2019 CAE Grants Competition Announcement
Purpose
The Society of Actuaries (SOA) is pleased to announce the 2019 CAE Grants Competition to support the advancement of knowledge in actuarial science. For 2019, only research grants will be awarded.
Who May Apply
Attaining Center of Actuarial Excellence (CAE) status makes the institution eligible for grants in education and research. Only universities that are Centers of Actuarial Excellence and remain in good standing will be able to compete for grants. These grants will allow universities to make significant investments in their programs, research and the profession. Unlike the individual research grants funded by the SOA’s Committee on Knowledge Extension Research (CKER) and the Casualty Actuarial Society, the CAE grants are provided to support research projects that are larger in scope and require a longer-term commitment and participation from both faculty and students.
Note: CAE universities which have received a CAE grant and are still within the contractual time frame of the grant are ineligible to apply for another grant in the same subject area (education or research). However, to be clear, CAE schools can have both an education and a research grant.
Only one research grant application will be accepted for consideration per CAE institution. While only one application for research will be accepted from each school, each school may submit more than one letter of intent for a research grant for consideration.
Submission Process
This is a two-step process in which interested schools submit a letter of intent for research grant consideration as the first step by outlining project objectives, cost, and benefits to the submitting school and the actuarial profession. Letters of intent will be reviewed by the CAE Grants Committee. For the second step, the CAE Grants Committee invites only those schools in which there is interest in funding the projects to submit an application. Letters of intent involving multiple faculty and student collaborations are encouraged as this is not an individual researcher grant competition.
Selection Criteria
The CAE Grants Committee has established five criteria for evaluating the letters of intent and applications submitted for funding consideration. For each letter or application, a total score will be determined based on the following criteria and scoring weights:
- Impact (50% of total score): Reviewers will consider how the proposed research impacts the actuarial profession or addresses a critical gap in research. As impact is a function of both significance and innovation, reviewers will also consider the likelihood that the proposed project will achieve its desired outcome.
- Cost-Benefit (20% of total score): Reviewers will examine the amount of funding requested against the desired outcomes and deliverables.
- Uniqueness (10% of total score): Reviewers will assess the uniqueness of the proposed research and its likelihood for success.
- Viability (10% of the total score): Reviewers will analyze the viability of the research concept and methodology, as well as any previous experience the CAE school’s faculty may have had with the SOA.
- Quality (10% of total score): Reviewers will judge the proposed research for how carefully the research process and methodology have been considered and described, in order to have a greater assurance of providing high-quality research
Topics of Interest
For 2019, the CAE Grants Committee is interested in seeing research proposals on topics related to the SOA’s five key Strategic Research Programs:
- Aging and Retirement: Reviews the societal impact of aging populations and the solutions for mitigating risks.
- Actuarial Innovation and Technology: Highlights the evolution of technology as it applies to the actuarial profession and industry.
- Mortality and Longevity: Examines the factors impacting models and mortality predictions, and the analysis of longevity trends.
- Catastrophe and Climate: Studies climate trends and their impact on extreme and catastrophic events.
- Health Care Cost Trends: Focuses on the forces that shape health care cost and utilization, and the changes over time.
The CAE Grants Committee has provided the above research topic areas as suggestions. In reviewing the letters of intent and applications, preference will be given to the suggested topics. However, proposals in other topic areas will be accepted and considered.
Regardless of topic area, CAE schools are encouraged to submit proposals that demonstrate benefits to the actuarial profession as well as showing benefits to an individual school’s actuarial program.
Research Contracts
The selected school will enter into a formal contractual arrangement. If awarded, the SOA intends to closely monitor the project’s progress, including annual financial and progress reports, as well as informal reports. Award amounts and durations can range between $25,000 and $100,000 per annum over a period of up to three years. Applications for both multi- and single-year grants will be accepted.
Research grants can be used for all research expenditures, including research stipends for graduate students. The SOA will not pay for overhead expenditures in excess of 10% of direct costs, as defined in a typical government-funded grant.
Intent to Propose
Interested parties must submit a brief letter of intent of no more than 3 pages outlining the nature of the research, a rough estimate of the funding requirements, the benefits to the proposing CAE school actuarial program, the actuarial profession and SOA members, the anticipated distribution/publication of results and the qualifications of the applicant(s). Letters should be submitted to CAEGRANTS@soa.org by August 30, 2019.
While only one application for research will be accepted per school, a CAE school may submit more than one letter of intent for a research grant for consideration.
Application Form
Letters of intent will be reviewed and application forms for promising projects will be distributed by September 27, 2019 to researchers being invited to submit proposals for funding consideration. Completed application forms are due by October 25, 2019.
Awards
Recipients of grant awards will be notified by December 17, 2019. The CAE Grants Committee will generally award up to three proposals per cycle.