The Research Scholars Program exists to encourage faculty to conduct new, high-quality research with an emphasis on family business dimensions. Research may involve a broad range of issues and methodologies including theoretical, empirical, and case studies.

The goal of the Research Scholars Program is to help expand the family business body of knowledge and to support the development of innovative research that has the potential to make an important theoretical and/or empirical contribution to generate strong practical implications.  The Research Scholars Program is designed to stimulate new research that may not develop without support from these grants.

The primary criterion is the contribution that is likely to be made to the family business literature as measured by publication within the leading academic journals, a guideline the referees will be using.

Where proposals are judged to be of equal academic merit, proposals that meet these criteria will be given preference:

• Proposals which lead to publications in leading academic journals
• Proposals that have strong implications for family business leaders
• Pump-priming work leading to bids for larger external research funding
• Proposals involving collaborative and interdisciplinary work, or cross-university initiatives

Consequently, applicants should present information that will convey that their research will be likely to be publishable and completed within one year’s time. To help in the review process, all proposals must include the following sections:

• Personal information of the applicants (name, title, current position, date of first appointment to that position, highest academic qualification, and departmental address
• Project title and duration (anticipated start and end dates)
• A description of the project that includes
  • Research objectives
  • Justification of or need for the study
  • A brief literature review
  • Methodology
• A project timeline
• General outline for the use of funds
• How the grant will enable the research to be carried out
• Tangible expected outcomes, including the benefits to the family business research community
• Referred journals targeted for publication

FOBI requires quarterly updates on progress from the Grantees and also submission to FERC the following year.  FOBI also requires that a submission to a peer reviewed journal occur for each Grantee's project within 18 months from the time the grant is received.  FOBI will also request that the Grantee write an article for family business leaders summarizing the research findings submitted to a magazine familiar to family business leaders and/or advisors  (i.e., FFI’s Practitioner, Family Business Magazine, Tharawat, etc.).