The NLN Research in Nursing Education Grants Program: Progress Toward the Future

Abstract

The National League for Nursing (NLN) has been at the forefront of funding for research in nursing education for the last 14 years and continues to be the primary funding resource for nurse educators. Awards have ranged from $1,000 to $25,000, with awards in recent years larger than awards when the research grants program was initiated. During the past five years, 161 applicants applied for funding from the NLN, and 30 applicants were awarded funds (average funding rate, 21 percent). The diversity of awards has been impressive. Recipients and sites have been national and international; single-site and multi-site studies with a variety of methodological approaches have been funded. Areas of funding support have been in clinical education, simulation, teaching strategies and delivery approaches, technology, and curriculum research. Samples for these studies have been nursing students, from the associate to doctoral level, and nurse faculty. The awardees have included doctoral students and novice nurse scientists as well as established researchers. Advancing the science of nursing education remains a research priority area that guides funding for the period 2012 to 2015 (see the NLN Research Priorities at www.nln.org/researchgrants/priorities.htm). Recognizing our significant role in achieving this goal, the Research Grants Review Panel (formerly the Nursing Education Research Advisory Council or NERAC) undertook a review of the grant submission process through a survey of past applicants. The goal was to improve the process for future applicants. As the grant process had been significantly revised in 2008, the decision was made to distribute an online survey to the 121 applicants for the period 2009 to 2012. Forty-six applicants responded (17 had received awards and 29 had not; the response rate was 38 percent). Respondents were predominantly white, female, doctorally prepared nurse educators at the associate professor/clinical associate professor level from doctorate-, master's, and baccalaureate-granting universities. Aggregate data support that respondents overall rated the grant submission process as good to excellent in the following areas: website information, clarity of the submission criteria, promptness and responsiveness to questions by NLN staff, and ease of use of the application form. Respondents rated time required to prepare applications relative to the dollar amounts of rewards and feedback on the quality of applications as fair to good. The grant process was revised for a second time in 2010, and applicants funded in 2011 and 2012 continued to rate the process areas as good to excellent; the exception was feedback, which was rated as only fair. Respondents indicated they spent approximately 43 hours preparing their applications, and there was no difference in time spent between those who were funded and those who were not funded. …