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Application Deadline: January 13, 2027

Applicants Notified: June 2027

Purpose: The Gary W. LaVigna and Thomas J. Willis Grant provides doctoral student research investigating the effects of comprehensive applications of multi-element behavior support (MEBS) plans (i.e., plans that incorporate multiple, integrated procedures) on the full spectrum of desired applied behavior analysis outcomes. This grant also supports investigations examining the specific contributions of individual components of MEBS plans on these outcomes.

Grants Available: The endowment may provide one grant of up to $4,000 per academic year. All expenses must be clearly detailed in the proposed budget statement. The SABA Board of Directors reserves the right not to award any grant in a given year.

Additional Information: This grant will support research on multi-element behavior support (MEBS), an approach reflecting the inherently nonlinear and multifaceted nature of applied behavior analysis. A principal purpose of behavior analysis is to develop support plans that remove barriers created by behaviors of concern and enable individuals to experience a good quality of life. Plans that achieve meaningful, valued outcomes demonstrate clinical validity. Consistent with the ethical standards of applied behavior analysis, these outcomes should be achieved using the least restrictive effective methods available.

Research should examine comprehensive behavior support plans designed to produce durable outcomes that generalize across people, activities, and settings; minimize adverse side effects; and use procedures acceptable to the individual, family members, support staff, and other relevant stakeholders. Together, these characteristics reflect strong clinical and social validity. Because no single procedure is likely to achieve this full range of outcomes, MEBS plans integrate multiple complementary procedures into a coherent and individualized approach.

Grants will be awarded for studies investigating the effects of comprehensive applications of the MEBS paradigm across the full range of desired applied behavior-analytic outcomes. Studies may also examine the specific contributions of individual MEBS components, the interactions among components, or the conditions under which particular combinations of procedures are most effective. Appropriate research may address outcomes including, but not limited to, quality of life, reductions in behaviors of concern and episodic severity, acquisition of adaptive skills, durability and generalization of behavior change, minimization of adverse effects, use of least restrictive procedures, and acceptability to individuals and other relevant stakeholders.

Grant recipients will be publicly recognized at the SABA Awards Ceremony at the ABAI Annual Convention and in Inside Behavior Analysis.

Grant Application Details

Eligibility Criteria:

1. Applicants must show they have sufficient time to complete the project after the disbursement of grant funds (i.e., at least on full academic year remaining in the program).
2. Applicants must be enrolled or have been accepted in a doctoral program in a department of psychology, education, behavioral science, or an allied discipline in which there is a sufficient number of behaviorally oriented faculty members to supervise the proposed research in MEBS and a sufficient environment in which this work will be carried out, with appropriate supervision.
3. The primary criteria for the grant are the quality of the application and the applicant’s commitment to the study and research of multi-element behavior support (MEBS) plans on the full spectrum of desired applied behavior analysis outcomes or specific contributions of individual MEBS components, the interactions among components, or the conditions under which particular combinations of procedures are most effective.
4. The project will be of sufficient rigor to be submitted for publication upon conclusion and thus contribute to the existing body of literature on multi-element behavior support plans.

Ineligible Costs:

1. Indirect costs (facilities and administrative costs/overhead) charged by the student's institution.
2. Research staff salaries or wages, including personnel costs that support the general research infrastructure.
3. Renting, renovating, or maintaining research space or other general research facilities.
4. Professional travel, including travel to conferences, meetings, workshops, or other professional events, except travel to the ABAI Annual Convention for the purpose of presenting research.
5. General research infrastructure costs that are not direct expenses of conducting the proposed research.

Application Requirements

Biosketch: Applicants must download and complete a biosketch template (Microsoft Word format) and upload the completed file.

Proposal: Proposals are limited to five pages. Please note that references may be up to two additional pages.

Proposals must include the following sections: Title, Connection to Purpose, Significance, Specific Aims, Approach, Method, Limitations, Timeline, Budget, and Matching Funding.

Letters of Support: A letter of support from an academic advisor must be submitted. The letter should verify that the applicant has a minimum of one year left in their program, as well as outlining recommendations for the applicant and proposed project. Letters can be submitted by email to saba@abainternational.org.

Availability of Resources: The applicant’s department or program chair must send a letter verifying that the institution has the resources necessary to conduct the project. Letters can be submitted by email to saba@abainternational.org.

Conditions of Award: Grant recipients agree to provide a brief report on what the grant was used for, along with an outline of expenditures. This report is due to the SABA Board by April 1 of the following year.