Eligibility Criteria

To be nominated for the Ilia Salita ERA, a research project must be:

1. Related to concrete issues affecting modern Jewish communities.
2. Directly applicable to the work of funders and nonprofits in the Jewish community.
3. Accessible to lay leaders, professionals, and clergy who are not researchers.
4. Creative in its subject and/or approach.
5. Created following all applicable scientific or professional standards.
6. Published in English, with a publication date no earlier than January 1, 2021. 
7. Not an internal evaluation of one organization.
8. A first-time applicant for the award.

Preference will be given to research projects that deal with understudied or underserviced populations or issues in the Jewish world and/or with issues related to Ilia Salita's professional work, such as Jewish unity, Israel-Diaspora dialogue, Jewish engagement, or Russian-speaking Jews.

*Projects for which an application has been submitted in past years will not be eligible for consideration.
**For next year's Ilia Salita ERA, the research publication cutoff date will be “no earlier than January 1, 2023”.

Nomination Process

1. 2024 nominations open on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, and close on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, at 5 p.m ET.
2. Nominations can be made by the institutions or researchers themselves or by a third party. Self-nominations are allowed. (Those who nominate themselves must fill out both the nomination form and an application form.)
3. To nominate the research project, please fill out the Ilia Salita ERA Nomination Form (scroll down for link). Please keep the eligibility criteria in mind when making the nomination.
4. Upon nomination, the nominated researcher will receive an email containing the links to the Ilia Salita ERA application and letters of recommendation form.
5. As part of the application, each nominee will need to provide a minimum of one and a maximum of two letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation should come from research funders or consumers, fellow researchers, community professionals, research mentors, or other relevant individuals. If the nominator fits these categories, they can provide a letter of recommendation.
6. All application forms, including relevant attachments and letters of recommendation, must be submitted by the deadline. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Winner Selection and Announcement

1. The independent selection committee, which is appointed for this purpose, will review the eligible applications and select the winner.
2. The Ilia Salita ERA winning research project will be announced at the 2024 Jewish Funders Network International Conference on March 18-20, 2024 in Tel Aviv, Israel.
3. The winning project will receive a $15,000 award. In addition to the monetary prize, the winner will be granted opportunities for research project presentation and dissemination to Jewish funders, media, and organizations around the world.

To nominate a research project, click here.