The Dirksen Congressional Center

The Dirksen Congressional Center promotes research and scholarship to advance the public understanding of the U.S. Congress

How to Apply

Please contact Tiffany White for the application at twhite@dirksencenter.org.

The Congressional Research Grant Application contains the following elements:

  • Applicant Information 

  • Congressional Research Grant Project Description

    A description of the project’s goals, methods, and intended results demonstrating clearly its importance to the grants program priorities. This is the most essential element of the application. Be sure to explain the project’s significance and relationship to existing scholarship.

    Recommended length: five pages.

  • Budget

    Indicate how funds will be spent and the extent of matching funds available, if any. Applicants who seek more than $5,000 should contact Executive Director Tiffany White for information about submitting a budget.

    Recommended length: one-half page.

  • Curriculum Vita

    The vita or resume should not exceed two pages.

  • Reference Letter

    Graduate students (those who have successfully defended their dissertation proposal) must arrange for a letter of reference from the person directing their dissertation work. The letter should be sent on institutional letterhead as a signed pdf attachment to Tiffany White at twhite@dirksencenter.org.

    Length not to exceed one page—additional pages will not be forwarded to the judges.

  • Overhead Waiver Letter

    Upon selection, grant recipients who wish to have payments made to an institutional entity on their behalf will be required to submit a letter from the responsible official stipulating that no indirect or overhead costs will be charged against the grant. In other words, the entire amount must be paid out to the individual.

    The Overhead Waiver Letter should be sent on institutional letterhead as a signed .pdf attachment to Tiffany White at twhite@dirksencenter.org.

IMPORTANT: The entire application when printed must NOT exceed ten pages. Applications may be single-spaced. Please use fonts no smaller than 10-point. This total does NOT include the reference letter (one additional page) or the Overhead Waiver Letter (one additional page).

When is the deadline?

The Center accepts applications for Congressional Research Grants at any time.

How are recipients selected?

Proposals are judged by the significance of the research project; the project’s design, plan of work, and dissemination; the applicant’s qualifications; the relationship of the project to The Center’s program goals and to current work in the field; and, the appropriateness of the budget request for the project’s requirements.

When and whether a project is approved for funding will be determined by the quality of the proposal, its competitive advantage over other grant applications, and The Center’s available funds in the fiscal year (October 1-September 30).

What commitments must grant recipients make?

At a minimum, grant recipients agree to:

  • Acknowledge the support given by The Dirksen Congressional Center wherever material is published or presented.
  • IMPORTANT: Provide an “Impact Statement” after one year describing how the grant was spent and evaluating the impact of the research project. This 350-500 word statement may be posted on The Center’s website.
  • Furnish The Center with a copy of any book, article, or other publication incorporating research made possible by the grant.
  • Cooperate in periodic studies conducted by The Center to evaluate the grants program. This may include writing summaries of research findings for use in other Center publications.
  • Permit publication of the research abstract in print and electronic formats.