Summary
The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (GC) seeks partners to undertake quantitative and qualitative research that will assist the Seventh-day Adventist Church in evaluating and improving its outreach to the world, its ministry to members globally, and its internal administration and operations.
The General Conference and research
Church leadership recognizes a need for professional research into the operations of organizations as well as programs to determine the effectiveness of various initiatives that have been established to fulfill specific purposes within the overall mission of the Church. The General Conference Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research (ASTR) has been assigned responsibility for initiating, coordinating and funding research.
Why is the GC funding research?
ASTR’s research objectives are to:
- Improve the effectiveness of mission to those outside the Seventh-day Adventist Church
- Enhance pastoral ministry to, and discipling of, church members
- Assist denominational entities and denominationally funded programs in achieving their mission objectives
- Provide an informed basis for global strategic planning
- Understand current trends, facts, and growth potential
How will the GC support research?
ASTR will:
- Specify research that the GC needs (which will be chiefly applied research, intended to enable evaluation of the mission effectiveness of existing denominational programs); and
- Issue Requests for Proposals (RFP) to carry out the specified research. In these cases, ASTR expects to be the primary funder of the research and to own the findings.
ASTR will also:
- Support initiatives by existing researchers, especially SDA faculty and post-graduate students, where their research has the potential to meet ASTR’s research objectives (see above) and/or to further the implementation of the GC strategic plan.
What kinds of research will the GC support?
Primary priorities:
- Analysis of the effectiveness of services and resources currently being delivered by GC-funded programs and ministries:
- Research on the impact on wider church life of educational institutions, and on how Adventist health principles could be most effectively used in outreach to communities
- Attempts to identify needs for different and/or new programs and insights for improving delivery of existing key programs.
Secondary priorities:
- Consideration of the extent and significance of global variations in SDA mission and ministry
- Investigation of Adventists’ beliefs, perceptions, and practices
- Analysis of the dynamics of denominational outreach Methodologies:
Quantitative and qualitative approaches are both equally welcome, and though ASTR is especially interested in rigorous human–source research, it is also willing to fund statistical analysis and literature reviews where these would help meet ASTR’s research objectives.
Scope
Priority will be given to projects that take in several of the denomination’s world divisions. Funding for research focused on just one division ought initially to be sought from that division. Studies of two divisions may be funded, but priority will be given to those that include research in at least four divisions and multiple continents.
Research partnerships with ASTR
ASTR recognizes that Adventist colleges and universities have a strong commitment to the core mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, as well as faculty with special research expertise. ASTR therefore seeks to establish partnerships with denominational higher education institutions committed to research.
Who can apply for GC funding?
ASTR welcomes applications from all Seventh-day Adventist researchers — especially, though not only, faculty and postgraduate students in denominational colleges and universities — whose research has the potential to meet the GC’s objectives. Research teams may include non-Adventists, however in that case the team must be based at an Adventist institution and led by a church-member, and a rationale should be supplied for the inclusion of members who are not church members. ASTR encourages applications from interdisciplinary and inter-institutional research networks, as these are likely to produce findings that meet the GC’s objectives.
How does one apply for GC funding?
Application is possible in two tracks:
- By responding to RFP issued by ASTR. RFP will specify the subject, objectives, preferred time frame, desired research outcomes, and whether scholarly publication of data or findings will be permitted. Proposals in response should identify methodology, timeframe, stages and expected completion dates, and relevant experience and expertise; and should include a budget, timeline for payments, and associated Key Performance Indicators. Successful responses to RFP will receive funding that is typically, albeit not invariably, substantial.
- Alternatively, at Adventist higher education institutions in partnership with ASTR, applications for internal institutional funding can include a request that they also be considered by ASTR for matching funding; in exceptional circumstances, if a compelling case is made, ASTR funding may exceed institutional funding. In either case, these are likely to be relatively small grants.
What happens if funding is granted?
Regardless of whether funding is granted via track 1 or track 2, a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed between the research team’s parent institution and ASTR. Where scholarly publication of findings is permitted, any publications deriving from ASTR-funded research must be pre-submitted to ASTR and acknowledge the source of funding, unless ASTR stipulates otherwise.
Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
[email protected]