Summary: Through the Upjohn Research Grants, the AIA Board Knowledge Committee and College of Fellows will provide base matching funds for applied research projects that advance professional knowledge and practice. The AIA seeks proposals, due Sept. 1, for research projects to be completed in 18 months beginning December 1, 2009, and will award up to four grants between $15,000 and $30,000 each, for selected projects.

Awarded funds must be hard-dollar matched, and a maximum of 10 percent of funds may be used for overhead. A benefit of this grant is that it qualifies recipients to have their findings and outcomes published both electronically and in a nationally distributed publication.
The jury will give selection preference to proposals that have teams composed of both academics and practitioners, that have a long record of team collaboration, and that present a budget in which less than 10 percent is allocated to indirect costs.
Research proposals must address practice issues, building typology, or materials and methods of construction. The research must relate to one or more domains of architectural knowledge:

• Leadership
• Practice
• Design
• Building performance.

Further, proposals must be framed within six broad research areas:

• Social
• Technological
• Environmental
• Cultural
• Organizational
• Design.

Go to 2009 Upjohn Research Initiative Call for Submissions; Submissions Process, FAQ for more information.