Program Overview
Each year, ELECTRI International publishes a Request for Proposal for research projects that will be selected for funding in January of the following year. Based upon the annual recommendations of the ELECTRI Council, ELECTRI International commissions essential industry research at the finest universities and research institutions throughout the country. At the completion of each research project, the findings are published and disseminated to the entire electrical contracting industry and our allied partners.
The ELECTRI Program Review Committee reviews the submitted proposals and selects 6-7 finalists who will be invited to present their proposals to the entire ELECTRI Council during its annual January meeting. Depending on the amount of funding available for each research cycle, the ELECTRI Council will select 4-5 projects for funding.
The principal researcher for each proposal will be invited to the annual ELECTRI Council summer meeting in July during which the Task Force for each project will be formed. The Task Force will work closely with the researchers and provide valuable advice and experience. The researchers are required to provide regular written progress reports to the Task for and ELECTRI International, and are often invited to give a update reports during one of the Council meetings.
Request For Proposal
The 2012 Request for Proposal (RFP) is now closed. The next EELCTRI International Request for Proposal will be published here in October 2013.
For the 2012 RFP, the two topics identified as top priority issues that would produce valuable results for the electrical construction industry addressed the following:
- Is there a need for an IBEW service agreement to release restrictions on small crews and smaller jobsites? Would a national service agreement have a potentially positive market impact?
- An ELECTRI International study with an economic analysis of portability indicated a positive outcome when a portability option is in place. What are the next steps to make this information useful for the electrical construction industry and why would it be in IBEW’s best interest to embrace portability as a means to improve the industry as a whole and as a benefit of IBEW membership?
The top research teams were given the option to respond to one of the two topics identified by ELECTRI leaders and/or to offer a research subject that they develop from the ELECTRI list of key areas:
- Career Awareness, Productivity Enhancement, Organizational Development, New Business Sector, and Technology Transfer.
To view the 2012 RFP click here: 2012 Request for Proposal (PDF)
Funding
Each year, ELECTRI International announces the amount that will be available for the upcoming research funding cycle. In 2013, the Foundation has allocated $200,000 for new research projects.
Project Selection
Proposals are reviewed by the ELECTRI International Program Review Committee and ranked based on intellectual merit, innovation and the level of interaction the proposed activity will promote between the grantee and the electrical construction industry.
The selection of top finalists is usually announced beginning of December. Six or seven finalists are invited to the ELECTRI Council program meeting in January to present their proposals to the entire ELECTRI Council. At this meeting, Council members will select the top four to five finalists who will be awarded funding.
Selection Results for 2013
ELECTRI International received 43 summary proposals in response to the 2012 RFP. The ELECTRI Councilapproved the following four research projects for 2013 funding:
- Change Order Protocol for Electrical and Low Voltage Contractors, Matt Syal, Michigan State University
- Next Steps in Portability as a Means to Improve the Industry and Benefit IBEW Membership, Justin Reginato, California State University, Sacramento
- Best Practices for CE/CW Implementation, Todd L. Sirotiak, Diversified Construction Services
- Customer Side Smart Grid Installations – Preparing for the Future, Thomas Korman and Lonny Simonian, California Polytechnic State University
