Assistance in Research Funding

  Researchers may submit research proposals in one of the following main areas:

 The social insurance programs and income support programs for which the NII is responsible (program goals, structure and characteristics; conditions of eligibility; coverage level and eligible population; and adequacy of benefits);

Financing of national insurance programs;

Demography and social insurance;

Poverty, wage gaps, inequality in income distribution and expenditure and patterns of standard of living;

 The national insurance system and the labor market;

 The direct and indirect tax systems;

 Social aspects of the State budget (cash benefits and in-kind services) and of socio-economic policy;

 Occupational pension and other work-related welfare systems;

 The welfare system and globalization;

 At-risk populations and welfare services.

 Research linked closely to the goals of the NII and its areas of activities;

 Research that will add knowledge that may assist in the formulation of socio-economic policy and the evaluation of its implications;

 Research dealing with topics that are on the agenda of socio-economic policy-makers or under public debate;

 Multi-disciplinary research dealing with the mutual relationships between economic and social systems;

 Research which other bodies participate in their funding.

Proposals dealing only with the setting up of databases (a survey that is not part of the research) will be granted priority in the following cases: the creation of new national databases serving many researchers or varied research fields and gathering information on the needs of populations at risk or in economic distress.

 If it is decided to grant priority to certain research topics in the above areas, this decision will be published in the framework of a written ad as well as on this internet site.

  A. Regular research – The NII may recommend the full financing of the cost of a research when its total budget is not over NIS 200,000 (including overhead).

B. Comprehensive research – The NII may condition its approval of the grant on the participation of additional bodies in research having an overall budget of over NIS 200,000.

 Research having an overall budget of over NIS 450,000 will be approved only in exceptional cases, particularly when the research involves constructing a new (non-existing) database or creating a comprehensive data pool. Preference will be given to proposals for databases relevant to the work of the NII.

 C. Scholarships – In order to encourage young researchers to work in the fields of social insurance and welfare, the NII may grant scholarships to students studying in Israel who submit research papers (theses) for their MA or doctorate.

 MA students may receive a scholarship to the amount of up to NIS 15,000, and doctorate students – up to NIS 40,000.

 No more than 6 scholarships – 3 for MA students and 3 for doctorate students – may be granted in the course of one year.

Financial assistance on the part of the National Insurance Institute is conditional on the agreement of the researchers that the NII publish the research findings. The findings will be published in coordination with the researchers.

The NII may publish the research report or an abstract of the report on its internet site.

The NII may request that the researchers present their research in a seminar or research meeting organized by the NII.

Researchers having an MA degree or a higher degree who are conducting their research in Israel in one of the following kinds of institutions: an institution of higher education (university or college), a public or private research institute, a public institute on condition that a separate authority takes care of the monetary and administrative aspects of the research grant;

Researchers having an MA degree or a higher degree who are conducting their research privately, on condition that they are recognized as authorized businesses;

Doctoral students whose research proposal has been approved by an academic institution recognized by the Council for Higher Education.

The requests for a research grant or scholarship will be brought to discussion and approval in accordance with the process determined in the National Insurance Law.

Discussion in the internal research committee of the NII – The task of this committee is to recommend approving or denying the request, to the Council committee. In case of approval, the internal committee will recommend the amount of assistance and the conditions of the NII’s participation in funding the research.
Discussion in the Council committee – The task of this committee is to discuss the recommendations of the internal committee regarding the request for a grant or scholarship. The Council committee formulates its recommendations and transfers them to the Minister of Welfare for approval.
The Minister of Welfare’s approval of the recommendations of the Council committee

Research proposals for a grant should be submitted every year up to the 1^st of May or up to the 1^st of December (the research committee of the NII meets twice a year).

Requests for a scholarship should be submitted up to the end of January of every year.

  Please fill out your request for a research grant on the request form for a research grant.  MA or doctorate students’ request for a scholarship should be filled out on the request form for a scholarship for MA and doctorate students.

 Two complete copies of the request should be filled out in Hebrew and signed. In addition, the request should be submitted by e-mail to the address: research@nioi.gov.il or on a disk/CD.

  Research Committee

Research and Planning Administration

The National Insurance Institute

13 Weizman Avenue, Jerusalem 91909

Telephone: 02-6709568   Fax: 02-6528508.

 Contact

The National Insurance Institute. Research and Planning Administration

13 Weizman Avenue, Jerusalem 91909

Telephone: 02-6709568   Fax: 02-6528508.

E-mail address: research@nioi.gov.il