University of Wisconsin Retirement and Disability Research Consortium (UW-RDRC) FY 2025 Call for Proposals

The UW-RDRC is seeking research proposals for the Social Security Administration (SSA) for FY2025. This is an applied research program designed to assist policymakers, the public, and the media in understanding Social Security, retirement, and disability policy issues across the life course.

If you are invited to submit a research project proposal, please review the full call . If you have any questions about this process, please email Hallie Lienhardt (hallie.lienhardt@wisc.edu).

Please note that SSA has new scoring factors for 2025, including an increased focus on community-based research and mixed-methods. Please email Michael Collins (jmcollins@wisc.edu) to work on refining full research proposals.

Please note that we will host an info sessions covering RDRC Budget Basics on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 at 2:00pm CT and Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 11:00 am CT. Both will use this Zoom link . We encourage you and your Grants Administrator to attend one of these sessions.
For all budget related questions, please reach out to Andrea Plassman (aplassman@wisc.edu).

Timeline
April 26: Invitations for Full Proposals
May 20: Full Proposal Due (if invited)
September 2024: Notification of funding decisions from SSA

Focal Research Areas see PDF for details

  • Understanding Service Needs and Improving Service Delivery
  • Studying Causes and Inequities of Overpayment and Underpayment
  • Addressing Barriers to Disability and SSI Programs Participation and Processes
  • Understanding and Improving Communication
  • Identifying Disparities by Race, Ethnicity, and Sex
  • Examining Economic Security of Program Applicants and Beneficiaries
  • Impact of COVID-19 and long COVID
  • Addressing Employment Barriers for People with Disabilities

New for FY25 - Factors for Proposal Scoring see PDF details

  • Scientific Significance
  • Practicality/Policy relevance
  • Approach/Methodology
  • Use of Mixed Methods (if applicable)
  • Community-based/Participatory Mechanisms
  • Timeliness
  • Investigator Qualifications and Engagement with Emerging Scholars
  • Investigator Community Connections
  • Project Team Includes HBCU or ISSC Institution
  • Data Quality
  • Data Availability

Full Proposal Requirements see PDF for detailed instructions
Proposals should be written in Microsoft Word and double-spaced using headers for each of the sections below. Proposals should not exceed 6, double-spaced pages in length, not including budget template or references.

  • Title
  • PI & Co-PIs and Bios (100 words per bio)
  • Focal Area(s) addressed
  • Keywords (3-5)
  • Abstract (150 words)
  • Data Sources
  • Significance
  • Methods
  • Community Engagement & Translational Dissemination Plan
  • Training Plan for Students/Junior Scholars
  • Complementarity or Overlap with Other Funding Statement
  • Timeline (Table)
  • Budget (template will automatically download)
  • Budget Narrative (template will automatically download)

Link to Full Call with Research Focal Areas and Scoring Information HERE.
Link to Submit full proposal HERE .
The link to the original Request for Funding Announcement from SSA is located HERE .