Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2016 ACF OPRE PD 1114
Apply for HHS 2016 ACF OPRE PD 1114
- The HHS-ACF-OPRE in the income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Family Strengthening Scholars" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.647.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 07, 2016 and posted on Apr 07, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 06, 2016. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $25,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Family Strengthening Scholars grant opportunity is a discretionary federal research funding program offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (HHS-ACF), through its Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE). The purpose of the program is to fund dissertation research that directly informs policy and program decisions connected to healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood initiatives. In practical terms, OPRE is looking to support doctoral students whose dissertation work can generate evidence that is useful to administrators and policymakers working on family-strengthening programs, rather than work that is purely theoretical or disconnected from real-world program operations.
A central goal of the program is field-building: strengthening long-term research capacity by encouraging high-quality doctoral research and formal mentorship between faculty and doctoral students. The grant is designed to create a pipeline of scholars who understand the policy landscape around healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood, can apply strong research methods, and can translate findings into insights that matter for government-funded or government-influenced programs. The emphasis on mentoring signals that applications are expected to reflect a serious, structured partnership between a doctoral student and an experienced faculty advisor, with the faculty member helping ensure the research is both rigorous and policy-relevant.
The scope of research OPRE wants to support includes questions with clear implications for decision-making and program administration within healthy marriage/responsible fatherhood policy. The opportunity highlights a particular interest in topics that address significant challenges and potential solutions for underserved or understudied groups, including low-income families and minority populations. This reflects an intent to strengthen the evidence base where it is often thinnest and where policy decisions can have especially high stakes. The program also stresses methodological rigor and explicitly welcomes both primary data collection (such as interviews, surveys, fieldwork, or new administrative data linkages where feasible) and secondary data analysis (such as using existing longitudinal datasets, administrative records, or prior evaluation data). In addition to producing dissertation findings, the work is intended to help inform future intervention research, meaning it should ideally point toward program improvements, new approaches, or testable strategies that could be evaluated later.
In terms of who can apply, eligibility is limited to institutions of higher education, including public and state-controlled universities as well as private colleges and universities. This structure typically means the institution serves as the applicant organization, with the doctoral student and faculty mentor positioned as key personnel on the project. The funding instrument is a grant, and the activity category falls under income security and social services (CFDA 93.647), aligning it with broader federal efforts related to family well-being and economic stability.
Funding levels are modest and targeted to dissertation-scale work. The maximum award amount listed is $25,000, and OPRE anticipated making about three awards under this competition. The opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number HHS-2016-ACF-OPRE-PD-1114) was posted on April 7, 2016, with an application deadline of June 6, 2016. Additional context about OPRE and its broader research mission was provided through ACFs OPRE website (http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/), which is where applicants would typically look to understand how this dissertation program fits within OPREs larger portfolio of research and evaluation.
Family Strengthening Scholars Grant (HHS-ACF OPRE) FAQs
What is the Family Strengthening Scholars grant?
The Family Strengthening Scholars grant is a discretionary federal research funding program offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), through the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE). It supports dissertation research that can directly inform policy and program decisions related to healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood initiatives.
What is the main purpose of this funding opportunity?
The purpose is to fund doctoral dissertation research that generates evidence useful to administrators and policymakers working on family-strengthening programs, especially work connected to healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood policies and program operations.
What kind of research is OPRE looking for under this program?
OPRE is looking for dissertation research with clear, practical implications for decision-making and program administration in healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood. The program emphasizes policy relevance and real-world usefulness, rather than work that is purely theoretical or disconnected from program operations.
How does the program define "policy- and program-relevant" dissertation research?
Based on the description, policy- and program-relevant research is research designed to produce evidence that can inform choices made by government or program leaders (for example, administrators and policymakers) working on family-strengthening initiatives, including insights that matter for how programs operate and how policies are implemented.
Is the program focused only on producing dissertation results, or is there a broader goal?
There is a broader goal of field-building. The program aims to strengthen long-term research capacity by encouraging high-quality doctoral research and formal mentorship between doctoral students and faculty, helping create a pipeline of scholars who can connect strong methods to policy needs in healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood.
Why does the opportunity emphasize mentorship?
The emphasis on mentorship signals that applications are expected to reflect a serious, structured partnership between a doctoral student and an experienced faculty advisor. The faculty mentor is expected to help ensure the dissertation research is methodologically rigorous and relevant to policy and program decisions.
What subject areas are within scope for this grant?
The scope includes research questions tied to healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood initiatives, particularly questions that have clear implications for policy decisions and program administration within those areas.
Does OPRE express interest in any specific populations or research gaps?
Yes. The opportunity highlights particular interest in topics that address significant challenges and potential solutions for underserved or understudied groups, including low-income families and minority populations, reflecting an intent to strengthen the evidence base where it is often thinnest.
What research methods are acceptable under this program?
The program stresses methodological rigor and welcomes both primary data collection and secondary data analysis. Examples mentioned include interviews, surveys, fieldwork, and new administrative data linkages (where feasible) for primary data collection, and use of existing longitudinal datasets, administrative records, or prior evaluation data for secondary analysis.
Is primary data collection allowed with these dissertation funds?
Yes. The opportunity explicitly welcomes primary data collection approaches such as interviews, surveys, fieldwork, or new administrative data linkages where feasible.
Is secondary data analysis allowed with these dissertation funds?
Yes. The opportunity explicitly welcomes secondary data analysis using sources such as existing longitudinal datasets, administrative records, or prior evaluation data.
How is this research expected to help future work beyond the dissertation?
In addition to producing dissertation findings, the funded work is intended to help inform future intervention research. That means projects should ideally point toward program improvements, new approaches, or testable strategies that could be evaluated later.
Who is eligible to apply for this opportunity?
Eligibility is limited to institutions of higher education, including public and state-controlled universities as well as private colleges and universities.
Can an individual doctoral student apply directly?
The opportunity states eligibility is limited to institutions of higher education, which typically means the institution applies as the applicant organization, while the doctoral student and faculty mentor are included as key personnel on the project.
What role do the doctoral student and faculty advisor play in the application?
The description indicates the doctoral student is the dissertation researcher and the faculty advisor serves as an experienced mentor. Applications are expected to show a structured partnership in which the faculty member supports the rigor and policy relevance of the dissertation research.
What type of funding instrument is used?
The funding instrument is a grant.
What is the CFDA number and program area for this grant?
The activity category is listed under income security and social services, CFDA 93.647.
How much funding is available per award?
The maximum award amount listed is $25,000.
How many awards did OPRE expect to make under this competition?
OPRE anticipated making about three awards under this competition.
What is the funding opportunity number (FON)?
The Funding Opportunity Number is HHS-2016-ACF-OPRE-PD-1114.
When was this opportunity posted and when was it due?
The opportunity was posted on April 7, 2016, and the application deadline was June 6, 2016.
Which federal office is offering this opportunity?
This opportunity is offered by HHS-ACF through OPRE (the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation).
Where can applicants find additional context about OPRE and its research mission?
Additional context was provided through ACF's OPRE website at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/.
What does it mean that this is a "discretionary federal research funding program"?
Based on the description, "discretionary" indicates it is a competitive federal funding opportunity offered by the agency (OPRE within ACF) to support specific research priorities, in this case dissertation research tied to healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood initiatives.
What is the overall emphasis of this grant opportunity?
The overall emphasis is on rigorous, dissertation-scale research that is directly useful for policy and program decisions in healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood, with added emphasis on mentorship and on building the field by developing future scholars with strong methods and policy awareness.
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