the exact sciences, particularly computer science, in order to produce sophisticated tools and technologies for the Jewish genealogist.
      • Proposals that are interdisciplinary and envisage synergisms between Jewish genealogy and other disciplines, to the benefit of all concerned.
   4. For an indication of six preferred areas for research, applicants can refer to the list of “Preferred Areas for Research” on this site.
   5. In the present cycle towards academic 2016-17, research proposals should be submitted by 31 May, 2016, strictly in the form indicated in Sections V and VI below.
   6. Proposals should be for projects to be completed within one or two years. One year proposals will be preferred.
   7. Proposals will be adjudged by the Institute’s Academic Committee. Notification of the Academic Committee’s decisions will be sent by 15 September, 2016
   8. Successful applicants will be expected to start their research no later than autumn 2016
   9. They will be required to sign a “Researcher’s Agreement” before starting their research and before any funds are transferred to them.
   10. They will be required to submit a “mid-term” progress report at the project’s half-way mark and final report on the project’s completion (see Section II below).
   11. Applicants may submit only one proposal in each research cycle.
   12. A researcher may hold only one IIJG grant at any given time. Thus, a current grantee may submit a new research proposal only the completion of the current project.
   13. A revised proposal can be submitted a second time, subject to the Academic Committee’s approval.
   14. A proposal that was not awarded a grant in two cycles may not be submitted a third time.
   15. The Institute will not support or fund:
       • research into personal family trees, unless they are of demonstrable interest and relevance to Jewish genealogists generally;
       • ongoing research, including doctoral research, being funded by another body;
       • preparation and publication of books or monographs.
       • purchase of personal equipment, such as lap-tops and cameras, that has not been specifically justified by the grant recipient and approved by the Academic Committee (any equipment so approved will be purchased and registered in the Institute’s name and returned in good condition to the Institute on the completion of the project).
       • travel that has not been specifically justified by the grant recipient and approved by the Academic Committee.
       • courses to acquire language or other skills to implement the research
       • purchase of professional literature (books and periodicals) ostensibly required for the project.
   16. The Academic Committee’s decisions are final and not open to appeal. The Committee reserves the right to reject research proposals without explanation.
2. Publication
   1. At the conclusion of the research the grant recipient will make a final report in the form an extended analytical narrative, explaining the aims and objectives of the research, and going on to contextualize and interpret the results for the educated reader. This narrative will be written in the style of an academic article, with foot-notes and full source and biographical references.
   2. In the first instance, the narrative, and any accompanying appendices and/or databases, will be posted on the Institute’s website.
   3. Thereafter, the grant recipient will make serious efforts to have the narrative, perhaps somewhat modified, published in an appropriate academic framework, such as a book, a scholarly journal (preferably peer-reviewed)  or a collection of specialized studies.
   4. In any publication, full and proper acknowledgement must be made of the Institute’s sponsorship and support for the research.
3. Eligibility
   1. The Institute invites research proposals from researchers on their own name, singly or as the Principal researcher (PI) at the head of a research team.
   2. Researchers must be academically qualified as appropriate for the proposed research, preferably holders of an advanced degree or equivalent.
   3. They must also have the requisite language skills to carry out the proposed project.
   4. To avoid disqualification, applicants are required to indicate (i) whether the proposal, or part of it, has been submitted for – and received – funding elsewhere; and (ii) whether previous results, directly or indirectly (or partially) related to the project, have been published in any form elsewhere.
4. Funding
   1. In the present cycle, maximal funding will be strictly limited to up $10,000, over the time-period approved for the completion of the project (one or two years).
   2. The Academic Committee will decide on the actual size of the grant to be awarded.
   3. Maximal funding will not automatically be granted; proposals seeking less than maximal funding may be preferred.
   4. Funding of 2-year projects will be considered year by year, on the basis of progress made and the attainment of bench-mark goals (see para. VI, 5 below).
   5. In multi-year projects, researchers will be expected to raise by themselves any additional funds beyond the Institute’s grant required for the completion of the project.
   6. Funding may be revoked if the researcher fails to comply with these Instructions and the terms of the “Researcher’s Agreement” (a model of which is available on this site), and/or any further conditions set by the Academic Committee.
5. Proposals – General
   1. Research proposals should provide sufficient information for the Academic Committee to establish the following:
      • Objectives and merit of the proposed research (importance, originality, etc.);
      • Qualifications of the researcher(s);
      • Suitability of methods/methodology to be employed; and adequacy of sources/resources available;
      • Level of funding needed to carry out and complete the research.
   2. Proposals should be written in English.
   3. Proposals not conforming with these Instructions and following the guidelines, as set out in para. 5 below and Section V below, will not be considered.
   4. Proposals should be submitted electronically to info@IIJG.org
   5. Proposals should contain:
      • Cover Page;
      • Abstract;
      • Detailed description of the research proposal, including research questions and working hypotheses;
      • Research plan and time schedule;
      • Detailed budget, pegged to the research plan;
      • Academic qualifications and curriculum vitae of the researcher(s);
      • Relevant publications of researcher(s) in the last five years;
      • Any additional relevant material;
      • Signatures.
6. Proposals – Guidelines
   1. The Cover Page should include:
      • The full title of the research project, which should be brief and meaningful;
      • The names of the researcher(s) and the name(s) and address(es) of their institutions;
      • Keywords that best describe the proposed research.
   2. The Abstract should include:
      • The title of the proposed project;
      • An abstract of the proposed research in about 400 words, that should be significant to specialists in the same or related fields and, at the same time, meaningful to non-specialists;
      • A statement in about 200 words of the project’s importance, originality and potential contribution to the field in general.
   3. The Research Plan should include:
      • Objectives of the research;
      • Central research questions to be addressed, and working hypotheses to be tested;
      • A comprehensive plan of action and a description of the methodology to be used;
      • Details of available sources and resources;
      • Relevant bibliography on the research topic.
   4. The Time Schedule should include:
      • The project’s overall time-frame, with a defined completion date;
      • Within that, “benchmarks” for the conduct of the research, with target dates for achieving each of them.
   5. The reference currency for the presentation of the Budget is US dollars.
   6. Budget Details should include:
      • A determination of the project’s overall cost;
      • Within that, a detailed break-down and justification of the costs per budget item;
      • A time-line for expected outlays (over one or two years).
   7. The academic qualifications and curriculum vitae of the researcher(s) – self-explanatory.
   8. Relevant publications of researcher(s) in the last five years – self-explanatory.
   9. Additional relevant material – self-explanatory.
   10. Signatures – the last page of the proposal requires to be signed by the researcher and, in the case of a team of researchers, by the Principal Investigator. The page with the signature should be scanned and sent as an attachment to the covering email, transmitting the proposal.
7. Payment of grants
   1. Grants will be paid according to the following schedule:
      • ½ of the grant (in New Israeli Sheqels or in US dollars) will made available to the recipient on the commencement of work on the project;
      • ¼ of the grant will made available to the recipient on receipt of a satisfactory mid-term report;
      • ¼ of the grant will made available to the recipient on receipt of a satisfactory final report.
   2. The Academic Committee reserves the right to defer the 2^nd and 3^rd grant payments until the mid-term and final reports are prepared to its satisfaction.
8. Stipends
   1. In principle, IIJG funding is granted primarily for the conduct of the research project and not for researchers’ salaries, especially in the case of projects where the researchers are receiving a regular salary from another institution.
   2. At the same time, the Institute does not exclude the possibility granting part of the award as a stipend for the researcher(s), if adequate justification is provided and if the request is approved by the Academic Committee.

Click here for the  list of “Preferred Research Areas”.

Click here for the “Researcher’s Agreement”, to be signed by successful applicants (sample text, subject to amendment).