The information below is current as of October 2005. For the most up to date information on Sloan Industry Studies Fellowships, visit the Sloan website.
The Sloan Foundation is pleased to announce the availability of Industry Studies Fellowships to support the development of research in industry studies. Industry studies research includes close contact with people in a particular industry as well as field research: that is, interaction with people in their workplaces for observations, insights and primary data collection. The Sloan Industry Studies Program, which includes at its core the twenty-six Sloan Industry Centers, is dedicated to promoting research cooperation between academics and industry in order to understand the complex influences that shape industrial enterprises.
Modeled after the prestigious Sloan Research Fellowships for early-career scientists, the Industry Studies Fellowships are intended to provide support and recognition to junior faculty in a wide range of academic disciplines. Awards are made to those who show the most outstanding promise of making important contributions to understanding modern industry and the multifaceted environment of industrial enterprises. The historical roots of industry studies extend back to intellectual leaders such as Adam Smith (1723-1790) and Alfred Marshall (1842-1924), who demonstrated that the scientific foundation and social effects of economic analysis are enhanced by grounding scholarship in the direct observation of production processes and in the practical experience of industry. The creation of the Sloan Industry Centers program in 1990 was based on the fundamental principle of scholarship grounded in direct observation.
To qualify as industry studies research, a candidate's scholarship should demonstrate significant personal investment in developing an understanding of the market, firms and institutions that characterize a particular industry and should reflect knowledge gained by direct contact and communication with people who work in that industry, including but not limited to primary data collection. The candidate's research may be multidisciplinary or it may contribute to a single discipline; however, narrowly technical research within a single discipline will not usually qualify as industry studies. Inherently, industry studies research is likely to require observation-based study integrated with appropriate theory and data analysis.
The Sloan Industry Studies Fellowships will be awarded to up to five (5) junior faculty members who are conducting such research on a topic important to a specific industry. At its discretion, the Sloan Foundation may choose to award more than five fellowships in a given year. The Sloan Foundation anticipates that financial assistance at this crucial point in a scholar's early career, even in modest amounts, will produce research results that ultimately may provide important benefits to industrial development and economic competitiveness.
Sloan Fellows, once chosen, are free to pursue any direction of original investigation in industry studies, subject to an expectation that they will establish close working relationships within a chosen industry.
Candidates for Sloan Industry Studies Fellowships are required to hold a Ph.D. (or equivalent) in economics, management, engineering, political science, sociology, or in a related or interdisciplinary field, and must be members of the regular faculty (i.e., tenure track) of a college or university in the United States or Canada. They may be no more than six years from completion of their most advanced degree as of the year of their nomination--unless special circumstances such as military service, a significant change of field, or child rearing are involved or unless they have held a faculty appointment for less than two years. The letter of nomination must clearly explain such special circumstances. While Fellows are expected to be at an early stage of their academic careers, there should be strong evidence of relevant research accomplishments. Candidates in all fields are normally below the rank of associate professor and do not hold tenure, but these are not strict requirements. The Foundation welcomes nominations of all candidates who meet the highest standards, and strongly encourages the participation of women and members of underrepresented minority groups.
Candidates may be nominated by Directors and faculty members at the Sloan Industry Centers, Affiliates of the Sloan Industry Studies program, department heads, or other senior scholars. Candidates and nominators are not required to have a formal relationship with a Sloan Industry Center. Direct applications are not accepted. Nomination forms are available from the Sloan Foundation's website or on request from the Program Director. In addition to this form, the nominator should submit a letter describing the candidate's qualifications and must see that the Foundation receives three supporting letters directly from other scholars or professionals, preferably not at the same institution.
Attachments to the nomination form and letter should include the nominee's curriculum vitae, a list of academic and professional publications, plus one copy of no more than two representative publications (single-sided, letter-size paper), and a brief statement (one to two pages) by the nominee describing his/her significant independent work and an initial plan for research in a specific industry. These materials should describe the extent to which the nominee has experience in conducting observation-based, field research; detailed studies of this (or another) industry; and/or collaborative, interdisciplinary work. Strong evidence—in submitted publications and supporting letters—of the nominee's independent capabilities to contribute to the field of industry studies, as defined above, is one of the most important considerations in the review process.
Nominations are due by October 15. Nominations are reviewed and candidates selected by a Program Committee of scholars representing the participating disciplines from the industry studies community. Candidates selected for awards are notified in December.
Nomination forms and supporting letters should be mailed to:
Sloan Industry Studies Fellowships
Gail M. Pesyna, Program Director
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Suite 2550
630 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10111-0242
The size of the award is $45,000 for a two-year period. Funds are awarded directly to the Fellow's institution and may be used by the Fellow for such purposes as travel to field locations, survey design and implementation, research assistance, faculty course buy-outs, summer support, or any other activity directly related to the Fellow's research. They may not be used to augment an existing full-time, 12-month salary or for indirect or overhead charges by the Fellow's institution. Expenditures must be approved by the Fellow's department chairman and must be in accord with the policies of the institution.
If unexpended funds remain at the end of two years, an extension of the termination date may be obtained. Extensions are limited to a maximum of two years. Funds remaining at the end of that period must be returned to the Foundation. When a Fellow transfers to another institution during the term of the fellowship, the Foundation will allow the transfer of unexpended funds to the new institution.
The Fellow's institution is required to report annually on expenditures from the fellowship grant, and the Fellow must submit a brief annual research progress report and a final report. Reprints or preprints of academic papers may be submitted in lieu of such reports.
The Sloan Industry Studies Fellowship program was launched in 2004, with the first awards granted for the 2005-2006 academic year. Six new Fellows were selected from fifty-one highly qualified scholars in the early stages of their careers on the basis of their exceptional promise to contribute to the field of industry studies, to the advancement of knowledge, and to U.S. industrial development and economic competitiveness.