Daniel Rahn Memorial Research Grant


1946-2002 - Daniel J. Rahn


Excerpts from "A Tribute to Dan Rahn", IABPA News, September, 2002 by Insp. Bruce MacLean (RCMP):


"At the time of his death, Dan was the president of the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts. Dan put a tremendous amount of time and energy into this organization."

"Dan was without a doubt one of the finest forensic identification technician and bloodstain pattern analysts I have ever met.  As you all know, he was extremely intelligent and possessed a gifted analytical mind."

"Dan was a free thinker and born rebel. Dan was thinking 'outside of the box' long before there was a box and it became fashionable to do so. Dan was not adverse to having a contrary opinion. He was always a man ahead of his time."

 

As a memorial to Dan, the IABPA has established a research grant intended to advance the science of bloodstain pattern analysis.

One such grant (currently up to US$3000) is available each year.

Purpose

The purpose of the grant is to encourage research in BPA and to enable that research to reach the BPA community. 

 

Eligibility

  • Applicants will either be a full or associate IABPA member in good standing or nominees of an IABPA full member.  Evidence of application for IABPA membership by the grant submission date will be satisfactory.

  • Preference will be given to those who are not previous recipients of the award.

 

Administration

The grant is administered as a two-part award:

  • Part 1: a small start-up grant to the successful applicant.  Up to US$2000 will be available to meet the costs of materials, consumables, literature review and other legitimate project costs.

  • Part 2: a travel and publication grant to enable researcher to communicate his/her research results to the BPA community.  Up to US$2000 (depending on the budget for Part 1) will be available to assist the research travel to the annual IABPA conference in order to present research findings in what will be known as the “Dan Rahn Memorial Research Lecture.” 

  • The IABPA's official publication, Journal of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, reserves first publication rights to this research product.  Any publication costs may also be recovered from this part of the award.

  • Total grant for research costs and travel will not exceed US$3,000.  In addition to the award amount, the IABPA will waive the IABPA conference fee for the presenter as well as provide lodging to that presenter commensurate with the duration of the conference attended.

 

Submission Requirements

The project proposal should be structured under the following headings:

  1. Statement of the problem being investigated and hypotheses to be tested.
  2. Literature review.
  3.  Methods, including a discussion of any issues relating to the harvesting, handling, transport and/or disposal of human body fluids.  These must be dealt with explicitly within the proposal and should meet the accepted protocols for the jurisdiction in which the research is being conducted.
  4. Resources, including any additional funding available from other sources.
  5.  Evidence of ethics committee approval, if relevant.
  6. Project budget, including the amount requested from the IABPA under Parts 1 and 2 of the grant.
  7. Current curriculum vitae of researchers including contact information and cites for current or previous Daniel Rahn Grants awarded to any of the research applicants.
  8. Contact details of applicants including e-mail addresses.
  9. Evidence of IABPA membership status or a letter of nomination from an IABPA full or associate member in good standing.

 

Proposals should be submitted in electronic form to the Secretary/Treasurer of the IABPA at

norman@bloody1.com.

 

Application deadline: September 01

Applicants will be notified the following month (October).

  • Interim and final reports are due to the IABPA according to the timetable.
  • The grant recipient is strongly encouraged to present the results of the project at the annual IABPA meeting.
  • All submissions should be in pdf electronic format.
  • All other correspondence will be by e-mail only.
  • An IABPA PowerPoint template will be provided for the Dan Rahn Memorial lecture presentation. 

 

Application Assessment

Proposals will be judged on the following criteria: 

 

 Criterion

Points

Description

1. Is the problem being investigated relevant and useful to BPA

10

Statement of problem - what needs to be investigated and why

2. Does the researcher know the relevant BPA/forensic background?

5

Literature - demonstrate your knowledge of  what has been done on this topic and where your research fits in to the ongoing investigation of the problem

3. Is the experimental design sound?

10

Method - overview of how you plan to investigate the problem

4. Does the researcher have adequate support to complete the project?

5

Support – demonstrate you have adequate resources to complete the project including any collaborative assistance and/or supervision

5. Are there legitimate expenses to complete the project?

5

Expenses – An accounting of how you plan to utilize the funding?

6. Is there a plan to present the research findings at the annual IABPA conference and publish in the journal of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis?

10

Presentation of Results – Demonstrate an  intent to attend the annual conference, including a statement of the likely presenter of the findings    In addition indicate your plan for publication of the results of the research.

 

Timetable

 

 September 01
  • Applications due. Proposals should be sent by email to the Secretary/Treasurer of the IABPA at norman@bloody1.com. The deadline of 1 Sept is firm with no extensions.

 October (at IABPA conference)

  • Successful applicant announced. 
 Select one of the two alternative timetables

 November 01 or February 01

  •  Start-up grant money transferred to successful applicant.

 January 15 or April 15
  •  Interim Research report #1 due.

 April 01 or July 01
  •  Interim Research report #2 due.

 October (at IABPA conference)
  • Final report submitted in publication format.
  • Conference presentation: Dan Rahn Memorial Research Lecture.
  • Reimbursement upon  production of expenditure receipts.
November
  • Publication submitted to the Journal of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis.


A printable (.pdf) version of the grant information is available here.