What makes a good SoReMo project proposal?

Proposal contents

Looking for a `model proposal'? It could be the  one you write! SoReMo do not want to limit anyone to any specific disciplinary view. Therefore, while we cannot offer a formal template for writing a SoReMo project proposal, we can give you some guidelines. 

In the application form, you are asked several questions, including the proposed title, summary of, and rationale for the project. The rationale should be approximately a 1-2 page essay. 

As you draft your proposal, think about the following questions, all of which are critical to the success of your proposal and project: 

General considerations: 

• What is the project about?

  1. What is the main problem you are tackling, within your discipline? How does it relate to other disciplines? (Think: de-biasing a math/stats modeling problem, making equitable a design/architecture solution,  tech/data-enabling a public policy/humanities idea, etc.)

  2. What is the main social aspect? (Think: ethics, society, policy, governance, etc.)

• Why is the project important? 

• What are the potential impacts? In other words, what do you expect to have as key findings? (Of course, you may not know exactly what you will find, but the project should have a clearly defined goal. In case the proposal is high-risk/high-payoff, risk mitigation strategies may be requested.) 

• Who are the stakeholders? Participants?

• What is the project topic, area, major, and the methods you expect to use? 

• What issue related to social justice or equity do you plan to address or solve? How? 

• Why do you believe the project can benefit from an interdisciplinary audience and input? 

Specifics about your proposed work: 

• What is the specific problem you propose to solve? 

• What would be the ideal data set that would help address your research question? (Think: in a perfect world, if you could collect any data, what would it be?) 

• How do you plan to model this? In other words, how would you reduce reality to some simpler version of it to help answer your question? 

As you think about this, you can also read about previously supported projects here . 

The following quote from one successful applicant should be useful: 

"When you're putting together your SoReMo proposal, don't stress about throwing in fancy jargon or super advanced methods. What really matters is showing why your project is a big deal. SoReMo is all about impact, so your goal is to persuade the faculty that your project is worth their attention.

"Start off by asking yourself, "What's the problem here? Why does it even matter, and who's it important for?" That's your jumping-off point. Once you've got that down, then you can dive into how you plan to tackle it. Keep it real, keep it focused on the impact, and you'll be on the right track."

Evaluation process and selection of Fellows

A panel consisting of a SoReMo core faculty will convene to discuss all submitted proposals and select which are most worthy of being supported by the fellowship during the current semester. All proposers may expect to hear back from SoReMo faculty no later than two weeks after the application deadline, but very likely sooner. 

Evaluation criteria

All proposals are evaluated according to three main criteria:

• Quality of the proposed work, 

• Potential for interdisciplinary collaboration, 

• Broader impacts. 

Additional criteria may include:

• Validity of proposed project within your discipline,

• Choice of projects within the discipline of the Fellow, 

• Competitiveness compared against other proposals.  

You may enjoy reading about the faculty perspective in this editorial piece we wrote in the first issue of our journal .