This project continues the partnership between the American Sociological Association and the National Science Foundation in supporting a highly successful program known as the Fund for the Advancement of the Discipline (FAD). The program nurtures the development of scientific knowledge by supporting small, groundbreaking research initiatives and other important scientific activities such as conferences. The awards made under this program provide seed money or venture capital for substantive and methodological breakthroughs that challenge the discipline or stimulate new lines of scientific inquiry, especially by scholars at the early stages of their careers. In addition to investing in important research, these awards broaden the dissemination of scientific knowledge, facilitate new networks of scientific collaboration, provide leverage for acquisition of additional research funds, and enhance the discipline's data and bibiographic infrastructure.
FAS is a collaborative program in the sense that ASA and NSF contribute equally to the pool of resources that funds the small grants. The program itself is led and administered by the ASA, with ASA assuming all direct administrative costs. Through dollar by dollar match, the ASA and NSF double their investment in new science under the auspices of the FAD program. Previous FAD grants resulted in strong publications, many presentations, significant student training, curriculum modification and development, improvements to disciplinary infrastructure, and innovative inquiry in the discipline.
