Research In Community Engagements (RICE) Grant

The GTC–RICE GRANT honors the legacy of Dr. Gelia Tagumpay-Castillo, National Scientist on Rural Sociology and a former President of the Philippine Sociological Society (PSS). Her family entrusted to the PSS a working fund of PHP 210,000.00 to start a grant program that provides support to faculty, students, and/or practitioners in the field of Sociology and related social sciences who are engaged in any form of research on communities and engagements benefiting marginalized sectors in the Philippines.

The GRANT takes the symbolic metaphor of RICE as a fitting tribute to Dr. Castillo’s excellent academic life-work in the field of rice research and community studies in the country. To give context, RICE stands for Research In Community Engagements, further enhancing and encouraging research of any form in the field of community and engagement studies. In order to provide more assistance in the future, the GTC–RICE GRANT continues to generate support to draw in more funds.

 

Grant Types

Eligible applicants may apply for any of the following types of the RICE Grant:

  1. RICE Travel. This support, in the amount of PHP 5,000.00, is allocated to those seeking travel assistance to present RICE-related papers at the annual PSS conference. The abstract of the applicant has already been officially accepted for presentation during the PSS conference.
  2. RICE Study. This is a one-time research grant to support any student, faculty, and/or practitioner whose study focuses on matters and issues directly aligned to RICE, in the amount of PHP 20,000.00.
  3. RICE Project. This is a one-time funding to support any RICE engagement project where beneficiaries are the communities who are also research participants, in the amount of PHP 15,000.00.

 

Grant Allocation and Cost

Every year, the PSS will allocate available funds to any type of RICE Grant that may be deemed deserving of support.

 

Eligibility

To be eligible, applicants must:

  1. Be a student, faculty, and/or practitioner in the field of Sociology and related social sciences;
  2. Be a PSS member of good standing (i.e., fully-paid membership dues; actively supports and participates in PSS activities) and who has attended the annual conference for the past three years prior to application for the PSS RICE Grants;
  3. Be nominated by the directors, dean, and/or any administrator of the applicant’s institutional affiliation;
  4. Be willing to commit to submitting a manuscript based on the funded work to the Philippine Sociological Review (PSR)—the PSR has the right to first refusal;
  5. Be committed to working in the Philippines and help contribute to efforts to help uplift the lives of the Filipino people; and
  6. Be committed to the ethical practice of sociology (and the other social sciences) as a student, practitioner, researcher, teacher, or advocate.

 

Guidelines and Procedures

The following guidelines and procedures have to be observed by the applicants and those who successfully availed of the RICE Grant:

  1. Only one of the three available grants may be availed of by an applicant in the same year to distribute its availability to other PSS members.
  2. The eligible applicant must fill out and submit the required application form with supporting documents to the PSS for evaluation.
  3. The applicant has to wait for the approval of the application by the GTC–RICE Grant committee of PSS before undertaking the proposed activity.
  4. Successful applicants should only use the extended fund according to the specific type of approved grant, either for conference travel, research, or community engagement.
  5. The grantee has to submit a report to PSS after the completion of the proposed activity, with supporting documents such as a certificate of appreciation for paper presentation, a manuscript for publication with PSR, or a certificate of community engagement from collaborating institutions.
  6. The grantee has to pay back PSS the entire amount released in case of failure to complete the proposed activity within a given period, as stated in the application form.
  7. Email all documentary requirements applicable to the grant you are applying for to:
    The Chairperson
    RICE Grant Committee
    philippinesociology@gmail.com
  8. The deadline for submission of the application is every first Monday of September.

 

READ: 2026 GTC–RICE GRANT Guidelines
APPLY HERE: 2026 GTC–RICE GRANT Application Form

 

Recipients of the Grant

During the 2018 PSS Conference at Siquijor State College, the RICE committee awarded the first Gelia T. Castillo Research in Community Engagements (RICE) Grant Award to Veronica L. Gregorio, PhD in Sociology graduate student of the National University of Singapore. She received PHP 20,000.00 field research support for her study entitled, Contemporary gender ideologies and intra-household relationships of farming families in Malaysia and Philippines.

Meanwhile, the second recipients of the RICE Grant were Senior High School students from all over the Philippines. Their registration fee for the 2020 PSS National conference was waived so they were able to join and participate in the activities held during the virtual conference.

For the third iteration of the RICE Grant, the award was given to Winifredo Dagli to fund the participatory scenario planning and validation sessions of his PhD research. His study explored how transformative adaptation pathways were created and supported in the face of climate change. His fieldwork focused on coconut farmers and various industry stakeholders in Infanta, Quezon, and the wider Region IV-A.

The fourth Gelia T. Castillo RICE Grant was awarded to Ma. Bernadeth Laurelyn Pante. She received research support for her research, which examined the reactive and anticipatory food security strategies devised by the Aeta indigenous peoples, highlighting how traditional knowledge and practices helped build community resilience against natural and technological disruptions.

The fifth Gelia T. Castillo RICE Grant was awarded to Novie Arren Barretto. She received research support for her study focusing on the marginalized Badjau (Sama Dilaut) community in the peripheries of General Santos City. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach that integrated a Community Needs Assessment (CNA) and the UN Women’s Gender-Responsive Conflict Analysis (GRCA), the research investigated the intersecting socio-cultural, economic, and political challenges faced by Badjaus engaged in pag amu’h (begging).