2026 ACES Research Grants: Request for Proposals

2026 Association for Counselor Education & Supervision (ACES) Research Grants

The Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) is committed to providing researchers with opportunities to curate informed understanding of what shapes counselor education and supervision, how we can best serve communities, and what types of policy and system changes can have the greatest potential for impact. In alignment with this commitment, ACES is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) and will award a total of $100,000 in funding across 3 to 5 exemplary projects that demonstrate the potential to significantly advance the body of research in counselor education and supervision. An additional grant award opportunity is available from our partners at Intelligent Video Solutions (IVS). IVS is offering a $5000 grant to an ACES member for the purpose of conducting research that focuses on clinical skills acquisition utilizing technology in the observation process.

The submission portal can be found at:

https://cce.submittable.com/submit/20afb8e2-7d6a-4559-8023-3dbe86a52c00/view

Proposals are due September 30 at 7:00 pm (EST). Late submission will not be accepted, reviewed, or considered for funding.

Awards will be announced by mid-November.

ACES invites grant proposals focused on counseling, clinical supervision, and counselor education research across all specialties that contributes to the advancement of the profession.

ACES is only accepting proposals that address the below research areas:

Elevating Research Training and Impact (e.g., community engaged research; outcome research related to counseling, teaching, supervision, leadership and advocacy; training practices to promote grant literacy, readiness, and outcomes)
Navigating the Intersection of Technology and Counselor Education and Supervision (e.g., use of emerging technologies and artificial intelligence in counseling, teaching, supervision, and research; clinical skills acquisition utilizing technology)
Suicide prevention and comprehensive crisis counseling models — developing and validating counselor-specific crisis response frameworks amid rising need and expanded CACREP crisis training requirements.

Each awarded program should be completed within one year of the award and have clear potential implications for influencing public policy at the state, regional, or national levels. Grantees may request project extensions beyond one year, provided they have appropriate justification and are approved. Upon award notification, information will be provided on how to submit addendums, extensions, and reports. The ACES Research Center will do all post-award management.

Eligibility:

Grants are available to Professional or New Professional Member of ACES. Membership must remain active and current throughout the life of the funded project. The projects must be led by a PI who is an active ACES member; however, other members of the team, outside of the ACES domain, may serve a valuable role in the research (e.g., methodologist, statistician, content expert). Therefore, up to one CO-PI can be an individual who is a non-member and any number of key personnel can be non-members. Graduate students cannot serve as PIs but can assume other roles on the grant team.

Please note, an individual may appear on only one proposal as either PI or Co-PI. Applicants who do not meet eligibility criteria will not be considered. The ACES membership number and expiration date must be included in the application process so members are encouraged to have this information available. If your ACES membership is not current, go to the ACES website for renewal instructions.

Guidelines:

Proposals that do not follow the guidelines below will be disqualified from review.

No indirect costs (IDC) will be funded under this RFP. Applicants may request up to $25,000. Requests exceeding $25,000 may be considered if the proposal provides a compelling and clearly articulated rationale demonstrating why the additional funds are necessary to complete the project.

For applicants wanting to be considered for the Intelligent Video Solutions (IVS) grant, please only request $5000. As a reminder, this grant is specifically to fund research that focuses on clinical skills acquisition utilizing technology in the observation process.

Faculty summer salary may be included as an allowable expense but should not constitute a substantial portion of the proposed budget. All salary requests must be clearly justified in relation to the project’s scope, activities, and anticipated outcomes.

Proposal Components:

Proposals application will include below components, with word count for each of these indicated within Submittable:

Title of the project
Purpose Summary Statement (information about the project, proposed start and end date, research question(s), and brief summary). \\\*max word count of 225 words
Statement of Problem and Need \\\*max word count of 400 words
Brief summary of extant research that supports the need for the project \\\*max word count of 550 words
Research Methodology \\\*max word count of 1,000 words

(a) research design, description, and rationale,
(b) sampling and recruitment procedures,
(c) description of key constructs, measures, and data sources,
(d) data collection procedures,
(e) data analysis procedures,
(f) psychometrics, rigor, trustworthiness, and/or methodological integrity,(g) strategies for ensuring ethical compliance at all phases of the research.

Description of how the research project aligns with ACES values, mission, and which research priority area identified in the call \\\*max word count of 225 words
Plans for dissemination of results \\\*max word count of 200
Proposed timeline \\\*max word count of 100
Budget summary and rationale (no indirect costs \\\[IDC\\\] allowed) \\\*max word count of 200

Formatting Requirements:

Word Count. Please follow the word count for each section.
Citations. APA format (no numerical citations). References document must be uploaded within Submittable as an appendix.
AI. Any use of AI in the development of the proposal should be properly acknowledged and cited.
Tables & Figures. (optional) Tables and figures may be smaller than 12-point font but must be legible (minimum of 10-point font). The use of color is acceptable in charts and graphs. Tables and Figures must be uploaded within Submittable as an appendix.
Appendices. All appendices must be labeled with the appendix letter and title.

Requirements for Awardees:

Complete paperwork to process allocations of funds, including submitting an IRB approval letter for the research project within three months of the award announcement
Complete a mid-year and final report
Recognize ACES in any professional or scholarly products yielded from the awarded program
Submit a 1-paragraph synopsis of awarded program suitable for dissemination in an announcement to ACES membership and on the ACES Research Center website.
Submit a manuscript to a national or international professional counseling journal based on the funded project

Additional information can be found in our Frequently Asked Questions document. Questions need to be directed to the ACES Research Center at centeroperations@acesresearch.org