Merit Research Awards

With funds from a Ford Foundation grant, the IPC Merit Research Awards (MRA) Program seeks to advance theoretically grounded social science research and provide conceptual insights on Philippine cultures and societies. Awarded on a competitive basis, MRA grants support the research of faculty and researchers of the Ateneo de Manila University. A Call for MRA Proposals is issued in the first semester of the school year whereby proponents are asked to submit a written research proposal with clearly stated research objectives, the proposed study's theoretical significance, and the research methods required. Research proposals are assessed based on a set of criteria, including: clarity and focus; theoretical substance and scholarly significance; and methodological rigor and feasibility.

The research priority areas indicated in the annual Call for MRA Proposals are: religious change and transformation; women and gender; the social dynamics of agriculture and labor; asset building and social capital formation in community-based health, education, shelter and natural resource management; urban renewal and rural development'; political accountability; poverty reduction and the resilience and agency of marginalized groups; new media and social transformation; culture, memory, and nationhood; environment, society, and sustainable development; family, youth, and education; global flows and Asian integration; peace, justice, and democratic governance; science, technology, and social innovation.

For the grantees, the MRA scheme is expected to generate a substantial written output worthy of publication as a book, a collection of essays, a research monograph, and/or journal articles. In addition, under the IPC MRA Lecture Series, grantees are expected to deliver a public lecture to share the highlights of their study's findings.

All academic and research staff members of the Ateneo de Manila University (including the various Loyola and Professional Schools) are eligible to apply to the MRA Program. The principal investigator/lead proponent of the proposed research should be a full-time faculty or researcher of the Ateneo de Manila University; and the proposed research project, completed within 12 months (or within one school year).

To know more about the MRA Application Procedure, please click here.