Do Independent Scholars Stand a Chance of Getting Research Grants?

[BW55]

Hi Everyone,

I have been slaving away on a research grant proposal which is due soon. I'm finding it so hard to really commit to this. It's as if I am operating with a subconscious brake on.

I recently decided to stop applying for tenure-track teaching jobs. I have checked the credentials of the chosen candidates in recent job searches I really tried for in the past 5 years. They are all very young, just out of Ivy League grad schools, with barely anything published. What a joke! I can no longer justify to myself throwing away any more years of my life to this charade of a meritocracy.

But the question is: what about research grants? As an "independent scholar", am I doomed there, too?

Will any major research centers around the world even consider funding my third book project if I have no academic job, indeed if I am unemployed?

When I look at the published bios and abstracts of chosen candidates, they all seem to have an official academic position.

Please share your thoughts. Thank you very much.

[mamselle]

What field?

I've gotten a couple, but I've mostly been able to fund my own research (humanities).

I'm going to be looking for some soon, too, so it will be interesting to know more.

Of the two topics I work on, one is local and amply documented here and online, so while "time release" from the need to do a "day job" would be good at some point soon, that topic doesn't take a lot of travel or supplies at present. (Good illustrations and permissions may become a higher-ticket item, though, if the book(s) involved there materialize....one is in the birthing process now.)

Maybe....

The other is overseas, and early grants did help there, but I've also funded a lot of that work myself, as well. I can see more articles coming to life out of the thirty or so papers I've given on those topics, given more time to work them up...there are three in the pipeline now, and one more heading there after this year's round of conferences, too, I think.

I've tried to pace myself at the level of 2-3 presentations a year, usually building on parts of a potential paper, until it feels "ready." Like one of my heroes in musicology, though, I may have to actually retire to be able to put the time into finishing them all.

Where are you identifying grant sources from?

Spin searches? Advertised offerings in particular conference bulletins? Known programs in specific professional societies?

Or are you in STE/AM-world, where it's a completely different kettle of fish?

M.

[fourhats]

I recently looked into grants, and noticed that ACLS and Guggenheim accept applications from independent scholars. Those deadlines have just passed, but there are I'm sure others that do so as well. I think the key is to have a very good proposal, and referees who are well-known and familiar with your work. Some university websites offer lists of grants and fellowships that are out there in the wider world, so the list may be longer than those that are the most familiar to you.

[ciao_yall]

I recently looked into grants, and noticed that ACLS and Guggenheim accept applications from independent scholars. Those deadlines have just passed, but there are I'm sure others that do so as well. I think the key is to have a very good proposal, and referees who are well-known and familiar with your work. Some university websites offer lists of grants and fellowships that are out there in the wider world, so the list may be longer than those that are the most familiar to you.

Depending on your research area, possibly. I'm always seeing grant offers from our City and State governments but they are in the area of social policy.

[lightning]

The grants that allow for "Facilities & Administration" (eFnA as I like to call it) in the budget will require institutional (university) affiliation, usually through the institution's research office, so those will not be available to you. Those grants that require institutional affiliation (non-profit organization) will also not be available to you, but at least you can create your own non-profit. I think you are stuck with the small individual grants, like what artists get.

[arty_]

Fulbrights are open to independent scholars

[BW55]

Are you an independent scholar, "Mamselle"?

What field?

I've gotten a couple, but I've mostly been able to fund my own research (humanities).

I'm going to be looking for some soon, too, so it will be interesting to know more.

Of the two topics I work on, one is local and amply documented here and online, so while "time release" from the need to do a "day job" would be good at some point soon, that topic doesn't take a lot of travel or supplies at present. (Good illustrations and permissions may become a higher-ticket item, though, if the book(s) involved there materialize....one is in the birthing process now.)

Maybe....

The other is overseas, and early grants did help there, but I've also funded a lot of that work myself, as well. I can see more articles coming to life out of the thirty or so papers I've given on those topics, given more time to work them up...there are three in the pipeline now, and one more heading there after this year's round of conferences, too, I think.

I've tried to pace myself at the level of 2-3 presentations a year, usually building on parts of a potential paper, until it feels "ready." Like one of my heroes in musicology, though, I may have to actually retire to be able to put the time into finishing them all.

Where are you identifying grant sources from?

Spin searches? Advertised offerings in particular conference bulletins? Known programs in specific professional societies?

Or are you in STE/AM-world, where it's a completely different kettle of fish?

M.

[fourhats]

Depending on your research area, possibly.

Fulbright and ACLS are not field-dependent.

[Ruralguy]

I know that in some of the physical sciences there are"middle men" (middle people?)
who will handle the grant and in some cases, even provide for limited facilities. It probably won't work for someone who needs a huge clean room to build a space probe or to find a cure for Ebola, but for something somewhat less cutting edge, it definitely can work, and in some cases, people do it for their entire careers. 

[sprezzatura]

Discipline(s)-specific to be sure, but on the web page for the NEH research fellowships: "NEH invites research applications from scholars in all disciplines of the humanities, and it encourages submissions from independent scholars and junior scholars."

[mamselle]

Are you an independent scholar, "Mamselle"?

What field?

I've gotten a couple, but I've mostly been able to fund my own research (humanities).

I'm going to be looking for some soon, too, so it will be interesting to know more.

Of the two topics I work on, one is local and amply documented here and online, so while "time release" from the need to do a "day job" would be good at some point soon, that topic doesn't take a lot of travel or supplies at present. (Good illustrations and permissions may become a higher-ticket item, though, if the book(s) involved there materialize....one is in the birthing process now.)

Maybe....

The other is overseas, and early grants did help there, but I've also funded a lot of that work myself, as well. I can see more articles coming to life out of the thirty or so papers I've given on those topics, given more time to work them up...there are three in the pipeline now, and one more heading there after this year's round of conferences, too, I think.

I've tried to pace myself at the level of 2-3 presentations a year, usually building on parts of a potential paper, until it feels "ready." Like one of my heroes in musicology, though, I may have to actually retire to be able to put the time into finishing them all.

Where are you identifying grant sources from?

Spin searches? Advertised offerings in particular conference bulletins? Known programs in specific professional societies?

Or are you in STE/AM-world, where it's a completely different kettle of fish?

M.

Yes, and proud of it.

M.

[youllneverwalkalone]

Depends on the field and the type of grant imho.

Assuming the employer isn't important wrt to the project content (e.g. because you need specific lab equipment for which would be impossible to get access to elsewhere), then academic affiliation is mostly a rubber stamp to establish legitimacy of a candidate. If you can demonstrate with your cv that you are a credible researcher, I don't think being an independent scholar should prevent you from being competitive.

[Deacon_blues]

Like everyone has said, it depends on the grant and your field.  I know that the Newberry Library in Chicago has visiting fellowships that are specifically designated to be for independent scholars and graduate students.

[bibliothecula]

I am an independent scholar and have received a number of grants, including a long0term Newberry Library fellowship. The most difficult part for me has been finding people who can write me letters of recommendation and speak to the kind of work I do in the context of being outside of a traditional institution.

[mamselle]

If you have an Academia site (which has a separate segment specifically for Independent Scholars) the slightly-upgraded version (65.00, I'll probably join again) posts 500 or so deadlines for humanities Grant's and fellowships each quarter; one just showed up last week, which I've sent myself again so I'll remember to check them out.

Just FYI, if it's useful...

M.