The Foundation hereby issues a Request for Research Proposals (RFP) for investigations of methods of Instillation of character qualities in children. Awards are available for innovative studies of interventions targeted toward enhancement of the character traits of love of learning, love of teaching, empathy and generosity in children 12 years of age or younger. Visitors to this web site are encouraged to share this RFP with prominent researchers in the fields of education, child psychology and child psychiatry.

In order to encourage submissions the application process will be streamlined and consist of two stages in order to provide rapid feedback to the investigator.

Stage One: Submission of the application as Word document attachment by electronic mail to: grants@DGLDFoundation.org. All submitted applications should include as a minimum the following:

1. Credentials of the Investigator (s) and Site: Include a current curriculum vitae and a narrative describing the investigator, co-investigator (if applicable) and research site’s credentials to perform the study;
   
2. Rationale for the Investigation: Describe the scope and significance of the problem to be addressed; primary and other key secondary hypotheses; rationale for the proposed intervention; brief review of any pre-existing or supporting research in the area; and supporting references
   
3. Research Design/Plan including description and number of subjects; length of study; specific intervention(s); outcomes; blinding or control techniques, if applicable; proposed statistical analysis plan; discussion of any ethical issues; description of institutional review board that will oversee the study; timetable and itemized budget.

Each proposal will be critiqued n the basis of a) credentials of the applicant; b) originality; c) likelihood of positively impacting the specific goals of the RFP; d) rigor and validity of the scientific method; e) potential for publication; f) cost-effectiveness.

Stage Two: Applicants will be sent feedback within twenty business days of receipt indicating whether their application was sufficiently ranked to be evaluated in Stage Two. Applicants which are successful at this point may receive further queries before their applications are submitted to a review board with expertise in child psychology/child psychiatry and/or education and/or scientific method for a second stage of review. Every effort will be made to complete stage two within 60 days of response to follow-up queries or to notification of the applicant that the submission has reached Stage Two.