RFPs
A request for proposals (RFP) is a funder’s written announcement inviting proposals, usually for a specific grant program.
- Our office serves as a clearinghouse for many RFPs. Current opportunities can be found below.
- We disseminate select RFPs via email directly to faculty and administrators in relevant schools and centers.
- If an RFP is a limited funding opportunity, for which a limited number of applicants per institution may apply, it is generally announced by the Stanford Research Development Office and an internal selection committee decides on the final candidate(s). UCFR manages a small number of limited RFPs, as indicated below.
- Additional RFP resources are listed on the Funding Search Tools page.
Funding Opportunities & Resources
March 2023 Deadlines:
Simons Foundation
Call for Vision Statements for New Neuroscience Collaborations
The Simons Foundation seeks vision statements to identify new, emerging breakthrough areas of neuroscience that are poised for high-impact funding. We are interested in bold and cutting edge, idea-generating research that focuses on basic principles of brain function and may be overlooked or too risky for other funding organizations.
We will prioritize cross-disciplinary collaborations that integrate many levels of analysis, methodologies, ways of thinking, and scientific communities. We endeavor to encourage conversations within and across fields while bringing together diverse groups of researchers to investigate important questions about the basic principles of brain function. Investigators in a Simons Collaboration are expected to openly share data, code, analysis pipelines, protocols and reagents. We expect proposals to include junior investigators and investigators from a diversity of academic disciplines, genders, races and ethnicities in a Simons Collaboration.
Vision statements should clearly outline the big idea and hypotheses that the proposed neuroscience collaboration will address, including high-level overviews of the methods and approaches that will be used. Why is this work uniquely suited for Simons Collaboration funding? Why should this collaboration be funded now? Why is it difficult to obtain funding to investigate these questions from other funding agencies and foundations? Vision statements should address why and how the support of a large collaborative research project from the Simons Foundation will transform our understanding of how the brain works. Please propose investigators who may be included in the collaboration and an estimated anticipated overall yearly total cost.
Simons Collaborations will be funded for 10 years (with a review at year 5). The total budget for the new Neuroscience Collaborations will be $25 million per year. We anticipate identifying up to three collaborations, with the funding level of each collaboration determined by the proposed scope and aims of the project. As a guideline, we suggest budgets of between $5–12 million per year, inclusive of 20 percent indirect costs.
All investigators must hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree and have a faculty position or the equivalent (eligible for receiving grant funding) at a college, university, medical school or other research facility. In addition, eligible applicants must have independent research space at their institution.
Funding Amount: Varies (suggested budgets of between $5M-$12M/yr)
Deadlines: March 8, 2023
Guidelines: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/neuroscience-collaborations-vision-statements-call/
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)
Investigator Program
HHMI’s Investigator Program advances scientific innovation by supporting researchers who break new ground in basic and biomedical research. In addition to conducting original research, HHMI Investigators also: direct a research team and create a lab environment suited to tackling fundamental research questions; commit to mentoring and training the next generation of scientists; join an active community of HHMI scientists spanning career stages; and teach and play leadership roles at their host institutions.
To be eligible, applicants must have a PhD and/or MD; plan to dedicate at least 75% of their time to research at an eligible US institution; hold a position that represents substantial commitment by their institution, such as a tenure-track faculty position; have a track record of peer-reviewed funding; and meet the required length of post-training, professional experience prior to applying.
Investigator competitions are open to researchers in basic and biomedical sciences, plant biology, evolutionary biology, biophysics, chemical biology, biomedical engineering, and computational biology. Investigators retain academic appointments and laboratories at their respective institutions but become full-time employees of HHMI, which provides full salary and benefits. Investigators are appointed for a seven-year, renewable period. Applicants apply directly; there is no nomination process and no limit on the number of applications from a single institution.
Funding Amount: Approx. $8M over 7-yr term
Deadlines: March 21, 2023
Guidelines: https://www.hhmi.org/programs/biomedical-research/investigator-program#Overview
April Deadlines:
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Healthy Eating Research program
Healthy Eating Research (HER) is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) committed to building a Culture of Health through identifying effective strategies to improve children’s nutrition and weight. HER’s mission is to support and disseminate research on policy, systems, and environmental strategies that promote healthy eating among children and advance nutrition security and health equity. Some goals of the program are to: build a vibrant, inclusive, interdisciplinary research base in the areas of healthy food access, nutrition security, diet quality, and healthy weight; and communicate research findings to accelerate policy, systems, and environmental changes. HER issues calls for proposals (CFPs) to solicit scientifically rigorous, solution-oriented proposals from investigators representing diverse disciplines and backgrounds.
Access to affordable, nutritious, culturally appropriate food should be a human right. All families in the U.S. should be able to provide their children with nutritious foods that support optimal growth and development.
Healthy Eating Research supports this goal through improving diet quality and nutrition for all Americans. This CFP hopes to generate evidence on supportive family policies and programs that have strong potential to impact equitable access to nutritious food in communities, nutrition security, diet quality, and improved nutrition and health outcomes. Programs that will be studied are in the areas of: federal nutrition assistance programs; hunger-relief programs; community-powered food systems efforts; and social and economic programs (nonfood policies). We are especially interested in strategies to improve health outcomes for children ages 0 to 18 at highest risk for poor nutrition, specifically lower-income families, as well as the racially and ethnically diverse populations experiencing higher rates of health disparities.
Through this CFP, we seek to learn what does and does not work and why; under what circumstances, who most benefits from these policies and programs; and if disparity gaps are reduced. We are interested in solution-oriented research that focuses on policy, systems and environmental (PSE) change at the national, state, local, and tribal levels. The PSE research strategies can focus on: how to strengthen existing policies or programs; evaluation of current policies or programs; or designing and pilot-testing new innovative programs that are policy-relevant. Findings will be used to guide and inform decisionmaking about policy and system changes that can advance nutrition equity and improve health.
Up to $2.5 million will be awarded through this CFP, with each award up to a maximum of $275,000 and 24 months in duration. We encourage proposals that request lower budget amounts and shorter periods (e.g., 12–18 months).
Funding Amount: Up to $275K
Deadlines: April 5, 2023 (Concept papers)
Guidelines: https://www.rwjf.org/en/grants/active-funding-opportunities/2023/healthy-eating-research.html
Spencer Foundation
Research Grants on Education: Small
The Small Research Grants Program supports education research projects that will contribute to the improvement of education, broadly conceived, with budgets up to $50,000 for projects ranging from one to five years. This program is “field-initiated” in that proposal submissions are not in response to a specific request for a particular research topic, discipline, design, method, or location. Our goal for this program is to support rigorous, intellectually ambitious and technically sound research that is relevant to the most pressing questions and compelling opportunities in education. We anticipate that proposals will span a wide range of topics and disciplines that innovatively investigate questions central to education, including for example education, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, law, economics, history, or neuroscience, amongst others.
Moreover, we expect and welcome methodological diversity in answering pressing questions; thus, we are open to projects that utilize a wide array of research methods including quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, ethnographies, design-based research, participatory methods, and historical research, to name a few. We are open to projects that might incorporate data from multiple and varied sources, span a sufficient length of time as to achieve a depth of understanding, or work closely with practitioners or community members over the life of the project.
Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-PIs applying for a Small Research Grant on Education must have an earned doctorate in an academic discipline or professional field, or appropriate experience in an education research-related profession. While graduate students may be part of the research team, they may not be named the PI or Co-PI on the proposal.
Funding Amount: Up to $50K
Deadlines: April 5, 2023
Guidelines: https://www.spencer.org/grant_types/small-research-grant
Spencer Foundation
Research Grants on Education: Large
The Large Research Grants on Education Program supports education research projects that will contribute to the improvement of education, broadly conceived, with budgets ranging from $125,000 to $500,000 for projects ranging from one to five years. We anticipate awarding grants with budgets across each of the following funding tiers -- $125,000 to 250,000; $250,001 to $375,000; and $375,001 to $500,000. Within each of our funding tiers, we evaluate projects within tier and strongly encourage applicants to submit for funding that best fits their project rather than applying for the highest amount.
This program is “field-initiated” in that proposal submissions are not in response to a specific request for a particular research topic, discipline, design, method, or location. Our goal for this program is to support rigorous, intellectually ambitious and technically sound research that is relevant to the most pressing questions and compelling opportunities in education. We anticipate that proposals will span a wide range of topics and disciplines that innovatively investigate questions central to education, including for example education, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, law, economics, history, or neuroscience, amongst others.
Moreover, we expect and welcome methodological diversity in answering pressing questions; thus, we are open to projects that utilize a wide array of research methods including quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, ethnographies, design-based research, participatory methods, historical research, to name a few. We are open to projects that might incorporate data from multiple and varied sources, span a sufficient length of time as to achieve a depth of understanding, or work closely with practitioners or community members over the life of the project. In addition, we welcome proposals submitted by multidisciplinary and multigenerational teams who are positioned to both contribute to the project as well as contribute to the teaching and learning of fellow team members.
Finally, we encourage teams to thoughtfully consider and describe plans regarding the trajectories of their project’s findings, implications, and potential effects, especially how the knowledge may be shared and utilized across the field in practice, policy making, or with broader publics.
Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-PIs applying for a Large Research Grant on Education must have an earned doctorate in an academic discipline or professional field, or appropriate experience in an education research-related profession. While graduate students may be part of the research team, they may not be named the PI or Co-PI on the proposal.
Funding Amount: $125K-$500K
Deadlines: April 27, 2023 (Intent to Apply)
Guidelines: https://www.spencer.org/grant_types/large-research-grant
May Deadlines:
Russell Sage Foundation
Research Grants (Core Programs and Special Initiatives)
The Russell Sage Foundation (RSF) is an operating foundation dedicated to programs of social science research. RSF will accept letters of inquiry (LOIs) under all of its core programs and special initiatives: Behavioral Science and Decision Making in Context; Future of Work; Immigration and Immigrant Integration; Race, Ethnicity and Immigration; Social, Political, and Economic Inequality. In addition, RSF will also accept LOIs relevant to any of its core programs that address the effects of social movements, such as drives for unionization and mass social protests, and the effects of racial/ethnic/gender bias and discrimination on a range of outcomes related to social and living conditions in the United States. We provide support primarily for analyzing data and writing up results, and particularly welcome innovative projects that collect or analyze new data to illuminate issues that are highly relevant to the foundation's funding priorities. We also encourage projects that are interdisciplinary and combine both quantitative and qualitative research. All applicants (both PIs and Co-PIs) must have a doctorate. In rare circumstances, RSF may consider applications from scholars who do not hold a doctorate but can demonstrate a strong career background that establishes their ability to conduct high-level, peer-reviewed scholarly research.
Funding Amount: Up to $200K
Deadlines: May 3, 2023 (Letter of Inquiry)
Guidelines: https://www.russellsage.org/how-to-apply/application-deadlines
Spencer Foundation
Racial Equity Research Grants
The Racial Equity Research Grants program supports education research projects that will contribute to understanding and ameliorating racial inequality in education. We are interested in funding studies that aim to understand and disrupt the reproduction and deepening of inequality in education, and which seek to (re)imagine and make new forms of equitable education. Thus, we are interested in research projects that seek to envision educational opportunities in a multiplicity of education systems, levels, settings, and developmental ranges and that reach beyond documenting conditions and paradigms that contribute to persistent racial inequalities.
Our goal for this program is to support rigorous, intellectually ambitious, and technically sound research that is relevant to the most pressing questions and compelling opportunities in relation to racial equity in education. In this cycle of funding, we will continue to fund scholarship focused on a range of communities and issues with respect to equity. We encourage proposals from across the methodological spectrum, including qualitative methods, mixed-methods, and quantitative methods. We want to especially encourage proposals that utilize QuantCrit methods, social network analysis, geo-spatial mapping, and other quantitative methods that use critical lenses.
As with other Spencer grant programs, this program is “field-initiated” in that proposal submissions are not required to be developed around a particular research topic, discipline, design, method, or geographic location. We will be accepting applications for projects ranging from one to five years with budgets up to $75,000.
Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-PIs applying for a Racial Equity Research Grant must have an earned doctorate in an academic discipline or professional field, or appropriate experience in an education research-related profession. While graduate students may be part of the research team, they may not be named the PI or Co-PI on the proposal.
Funding Amount: Up to $75K
Deadlines: May 16, 2023 (Intent to Apply)
Guidelines: https://www.spencer.org/grant_types/racial-equity-special-research-grants
Ongoing Deadlines
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Evidence for Action: Innovative Research to Advance Racial Equity
Evidence for Action prioritizes research to evaluate specific interventions (e.g., policies, programs, practices) that have the potential to counteract the harms of structural and systemic racism and improve health, well-being, and equity outcomes. We are concerned both with the direct impacts of structural racism on the health and well-being of people and communities of color (e.g., Black, Latina/o/x, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander people, and other races and ethnicities)—as well as the ways in which racism intersects with other forms of marginalization, such as having low income, being an immigrant, having a disability, or identifying as LGBTQ+ or a gender minority.
This funding is focused on studies about upstream causes of health inequities, such as the systems, structures, laws, policies, norms, and practices that determine the distribution of resources and opportunities, which in turn influence individuals’ options and behaviors. Research should center on the needs and experiences of communities exhibiting the greatest health burdens and be motivated by real-world priorities. It should be able to inform a specific course of action and/or establish beneficial practices, not stop at characterizing or documenting the extent of a problem.
E4A seeks grantees who are deeply committed to conducting rigorous and equitable research and ensuring that their findings are actionable in the real world. In addition to research funding, RWJF also supports grantees with stakeholder engagement, dissemination of findings, and other activities that can enhance their projects’ potential to “move the needle” on health and racial equity. Only through intentional and collaborative efforts to disrupt racism and translate research to action can we hope to build a more just and equitable society and a Culture of Health.
Grant periods are flexible up to 36 months; rare exceptions may be made for projects needing up to 48 months if sufficient justification is provided. Our preference is for projects that produce findings in the near term.
Funding Amount: Varies
Deadline: Rolling
Charles Koch Foundation
Trade Policy Research
The Charles Koch Foundation is pleased to invite proposals for research and related projects that bridge the gap between theory and practice and contribute to contemporary debates around important trade-policy issues. We are especially interested in research related to the topics below.
- Examining the potential impact of China’s mega-initiatives on the United States, such as the Belt and Road Initiative or China’s large-scale investments in Africa. This could be along economic, social, diplomatic, and/or security lines.
- Exploring issues and topics related to U.S-China trade and foreign direct investment and implications for national security.
- Examining how to better protect U.S. intellectual property in China and other markets.
- Exploring the impact of Chinese tech theft and commercial espionage on American businesses.
- Examining the real threat of China as compared to the threat claimed by domestic interest groups, businesses, think tanks, and the media.
- Exploring opportunities for U.S.-China economic cooperation.
- Exploring the role of the WTO in dispute settlement.
- Assessing the historical track record of national industrial policy in the United States.
- Conducting a comparative analysis of countries’ industrial policies, with a focus on possible lessons for the United States.
- Exploring alternative means of achieving the stated goals of national industrial policy, e.g. increasing innovation, productivity growth, unemployment gains, etc.
- Examining the impact and value of Free Trade Agreements, especially in comparison to managed trade agreements.
- Presenting solutions to any concentrated costs that may be caused by Free Trade Agreements.
Funding Amount: Varies
Deadline: Rolling
Guidelines: https://charleskochfoundation.org/grants/trade-policy-research/
Smith Richardson Foundation
Domestic Public Policy Program
The mission of the Smith Richardson Foundation is to contribute to important public debates and to address serious public policy challenges facing the United States. The foundation seeks to help ensure the vitality of our social, economic, and governmental institutions. It also seeks to assist with the development of effective policies to compete internationally and to advance U.S. interests and values abroad. The Domestic Public Policy Program supports projects that will help the public and policy makers understand and address critical challenges facing the United States. To that end, the foundation supports research on and the evaluation of existing public policies and programs, as well as projects that inject new ideas into public debates.
Funding Amount: Varies
Deadline: Concept papers accepted anytime
Guidelines: https://www.srf.org/programs/domestic-public-policy/
Simons Foundation
Targeted Grants in Mathematics and Physical Sciences
The Simons Foundation’s Mathematics and Physical Sciences (MPS) division invites applications for its new Targeted Grants in MPS program. The program is intended to support high-risk projects of exceptional promise and scientific importance on a case-by-case basis. A typical Targeted Grant in MPS provides funding for up to five years. The funding provided is flexible and based on the type of support requested in the proposal. Indirect costs are limited to 20% of direct costs, with the following exceptions: equipment, tuition, and any subcontracts with budgets, including indirect expenses. Indirect costs paid to a subcontractor may not exceed 20% of the direct costs paid to the subcontractor. Expenses for experiments, equipment, or computations, as well as for personnel and travel, are allowable. Applications may be submitted by established U.S. and foreign public and private educational institutions and stand-alone research centers.
Funding Amount: Varies
Deadline: Letter of Inquiry accepted anytime
Limited Programs:
Please note: For reference only; deadline has passed
2022 Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program Competition
Limited submission program for sabbatical-eligible faculty (see eligibility) - a university-wide internal nomination process is required. The fellowships of $200,000 each enable recipients to take sabbaticals of one or two years from their institution to focus on research and writing.
Award Purpose:
The Carnegie Fellows Program supports high-caliber scholarship in the social sciences and humanities by enabling extraordinary senior or junior scholars, journalists, and public intellectuals to pursue research on pressing issues and cultural transitions, facing us at home and abroad. Institutions are encouraged to nominate those “whose proposals incorporate, among other elements, historical precedents, cultural underpinnings, and moral arguments.”
2022 topics:
Candidates should be proposing work on one of the following topics (additional information available here)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/k266ps4mxaxu21b/AC%20Fellows%20Topics%202021.pdf?dl=
- Global connections and global ruptures
- Strengthening U.S. democracy and exploring new narratives
- Environments, natural and human
- Technological and cultural creativity—potential and perils
# of nominations:
Two nominations are permitted from each university: one junior scholar and one senior scholar. (See eligibility below)
Timeline:
Internal university deadline: Fri., Oct. 29, 2021, 5:00 pm (see the internal nomination process below)
The nominee(s) selected to represent Stanford will be notified: Fri., Nov. 5, 2021
Sponsor’s deadline: Nov. 22, 2021
Fellows announced: April 2022
Start of the fellowship: by September 1, 2022
Guidelines:
https://www.carnegie.org/news/articles/andrew-carnegie-fellows-2022/
Eligibility:
- Senior, junior, and emerging scholars; journalists; and public intellectuals
- A “junior” scholar (sabbatical-eligible faculty) will have received the PhD (or terminal degree in the field) ten years ago or fewer (2011-2021). A junior scholar may hold any title, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor. The junior status is determined by the year his/her degree was earned.
- A “senior” scholar (sabbatical-eligible faculty) is more than ten years out from the PhD or terminal degree
- U.S. citizenship or permanent U.S. residency status
- See the award terms below.
Award terms
- Fellowships of $200,000 each, enabling recipients to take sabbaticals of one or two years from their institution to focus on research and writing. Fellowships may be used for such expenses as salary, fringe benefits, project-related travel, research assistants, and translators. No indirects are provided to the university.
- While the fellowship can be paid directly to the individual or through the home institution, Stanford highly recommends that it be paid to the individual. (Please consult your financial advisor and department manager on tax implications, benefits, contributions, etc.)
- Carnegie does not fund dissertations, debt repayments, lobbying efforts, the purchase of equipment, or rent.
- In accepting the nomination, candidates are affirming that, if chosen for the fellowship, s/he will accept the fellowship.
- Recipients may not accept other fellowships in addition to the Carnegie fellowship for the same time period.
Carnegie’s Selection Criteria and Process:
- Originality and promise of the idea, as it relates to the four program topics
- Quality of the proposal
- Potential impact on the field
- Record of the nominee
- Plans to communicate findings to a broad audience
- Carnegie’s selection process will consist of two stages. First, anonymous, nationally prominent experts in various fields will conduct a preliminary evaluation of nominees’ proposals. Then the top proposals will be forwarded to the members of the jury for their scrutiny and ultimate decision.
STANFORD NOMINATION SELECTION PROCESS:
By Fri., Oct. 29, 2021 5:00pm please send one PDF file containing the following in the order listed below via email attachment to:
Amanda Reilly
Associate Director
University Corporate and Foundation Relations
650-498-7726
File name: Last Name_Carnegie.pdf
1) Title page
2022 Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program
Name of nominee
Nominee Scholar Category: junior or senior
Title
Department
Email address, phone number
2) Nomination letter from your Department Chair or Dean printed on department letterhead and addressed to the Carnegie Fellows Program Review committee which provides a brief description of the candidate’s qualifications and potential, and how his or her contributions will address pressing issues and cultural shifts affecting us at home and abroad. (This letter is for internal review only.)
3) Internal Application materials
- 3-5 page prospectus describing the project, including a projected work plan and approximate time frame. The prospectus should be double-spaced and set at a minimum 12-point font. NB: jurors will not read any prospectus beyond the five-page limit (footnotes and bibliography excepted).
- CV
- Budget in Carnegie’s format: Carnegie’s budget template and instructions are located here
https://www.carnegie.org/news/articles/andrew-carnegie-fellows-2022/
Selection Process
A committee appointed by the Provost will review applications and select up to two nominees. Applicants will be notified by Nov. 5. The selected nominee(s) will then be asked to provide additional materials (1-page summary of the prospectus, a description of the project in 75 words or fewer, 1-page summary of the CV [bulleted form], a short narrative biography (250-400 words), relevant social media links, and a high-resolution photo). The University Corporate and Foundation Relations office will help assemble and submit the application by November 22, including the necessary institutional letter of nomination.
Please click here for limited program announcements