ACES 2026 Research Grant: Call For Porposals
The Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) is committed to providing researchers with opportunities to curate informed understanding of what shapes counselor education and supervision, how we can best serve communities, and what types of policy and system changes can have the greatest potential for impact.
Purpose
In alignment with this commitment, ACES is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) and will award a total of $100,000 in funding across 3 to 5 exemplary projects that demonstrate the potential to significantly advance the body of research in counselor education and supervision. An additional grant award opportunity is available from our partners at Intelligent Video Solutions (IVS). IVS is offering a $5000 grant to an ACES member for the purpose of conducting research that focuses on clinical skills acquisition utilizing technology in the observation process.
The submission portal can be found at:
tps://cce.submittable.com/submit/20afb8e2-7d6a-4559-8023-3dbe86a52c00/view
Proposals are due September 30 at 7:00 pm (EST). Late submission will not be accepted, reviewed, or considered for funding.
Awards will be announced by mid-November.
ACES invites grant proposals focused on counseling, clinical supervision, and counselor education research across all specialties that contributes to the advancement of the profession.
ACES is only accepting proposals that address the below research areas:
- Elevating Research Training and Impact (e.g., community engaged research; outcome research related to counseling, teaching, supervision, leadership and advocacy; training practices to promote grant literacy, readiness, and outcomes)
- Navigating the Intersection of Technology and Counselor Education and Supervision (e.g., use of emerging technologies and artificial intelligence in counseling, teaching, supervision, and research; clinical skills acquisition utilizing technology)
- Suicide prevention and comprehensive crisis counseling models — developing and validating counselor-specific crisis response frameworks amid rising need and expanded CACREP crisis training requirements.
Each awarded program should be completed within one year of the award and have clear potential implications for influencing public policy at the state, regional, or national levels. Grantees may request project extensions beyond one year, provided they have appropriate justification and are approved. Upon award notification, information will be provided on how to submit addendums, extensions, and reports. The ACES Research Center will do all post-award management.
Eligibility
Grants are available to Professional or New Professional Member of ACES. Membership must remain active and current throughout the life of the funded project. The projects must be led by a PI who is an active ACES member; however, other members of the team, outside of the ACES domain, may serve a valuable role in the research (e.g., methodologist, statistician, content expert). Therefore, up to one CO-PI can be an individual who is a non-member and any number of key personnel can be non-members. Graduate students cannot serve as PIs but can assume other roles on the grant team.
Please note, an individual may appear on only one proposal as either PI or Co-PI. Applicants who do not meet eligibility criteria will not be considered. The ACES membership number and expiration date must be included in the application process so members are encouraged to have this information available. If your ACES membership is not current, go to the ACES website for renewal instructions.
Guidelines
Proposals that do not follow the guidelines below will be disqualified from review.
No indirect costs (IDC) will be funded under this RFP. Applicants may request up to $25,000. Requests exceeding $25,000 may be considered if the proposal provides a compelling and clearly articulated rationale demonstrating why the additional funds are necessary to complete the project.
For applicants wanting to be considered for the Intelligent Video Solutions (IVS) grant, please only request $5000. As a reminder, this grant is specifically to fund research that focuses on clinical skills acquisition utilizing technology in the observation process.
Faculty summer salary may be included as an allowable expense but should not constitute a substantial portion of the proposed budget. All salary requests must be clearly justified in relation to the project’s scope, activities, and anticipated outcomes.
Proposal Components
Proposals application will include below components, with word count for each of these indicated within Submittable:
- Title of the project
- Purpose Summary Statement (information about the project, proposed start and end date, research question(s), and brief summary). *max word count of 225 words
- Statement of Problem and Need *max word count of 400 words
- Brief summary of extant research that supports the need for the project *max word count of 550 words
- Research Methodology *max word count of 1,000 words
(a) research design, description, and rationale,
(b) sampling and recruitment procedures,
(c) description of key constructs, measures, and data sources,
(d) data collection procedures,
(e) data analysis procedures,
(f) psychometrics, rigor, trustworthiness, and/or methodological integrity,
(g) strategies for ensuring ethical compliance at all phases of the research.
- Description of how the research project aligns with ACES values, mission, and which research priority area identified in the call *max word count of 225 words
- Plans for dissemination of results *max word count of 200
- Proposed timeline *max word count of 100
- Budget summary and rationale (no indirect costs [IDC] allowed) *max word count of 200
Proposal Outline
- Word Count. Please follow the word count for each section.
- Citations. APA format (no numerical citations). References document must be uploaded within Submittable as an appendix.
- AI. Any use of AI in the development of the proposal should be properly acknowledged and cited.
- Tables & Figures. (optional) Tables and figures may be smaller than 12-point font but must be legible (minimum of 10-point font). The use of color is acceptable in charts and graphs. Tables and Figures must be uploaded within Submittable as an appendix.
- Appendices. All appendices must be labeled with the appendix letter and title.
Requirements for Awardees
- Complete paperwork to process allocations of funds, including submitting an IRB approval letter for the research project within three months of the award announcement
- Complete a mid-year and final report
- Recognize ACES in any professional or scholarly products yielded from the awarded program
- Submit a 1-paragraph synopsis of awarded program suitable for dissemination in an announcement to ACES membership and on the ACES Research Center website.
- Submit a manuscript to a national or international professional counseling journal based on the funded project
Additional information can be found in our Frequently Asked Questions document. Questions need to be directed to the ACES Research Center at centeroperations@acesresearch.org
Application Evaluation
Evaluation Criteria
Research proposals will be evaluated by a panel of reviewers using the following criteria:
a. Qualifications of the Researcher:
- The researcher is a regular or student member of ACES and has submitted only one proposal for funding in this year’s grant program.
b. Quality of the Proposed Research:
- The proposed topic is within the specified scope of Counselor Education and Supervision (20 points possible)
- Relevance of research to Counselor Education & Supervision as evidenced by the literature review (30 points possible)
- Research Methodology (i.e., the methodology proposed follows accepted practice for research of that kind) (30 points possible)
- Applicable ethical standards for research with human subjects (5 points possible)
c. Financial Need:
- Clear, itemized, and research-focused budget (10 points possible): The budget for the research project seems sound given the nature and scope of the proposed project (only the expenses budgeted for the actual conducting of the study will be considered; travel, presentation expenses, and indirect costs will not be considered), and the project is not substantially supported by any other funding source.
- Funds may not be used for time compensation, including GA work unless you provide the “employee” with a 1099 Form submitted to the IRS, so they are taxed appropriately. The budget may include payment for time if the recipient (e.g., transcription company, statistical consultant) accounts for the self-employment or business income and provides a receipt. Receipts must be maintained by the Primary Researcher and made available should ACES request the records.
d. Plan for Distribution or Publication:
A clear, feasible, and appropriate plan for distributing or publishing research findings such as conference presentations and journal manuscripts (5 points possible). As a condition of the acceptance of the grant award, the researcher is required to complete one of the following by October 30th of the year after receiving your award:
- Provide a copy of the proposal to present the research results as a poster or education session at the ACA World Conference or ACES National or Regional Conference;
- Provide to the Research Grant Committee Chair a copy of the manuscript of the research results that have been submitted to a refereed journal for publication consideration.
e. “Acknowledgment of Support” Agreement:
The researcher will include an acknowledgment of ACES financial support of the project in all reports, presentations, or publications related to the supported project.
Deadline Reminder
Deadline for Submission
The deadline for submission is August 31, 2022. Your online application must include:
- One “blind” copy of the proposal** (uploaded)
One copy of the proposal with author identification (uploaded)
One application form is completed online
Grants will be announced at the 2023 ACES conference. Recipients will be notified by September 30, 2022. Recipients will be invited to present a poster session on their research at the following year’s ACES conference.
Requests for further information
Requests for additional information should be sent to:
Dr. Melissa C Henry, Assistant Professor, University of Louisville
Chair, ACES Research Grants Committee
Email: melissa.henryphd@outlook.com