Call for Applications

Sigma's 2024 - 2025 Research Grant Opportunities

Sigma research priorities are as follows: promotion of healthy communities through health promotion, disease prevention and recognition of social, economic and political determinants; implementation of evidence-based practice; targeting the needs of vulnerable populations such as the chronically ill and poor; and capacity development for research by nurses.

In its mission to provide leadership and scholarship in practice, education and research, Sigma presents the following research grant opportunities:

1. Sigma Small Grants *

   Approximately 10-15 Small Grants of up to $5,000 each are given annually. The purpose of the grant is to encourage nurses to contribute to the advancement of nursing through research. Allocation of funds is based on the quality of the proposed research, the future promise of the applicant, and the applicant's research budget. Applications from novice researchers who have received no other national research funds are encouraged and will receive preference for funding, other aspects being equal. Preference will be given to Sigma Theta Tau members, other qualifications being equal. Annual funding is provided by Sigma Foundation for Nursing. June 2025 is the funding date for this grant. (More information)

2. Sigma/Alpha Eta Collaborative Research Grant

   This grant of up to $2,000 is given to one recipient of Tau Lambda-at-large chapter member(s) only for a new research project in Africa. Funds for this grant are provided by Alpha Eta Chapter. June 2025 is the funding date. (More information)

3. Sigma/Canadian Nurses Foundation Grant

   This grant of up to $5,000 is given to one recipient. The purpose of this grant is to support research that advances the practice of nursing with an emphasis on nursing care issues. Nursing care research or clinical nursing research is defined as research that is practice-based or that will provide the groundwork for future practice-based research studies. Research funded through this grant must provide evidence that there is a potential impact on nursing practice, whether direct or indirect. Funds for this grant are provided jointly by Sigma, the Canadian Nurses Foundation and the Nursing Care Partnership (made possible with a grant from the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation). June 2025 is the funding date. (More information)

4. Sigma/Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science

   One grant of up to $5,000 is awarded annually to one recipient. The purpose of the Sigma/Council for Advancement of Nursing Science research grant is to encourage qualified nurses to improve the health of the world’s people through research. Proposals for clinical, educational or historical research, including plans for broadly disseminating the research findings, may be submitted for the grant. Funds for this grant are provided by Sigma and the Council on Advancement of Nursing Science. Funds for this grant do not cover expenses incurred prior to the funding date. June 2025 is the funding date. (More information)

5. Sigma/Rosemary Berkel Crisp Research Award

   One grant of up to $5,000 is awarded annually to one recipient. Its purpose is to support nursing research in the critical areas of women's health, oncology, and pediatrics. This is one of Sigma's small grants. Allocation of funds is based upon a research project that is ready for implementation in the area of women's health, oncology, or pediatrics; the quality of the proposed research, future potential of the application, appropriateness of the research budget, and feasibility of time frame. Funds provided by interest from a gift from The Harry L. Crisp, II and Rosemary Berkel Crisp Foundation to the honor society's Research Endowment. June 2025 is the funding date. (More information)

6. Sigma/Western Institute of Nursing Research Grant

   This grant of up to $10,000 is given to one recipient. The purpose of the Sigma/Western Institute of Nursing research grant is to encourage qualified nurses to contribute to the advancement of nursing through research. Proposals for pilot and/or developmental research may be submitted for the grant. Funds for this grant are provided jointly by Sigma and Western Institute of Nursing. April 2025 is the funding date. (More information)

* Sigma sponsored grants. All other grants are co-sponsored by the association listed.

1. General Instructions for Applicants:

   All applications must be submitted via the online submission system. In addition, all submitted information must be in English. Applications sent in by other methods (i.e., mail, e-mail, fax, etc.) will not be reviewed or considered for funding. We highly encourage you to begin and complete your submission before the submission deadline. This will allow extra time for your Letters of Support to be completed prior to the deadline.

   Failure to follow the guidelines for preparation of grant proposal negates future funding.

      ➤ Follow instructions and word/page limits carefully
      ➤ References are required to be formatted in accordance with the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA). Change to References are required to be formatted in a consistent format.

   When more than one investigator is listed, the first individual named will be the person with whom Sigma will communicate and the investigator who will assume responsibility for conducting the research.

   Final narrative and financial reports are due 90 days following the end of the funding period. If reports are not submitted in a timely manner, the PI will not be considered for future grants. Dissertations are not accepted as final reports. Complete instructions for the final report appear in Part I - Investigator(s) Contact Information and Biographical Sketches.

   If a grant is awarded as the result of this application, the applicant becomes a grantee and assumes any and all legal and financial accountability for the awarded funds and for the performance of the grant-support activities. Deliberate withholding, falsification, non-documentation of references, or misrepresentation of information in the application could result in administrative actions including, but not limited to, the withdrawal of an application.

   Please note: If your IRB/Research Ethics Committee approval is pending, you are still encouraged to apply. If you are awarded a grant and you do not attach your IRB/REC approval to your application, proof of IRB/REC approval must be shown before funds are distributed by Sigma. IRB/REC approvals MUST be received by the funding date or no later than 2 months after the funding date, for the grant to be funded. Any awarded grant missing an IRB or Research Ethics Committee approval will be forfeited.

General Online Application Instructions:

Applicants will be automatically informed of the unique ID numbers and passwords assigned to their application. Applications may be viewed and modified at any time between submission and the deadline, using the assigned ID# and password.

The online application system divides the submittal process into a series of steps. The applicant will complete the requirements for a step, review and save the step, then proceed to next step following the buttons at the bottom of each page. Steps must be completed in sequence. At any point prior to the application deadline, you may revisit any completed step within your application to make editorial changes. Click the applicable step in the "Application Control Panel" (left frame), edit the data, and save the step once again.

The online system will send email notifications to email address(es) entered. Sometimes universities and/or institutions block these emails, mistaking them for spam. We encourage you and those providing your letters of support to add stti_grant@confex.com to their address book in order to ensure you receive communication regarding your application.

Guidelines for Preparation and Submitting a Grant Proposal:

Before beginning your submission, we recommend that you review the list of required information. Click on each section below to see more detail.

1. Part I - Investigator(s) Contact Information and Biographical Sketches - Steps 1 & 2

   Contact information and a biographical sketch must be completed for each investigator. Limit biographical sketch information to past 10 years only as related to the project. Please note, when more than one investigator is listed, the first individual named will be the person with whom Sigma will communicate and the investigator who will assume responsibility for conducting the research.

   Biographical sketches will be uploaded to the application by the submitter. The following file types may be uploaded: PDF document (*.pdf), Word document (*.doc/.docx). To assist you gathering this information, please utilize the biographical sketch checklist.

   Note: the application will not advance to the next step until all the investigator(s) biographical Sketch file(s) have been uploaded.

2. Part II - Research Specialty - Step 3

   Select the specialty area(s) your research falls under (as many as applicable). You must select a minimum of one main specialty area, which are displayed in bold. Sub-specialty area selection(s) are not required. Please note, Sigma reviewers will be assigned to applications based on the specialty area(s) selected. Click here to view the Research Speciality list.

3. Part III - Abstract (200 word limit) - Step 4

   Include an abstract of your proposed research. Outline objectives and methods. Specify the subject population and describe the research design, instruments, and procedure to clearly reflect their importance in the study. The abstract should NOT exceed 200 words and contain NO pictures, charts, or tables are permitted.

   The format of the abstract MUST contain four separate paragraphs labeled with these headings:
   • Subject Population
   • Research Design
   • Instrument
   • Procedure

4. Part IV - Project Proposal Details (not included in the 16 page limit) - Step 5

   The following information will be collected:

   • Grant Consideration - Which grant(s) would you like to be considered for?
   • Title of Project - Please enter the title of project in 'Title Case' format, DO NOT enter the title all in CAPS
   • Project Dates - Start and Proposed Completion date
   • Human Subjects or Animal Use? (Yes or No)
   • Institutional Review Board Action (you will include a copy of the review in the Appendix Step) Comments
   • IRB Approval Date - If your IRB approval is pending, please provide the date you expect to be notified. If you are awarded a grant, proof of IRB Approval must be shown before funds are distributed by Sigma.
   • Project Support - Are you now receiving, or have you received any support for this project from any source? Other support is defined as funds or resources, whether Federal, non-Federal, or institutional, available to the Principal Investigator in direct support of the research endeavors through research or training grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, fellowships, gifts, prizes and other means.
   • Grant Impact - Explain in qualitative or quantitative detail the anticipated value and impact of your research study in its field.

5. Part V - Letters of Support (not included in the 16 page limit) - Step 5

   Letters of support must be provided from the following:

   • At least one research advisor/committee chair, if the proposal is dissertation research;
   • At least two colleagues who are knowledgeable about this research;
   • Any collaborating institutions; and
   • Any consultants.

   You will be asked to list the names and e-mail addresses of all people who should provide a letter of support. Upon completion of your online application, the people you list will automatically be contacted by e-mail to request their letters of support. All Letters of Support will be submitted electronically via the Internet. Please note that letters of support must be received by 11:59pm Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HST) on Sunday, 1 December 2024, in order for the proposal to be reviewed for funding.

   You may check your proposal to see if people supplying letters of support have been contacted and if the letters have been entered. To check your proposal, return to this Web site and enter the ID# and password you will receive, once you begin the submission. You will also be able to send reminder e-mails to the people supplying letters of support. Investigators/Co-Investigators cannot provide letters of support.

   Note: Sometimes universities and/or institutions block these emails, mistaking them for spam. We encourage you let those individual(s) providing a letter of support know to add stti_grant@confex.com to their address book in order to ensure they receive communication regarding your submission.

   Sigma does not permit investigators to delete/remove a reference once they have been listed on the proposal and the letters of support request emails have been sent upon completeing the confirmation step. If you need to have a letter of support and/or an individual providing a letter of support delete/remove from the application. Please contact Riley Kimsey at 888.634.7575 US/Canada, +1.317.634.8171 International or research@sigmanursing.org.

6. Part VI - Proposal Text (16 page limit) - Step 6

   The project text MUST be 16 pages or less and uploaded as aPDF (*.pdf) file. Please note, the online system will validate against this page count. Offline version of the project text guidelines.

   Project text should be using the following styling:

   • Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman
   • 12 point font size
   • Single line spaced

   In addition, the use of image(s), chart(s), and/or figure(s) in the the Proposal Text section is NOT allowed. Any significant image(s), chart(s), and/or figure(s) that will help to illustrate and explain your proposal, should be uploaded in the Apprendix step and referenced in the proposal text.

   Body of Proposal:

   1. Purpose of the Study:
   State clearly the purpose of the study, including how the project makes an original contribution to nursing/health care.

   2. Significance:
   Provide the background of your proposal. Critically evaluate existing knowledge. Specify the gaps that the project is intended to fill. State concisely the importance of the research in terms of the contribution to nursing and potential for leading to further research methodology or theory development.

   3. Specific Aims/Hypothesis:
   State concisely what the research described is intended to accomplish and/or what hypothesis (es) is (are) to be tested.

   4. Theoretical/Conceptual Framework or Rationale:
   Summarize the theoretical framework or rationale as appropriate, addressing the relationship among the specific aims, the literature, key concepts, variables, and instruments.

   5. Literature Review:
   Literature may be reviewed as a separate section or as part of background, significance, and/or conceptual framework. Include current literature that is directly pertinent to the project and that assists in clarification of purpose and procedures.

   6. Method:
   Discuss in detail the methodological approach, the research design, and the procedure to be used to accomplish the specific aims. Describe new methodology. Discuss potential difficulties and limitations of the proposed procedures and alternative approaches to achieve the aims.

              a. Research Design: Describe the design of the research.
   
              b. Subjects and Setting: Describe the target population and characteristics of the subjects. Include the number of subjects, the rationale for sample size, the sampling frame, the sampling procedure, and the setting for data collection.
   
              c. Apparatus and/or instruments: Report the specific characteristics of the instruments, including their reliability, validity, and/or sensitivity. Address how the tool will be used. The instrument(s) (e.g., a questionnaire) should be included in an appendix.
   
              d. Procedure: Describe the design and the procedure to be used for the proposed data collection. Specify the kinds of data you expect to obtain. Give details of client/subject selection and intervention, if one is involved. If appropriate, discuss potential problems with and/or limitation of the procedures. Discuss in detail any procedure, situation, and/or material in your proposed research that may be hazardous to subjects. Indicate precautions to be exercised. Include an orientation plan for data collectors, if appropriate.
   
              e. Plan for Data Management/Analysis:
   Describe the means by which the data will be merged, analyzed, and/or interpreted.
   
              f. Limitations: Describe the limitations of the study including those related to design and methods
   
              g. Human Subjects or Animal Use: Provide a statement of the subject's rights and risk. Provide a statement of the procedure used for animals. Include a copy of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval and a copy of the human subject consent form. The approval and consent form are not included in the 16 page limit and will be requested in a separate section. If IRB approval is pending at the time of submission, please indicate that in the system when asked for date of approval. If IRB approval is received prior to Sunday, 1 December 2024, please add it to your proposal. If it is received after Sunday, 1 December 2024, please send a copy of it to Sigma Headquarters at the following address:

              Sigma
              Small Grants
              550 West North Street
              Indianapolis, IN 46202

              Please note that proposals without IRB approval will not be funded.

   7. Time Frame:
   Provide a 12-month schedule that specifies the timing of the main steps of the investigation. Justify that the project can be completed within the time frame.

   Support:

   1. Facilities/Resources:
      Describe the facilities and other physical resources available for this study (e.g., laboratories, clinical resources, office space, etc.)
   2. Collaborative Arrangements:
      If the proposed research requires collaboration with other institutions, describe the nature of collaboration and provide evidence to the reviewers that those institutions are willing to cooperate.
   3. Consultative Support:
      Include a description of availability of adequate consultation to assure refinement and completion of the project.

   • Sigma will not accept or review grants using AI (e.g ChatGPT, OpenAI) for the development of the creative and scientific components of the proposal at this time.
   • Applicant confirms by submitting application: "I attest that I have not used artificial agents (e.g. ChatGPT, OpenAI) to develop or create the scientific components of any portion of this grant"

   For questions and /or concerns regarding the Sigma Nursing Research Grant Opportunities - Body of Proposal Guidelines, please contact Riley Kimsey, Grants Coordinator at 888.634.7575 US/Canada, +1.317.634.8171 International or research@sigmanursing.org

7. Part VII - Appendices (not included in the 16 page limit) - Step 7

   Where applicable, please attach the following documents to your project proposal:

   • Questionnaires
   • Instruments
   • Scoring instructions
   • Copyright Release/Permission
   • Copies of paper/pencil instrument(s)
   • Interview format or other instruments
   • Human subject consent form (IRB approval)
   • References cited in the text are required to be formatted in accordance with the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA). Change to References are required to be formatted in a consistent format.
   • A chart/graph/table/etc. that will help to illustrate and explain your proposal. When referring to the item in the proposal, be sure to mention that the item can be found in the appendix section.
   • Other (please specify)

   * We will accept legible scanned copies of the requested forms.

   Any of the following formats may be used and are listed in order of preference:

   • Word document (*.doc/.docx)
   • RTF document (*.rtf)
   • Plain Text document (*.txt)
   • Excel spreadsheet (*.xls/.xlsx)
   • PDF document (*.pdf)
   • GIF image (*.gif), JPEG image (*.jpg), PNG image (*.png)
   • HTML document (*.htm) or HTML document (*.html)

8. Part VIII - Budget (not included in the 16 page limit) - Step 8

   Expenditures:
   
   Sigma does not fund indirect costs nor costs related to completing an education program (e.g. tuition). Please include your budget amounts for the following items:

   • Personnel (Requests for Principal Investigator salary only may be included. Include hourly rate for PI in justification section.)
   • Secretarial staff
   • Typing costs (Must be those directly related to the research. Typing of dissertations will not be funded.)
   • Research Assistants
   • Consultants (Limit to $100 per hour)
   • Supplies
   • Equipment (Digital devices are not allowable expenses.)
   • Computer costs (software only)
   • Travel Expenses (data collection only)
   • Other

   Justification:

   Provide a justification for all expenditures listed.

   Other Financial Support:
   
   If you have applied for other sources of support, how will the conduct of this study be affected, if the other funding is not obtained?

   Click here to see a sample budget form which indicates the fields contained in the online submission.

9. Part IX - Research Agreement - Step 9

   The following Research Agreement must be read and acknowledge via a digital signature:

   If my proposal is approved for funding, I agree to the following:
   • Assume any and all tax liability for research funds that are issued in my name
   • Assume responsibility for the scientific conduct of this research
   • Return the remaining funds to Sigma, if my research is not finished by the projected completion date, unless an extension has been granted by Sigma
   • Notify Sigma if other requested support is received
   • Email a copy of the completed report within 90 days after completing my research to Sigma headquarters.
   • Publish or present the findings of my research, giving priority to Sigma publications
   • Acknowledge Sigma's support in all presentations, publications, etc.
   • That I will not accept duplicate funding
   • Allow my final research report, in full or abstract form, to be published in Sigma publications and to be included as part of the research database(s)
   • I understand Sigma will withhold up to US $1000.00 from my research grant until my final report is received and I have registered my research project and findings in the Sigma Repository within 90 days of completing my research.
   • Unless otherwise noted on the individual Sigma grant information page, completion of the research is expected by the end of the funding period. I understand that it is my responsibility to notify Sigma in writing if I am unable to complete my research by the end of the funding period.
   • Extension requests received after 1 March of the year the final reports are due will be considered on a case by case basis.
   • I affirm that the material I have submitted to Sigma is my original work and that I did not copy or otherwise use materials developed by any third party without permission and subsequent disclosure to Sigma.
   • I acknowledge and am aware that if any third party contests in writing the ownership or credibility of the material I have submitted, Sigma will remove the material from all sources until the parties involved resolve the conflict to Sigma's satisfaction.
   • If reports are not submitted in a timely manner, the PI will not be considered for future grants.
   
   I understand and agree to adhere to the above-mentioned items. I understand that failure to meet these conditions may result in administrative action including, but not limited to, my becoming ineligible to receive further grants or scholarship funds from Sigma.

Begin an Application to the 2024 - 2025 Research Grant Opportunities: