The Research Convergence Residency Program (RCRP) brings together under the same roof a small group of social science faculty and scientific staff to study a high-priority topic involving the social sciences – a topic that requires varied perspectives to meaningfully advance research in the area. The intention of the program is to build a strong interdisciplinary group of researchers equipped with the skills and resources necessary to develop high-impact social science research. 

Year 1

Year one of RCRP will focus on building and developing a research team and providing the support necessary to complete a research manuscript. Once selected, the RCRP team will be required to participate in a team science training facilitated by Dr. Amy Colbert, professor in the Department of Management & Entrepreneurship and CSSI researcher affiliate. Then, the team will work in residence at the Social Sciences Research Building to complete one peer reviewed manuscript. Interdisciplinary groups will be provided office spaces (up to four), rooms for team meetings, and CSSI staff support. The selected research team will also receive a credit for $4000 in research support funds to be spent on CSSI survey and multimethodology research services, such as the collection of high-quality survey data of a general population sample, other types of data acquisition, project management, or the collection of qualitative data (e.g., focus group moderation). CSSI staff will organize bi-weekly team meetings to discuss project progress, barriers, and needs. The team will be expected to submit a research manuscript to a reputable peer reviewed outlet by the end of the spring semester and to present their work to the CSSI community.

Year 2

Teams that successfully complete year one will be invited to apply for a second year of support which will be focused on developing and submitting a competitive grant proposal to an external agency or foundation. Teams will receive assistance with the identification of an RFP and the development and submission of the proposal, which will include additional funding to support external and internal grant reviews, copyediting, and graphic design facilitated by the Research Development Office.

2025-2026 Theme: Research Frontiers in the Social Determinants of Mental and Physical Health

Social Determinants of Mental and Physical Health Micro Lab

To assist with the development of research teams, researchers attended a Micro Lab, hosted in partnership with the Research Development Office. During the Micro Lab, nineteen faculty from nine different UI colleges had the opportunity to share their substantive and methodological expertise, meet potential collaborators, and discuss research ideas. 

Faculty discussing research ideas
Faculty discussing research ideas
Faculty discussing research ideas
Faculty discussing research ideas
Faculty discussing research ideas
Faculty discussing research ideas
Sang Kim headshot 2

Sang Jung Kim

School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Headshot of Haelim Jeong

Haelim Jeong

School of Social Work
Chooza Moon headshot

Chooza Moon

College of Nursing
Rachel Young headshot

Rachel Young

School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Project Updates

  • Social scientists join forces to research safer AI mental health chatbots

    November 3, 2025

    Through CSSI's Research Convergence Residency Program, a newly selected interdisciplinary team at the University of Iowa launched a research collaboration to better understand how social isolation and disrupted sleep patterns contribute to reliance on AI chatbots—and how these interactions may pose risks to mental health.

How to Apply

Dates & Deadlines

Applications open: End of August.

Micro Lab (optional): Wednesday, September 24th, 9-11 am.

Application deadline: Monday, October 13th. Applicants will be notified of a decision within three weeks from the application deadline.

Year 1 dates: Team meetings and trainings will be scheduled in November and December, 2025. Residencies for team members will begin the week of December 8th-12th and will continue through the spring semester. 

Year 2 dates: Calls for applications for a second year of support will open in the spring semester.

Eligibility

Applicants must be affiliated with the University of Iowa.

Each team must consist of a minimum of three members. More than three team members are welcome, but no more than four office spaces will be provided to a team. Faculty members across all ranks and tracks, as well as scientific staff, are eligible to be members of the research team. 
More than one UI academic department must be represented in the research team. Multiple researchers from the same department are welcome. 

Instructions

When applications are open, applicants must submit the following information through our application portal below.

COVER LETTER

  • Project Title
  • Team Lead Name
  • Additional Investigators' Names
  • Project Abstract (50-100 words). Provide a succinct overview of the proposal. Assume reviewers do not have technical knowledge in a specific field.

Project Information

If preferred, the project information can be submitted as an attached pdf in the application portal.

  • Project Aims (300-500 words). Briefly introduce the project and clearly state the objectives or aims. Priority will be given to projects designed to build collaborations involving new interdisciplinary teams.
  • Project Significance (300-500 words). Provide a brief explanation of the social/behavioral problem being addressed, explain why it is important, and describe its relevance to the convergence theme.
  • Scientific Foundation (300-500 words). Summarize the conceptual/theoretical framework/logic model and empirical evidence that provides the foundation for the proposed work.
  • Interdisciplinary Justification (100-150 words). Explain why this project is interdisciplinary. Discuss how the project will benefit from an interdisciplinary approach and how the involved disciplines will converge on the topic.
  • Investigator Activities (100-150 words). Describe the roles of the investigators included in the proposal. Include brief descriptions of each investigators' expertise and how they will contribute to the project.

Program Expectations

  • Research Funds. If selected, research teams will receive a $4000 credit to be used toward CSSI survey and multimethodology research services. Describe preliminary conversations about how your team may use the $4000 credit (e.g., survey data collection; focus group moderation).
  • Residency Schedule. Team members are expected to work in residence a minimum of eight hours per week at CSSI. Team members are not required to work in residence at the same time, though it is encouraged to have some overlap. Describe the specific day(s) and time(s) each week that each team member plans to work in residence if selected for the program. Identify planned meeting days and times if those have been coordinated.
  • Reporting Expectations. Participants are asked to acknowledge CSSI in all publications and presentations supported by participation in this program, and to notify cssi-office@uiowa.edu of all publications, presentations, and grants related to program work. 

Additional Attachments

  • Curriculum vitae or biographical sketch from each investigator
  • [Optional] Pdf version of Project Information
  • [Optional] Reference list

Review Criteria
  • Priority is placed on new ideas that involve interdisciplinary collaborations that include multiple departments and multiple colleges.
  • Priority will go to teams involving at least one CSSI researcher affiliate.
  • Priority will go to teams comprised of investigators with a range of rank and experiences.
  • Proposals must make a clear contribution to social science, must have clear objectives, and must have a strong theoretical and empirical foundation for the research question.

APPLICATIONS ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED