Some groups struggle to meet research grant requests

As research grant applications rise amid economic uncertainty, some groups at Penn are facing disparities in the funding necessary to support demonstrated interest.

The Trustees’ Council of Penn Women, for example, has seen an increase in applications for grants to do undergraduate research, according to Director Faith Schonfeld. Requests rose from 11 last year to 18 this year.

She said the increase can be explained in part by TCPW’s new effort to publicize its grants which fund women-related research.

“The interest has always been in the improvement of life for women at Penn,” explained Schonfeld, who described the wide range of focal areas funded by the grants, such as student life, Penn athletics, emergencies and visits by women scholars. The money for the grants, she said, comes from members of TCPW.

While she emphasized that applications for TCPW grants have remained strong, she said this year’s economic circumstances present doubts that the gifts will match the grant requests.

Since grants are funded throughout the year and budgets are based on last year’s contributions, uncertainty caused by the recession could be problematic, she explained.

“You adjust your budgets accordingly, assuming that we will have more applications this year,” she said, “but at the same time, we realize we could see flat to slightly-down contributions in donation. The issue for us is to see what we can do to meet the increase in applications.”

Other grants at Penn, such as those administered by the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, are based on a standard budget from the University. The amount allotted for these grants remains constant from year to year, and the recession has not created the same amount of uncertainty.

According to CURF Director Harriet Joseph, CURF has seen a volume increase in grant applications this year, which she attributes to increased outreach efforts.

Unlike Schonfeld, Joseph “didn’t get a sense” that this year would be any different from past years as a result of economic downturn.

Civic House, which awards grants for undergraduates seeking internships at nonprofit organizations, offers three standard grants every year in the field of public interest. Some of the funds come directly from the University while others come from alumni.

“In general over the last 10 years, every year the amount of requests increases, but we haven’t looked at it in relation to the economy,” said Civic House Associate Director Suzanne Lyons. “Last year, it was right in line [with the allotted funds].”

Lyons also noted that last year at the Service Nation Summit, Penn President Amy Gutmann promised to increase public interest opportunities for students.

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