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 Deadlines:
Ploughshares Fund
Grants to Build a Nuclear Weapons-Free World
Ploughshares Fund supports organizations and individuals working to build a safe, secure, nuclear weapons-free world. In line with Ploughshares Fund’s organizational goals and priorities, our grantmaking and programmatic activities are focused on the following areas:
Near-term Steps: Drive policies and activities that help eliminate nuclear threats or address regional conflicts. This category will fund projects that support necessary near-term steps to: address the nuclear implications of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine (in particular, preventing the war from entrenching a narrative that nuclear weapons keep us safe); reverse modernization trends (with an emphasis on the cancellation/retiring of unnecessary and expensive weapons systems, like the B-83 bomb or the proposed Sea-Launched-Cruise Missile); advance arms control and diplomacy (in particular, maintaining the political space for future arms control efforts between the United States, Russia, and other nuclear states, when appropriate); and resolve related regional conflicts. In some cases, projects may focus on specific policy steps essential to long-term change. In other cases, projects may involve specific regional focuses with nuclear intersections. Among other goals, this funding area aims to support a broad emphasis on diplomacy-first foreign policy and an increase in the number and influence of voices—both civil society and political – that advance our mission.
Strengthened Community: Create a stronger, more resilient nuclear field. Advances in nuclear policy require sustained and focused attention from our community and the public to create the pressure and options to reduce and eliminate nuclear threats and build a more peaceful world. This area of funding will support the core organizations and individuals that the nuclear field needs to make a policy and cultural impact in both the short and long terms. It will also include targeted interventions—such as fellowships, diversity and leadership initiatives, and training in forecasting and systems thinking—that will help increase the nuclear field’s capacity and allow it to thrive. The goal is to build a nimbler, stronger community of advocates, scholars, and creative thinkers that will effect change in policy and partner with other movements.
Shared Purpose: Build new partnerships with intersecting issues. To make nuclear weapons politically and culturally noteworthy and at the forefront of public consciousness, we must build active partnerships across issue areas. The goal of this funding area is to develop a power base and generate public pressure for policy change by aligning with other social justice movements and calling attention to the interlinkages between their issues and nuclear topics. Through this portfolio, we aim to effectively message, organize, and establish frameworks around these intersections—in particular, climate change and racial justice—and collaborate with partners outside of the nuclear field.
Bold Futures: Support transformational thinking and activities. There is an urgent need for transformational thinking and activities in the nuclear arms control and policy community. For years, the field has been stuck in status quo thinking that focuses exclusively on immediate policy challenges and ignores the need for long-term planning. While a focus on incremental policy disputes is sometimes necessary, occasional successes have not prevented an overall regression in nuclear weapons policy. In essence, our community is winning some battles but losing the war. Weapons spending is up, and hawkish policies are dominant. Accordingly, this funding area addresses a major gap in the community’s efforts and identifies and fosters transformational approaches to reducing nuclear risks, allowing for the creation of more favorable terrain for major change over the long term. Investments here will support the visions, coalitions, and projects that can fundamentally challenge the nuclear policy status quo. At its core, this funding area will prioritize bold experimentation that will bring us closer to a world free of the nuclear threat.
Ploughshares Fund is unique in that we place very few restrictions on our grantmaking:
- There are no geographical limitations on our grants.
- We are able to fund direct lobbying programs.
- We make grants to individuals.
- We encourage women and people from diverse communities to apply.
Please note that we do not fund the production of films, videos, books, art projects, provide scholarships or the research and writing of academic dissertations.
Funding amount: Varies
Deadline: March 5, 2024
Guidelines: https://www.ploughshares.org/what-we-fund/applying-grant
April Deadlines:
Breakthrough Prize Foundation
2025 Breakthrough Prizes in Fundamental Physics, Life Sciences, and Mathematics
The Breakthrough Prize Foundation is accepting nominations for the 2025 Breakthrough Prizes in Fundamental Physics, Life Sciences, and Mathematics. For the 13th year, the Breakthrough Prize, recognized as the world’s largest science prize, will honor top scientists, handing out three prizes in Life Sciences, one in Fundamental Physics and one in Mathematics. Each prize comes with a $3 million award. In addition, six New Horizons Prizes, each for $100,000, will be available to promising early-career researchers in the fields of Physics and Mathematics. Nominations will also be taken for the Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize, three annual $50,000 awards presented to early-career women mathematicians who have completed their PhDs within the previous two years.
The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics ($3M) will recognize an individual or individuals who have made profound contributions to human knowledge. It is open to theoretical and experimental physicists. The prize can be shared among any number of scientists. Nominations are also open for the New Horizons in Physics Prize, which will include up to three $100,000 awards for early-career researchers who have already produced important work in their fields. The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences ($3M) honors transformative advances toward understanding living systems and extending human life. One of the prizes is designated for progress in understanding of Parkinson’s disease or other neurodegenerative disorders. The Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics ($3M) will be awarded to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the field of mathematics. Nominations are also open for the New Horizons in Mathematics Prize, which will include up to three $100,000 awards for early-career researchers who have already produced important work in their fields. In addition, up to three $50,000 Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prizes will be presented to early-career women mathematicians who have completed their PhDs within the previous two years (2019, 2020). While self-nominations are prohibited, anyone may nominate another person.
Funding amount: $3M (Breakthrough Prize); $100K (New Horizons Prize); $50K (New Frontiers Prize)
Deadline: April 1, 2024
Guidelines: https://breakthroughprize.org/News/85
Schmidt Sciences
Virtual Institute for the Carbon Cycle (VICC)
Schmidt Sciences’ Virtual Institute for the Carbon Cycle (VICC) is seeking expressions of Intent for new projects.
Program Background
The Virtual Institute for the Carbon Cycle (VICC) is an initiative of Schmidt Sciences to support transformational research that tackles knowledge gaps and reduces uncertainty in carbon cycle science on time scales that are relevant for informing effective climate policy and enabling solutions.
VICC is soliciting short expressions of intent (EOIs) for projects of up to $10 million over 5 years which target carbon cycle research that improves planning and evaluation of atmospheric carbon reduction strategies, taking into account feedbacks from the Earth system. Through VICC, we aim to support several multidisciplinary and international teams of researchers by providing sustained funding and networking support to pursue research with revolutionary promise.
Our Mission
The mission of VICC is to support the research required to close the global carbon budget, including quantifying all sources and sinks in the various global reservoirs (atmosphere, terrestrial biosphere including plants and soils, surface and deep ocean) as well as quantifying fluxes between them, to within an accuracy of 0.1 GtC/yr globally (10x more accurate than the 1 GtC/yr uncertainty today). We also aim to achieve corresponding improvements in accuracy on regional (e.g. ecosystem or basin) to continental spatial scales on sub-annual timescales, the scales most relevant to policy implementation and verification.
By reducing the uncertainty as described above, we expect two crucial outcomes to emerge from the projects funded by VICC. First, this research will enable future projections of atmospheric carbon on time horizons ranging from near real-time to several decades, and provide a better basis for anticipating and preparing for unexpected changes to carbon stocks and flows resulting from feedbacks with the climate system. Second, VICC-funded projects will enable the interpretation of current and proposed policies for carbon dioxide reduction on policy-relevant timescales (for instance, to be responsive to the UN Global Stocktake). The research may include theory, models, observations, and conceptual and methodological advances.
VICC is one initiative within the larger Schmidt Sciences climate portfolio, along with the Virtual Earth System Research Institute (VESRI) and the Ocean Biogeochemistry Virtual Institute (OBVI). The climate portfolio may expand further to include initiatives focused on freshwater, energy systems modeling, and AI emulator research for climate and energy models. One of the shared goals of these initiatives is to advance the fundamental science required for decarbonization planning, implementation and evaluation. We will foster communication and collaboration across all funded projects in the climate portfolio in service of this ultimate goal. To that end, projects funded by VICC will be expected to regularly engage with other initiatives in the climate portfolio, including via sharing data, participating at collaborative in-person meetings, and assisting with efforts to align projects along shared objectives.
Expressions of Intent (EOI)
We are seeking brief (2 page) expressions of intent (EOIs) for research projects that address knowledge gaps and uncertainty reduction in carbon cycle science on time scales that are relevant for informing effective climate policy and enabling solutions. Select EOIs will then be invited to submit a full proposal. EOI submissions must explain how the proposed methodological advances, novel observations or use of observations, or advances in modeling or theory will enable progress towards improved understanding of the carbon cycle. Submissions must also indicate how this improved understanding will be useful, demonstrating relevance for designing policy and industry action and/or for evaluating the outcomes of those actions.
Submissions must be grounded in one or more of the following scientific themes:
- Understanding the current fate of anthropogenic emissions in time and space, improving the accuracy of the global carbon budget by an order of magnitude. Projects under this theme could address any combination of land, ocean, and atmospheric components, including partitioning among reservoirs and their spatial and temporal variability, as well as feedbacks. Examples of specific topics could include:
- Understanding the carbon cycle on timescales relevant to a policy attribution framework and enabling robust distinction between the natural and anthropogenic components of the carbon cycle. Examples of specific topics could include:
- Understanding the future of the land and ocean carbon sources and sinks in a changing climate on decadal to centennial timescales, including evaluating the potential for surprises and abrupt change. Examples of specific topics could include:
Funding amount: Up to $10M
Deadline: April 11, 2024
Guidelines: https://schmidtsciences.smapply.io/prog/virtual_institute_for_the_carbon_cycle_vicc/
Whitehall Foundation
Grant Programs
The Whitehall Foundation, through its program of grants and grants-in-aid, assists scholarly research in the life sciences. Research grants are available to established scientists of all ages working at accredited institutions in the United States. The Grants-in-Aid program is designed for researchers at the assistant professor level who experience difficulty in competing for research funds because they have not yet become firmly established. Grants-in-Aid can also be made to senior scientists. The Foundation is currently interested in basic research in neurobiology, defined as follows: Invertebrate and vertebrate (excluding clinical) neurobiology, specifically investigations of neural mechanisms involved in sensory, motor, and other complex functions of the whole organism as these relate to behavior. The overall goal should be to better understand behavioral output or brain mechanisms of behavior. The Foundation does not support research focused primarily on disease(s) unless it will also provide insights into normal functioning. The principal investigator must hold no less than the position of assistant professor, or the equivalent, in order to participate in the application process. The applicant need not be in a tenure track position but must be an independent researcher and have Principal Investigator status at his/her institution, usually construed as having lab space independent of another Principal Investigator.
Funding amount: $100K/yr for up to 3 years (Research grants); Up to $30K (Grants-in-Aid)
Deadline: April 15, 2024 (Letter of Intent)
Guidelines: http://www.whitehall.org/grants/
Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Climate Change and Human Health Seed Grants
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund aims to stimulate the growth of new connections between thinkers working in largely disconnected fields who might together change the course of climate change’s impact on human health. In the three years between Fall 2023 and Summer 2026, we will dedicate $1M to supporting small, early stage grants of $2,500–$50,000 toward achieving this goal.
We are particularly but not exclusively interested in activities that build connections between basic/early biomedical scientific approaches and ecological, environmental, geological, geographic, and planetary-scale thinking, as well as with population-focused fields including epidemiology and public health, demography, economics, and urban planning. Also of interest is work piloting new approaches or new interactions toward reducing the impact of health-centered activities, for example, developing more sustainable systems for health care, care delivery, and biomedical research systems. Another area of interest is preparation for the impacts of extreme weather and other crises that can drive large scale disruptions that will immediately impact human health and delivery of health care. Public outreach, climate communication, and education efforts focused on the intersection of climate and health are also appropriate for this call.
This program supports work conceived through many kinds of creative thinking. Successful applicants include not only academic scientists, physicians, and public health experts, but also community organizations, science outreach centers, non-biomedical academic departments, and more.
Applications must be submitted by non-profit organizations or degree-granting institutions in the United States or Canada. Applicant organizations may submit multiple proposals, but an individual may only serve as a principal investigator/project director on one application during each review period.
This call focuses on developing partnerships. Proposals from single institutions must develop partnerships that do not already occur naturally: for example, proposals from departments that draw students from the same shared graduate program are not responsive to this call. Proposals from more than one institution are responsive. Academic institutions, professional societies, and advocacy organizations are only a few of the appropriate drivers of proposals. Only non-profit institutions may be supported by BWF’s award, but non-profits may involve for profit organizations in their proposals. This program does not support biomedical research projects proposed by individual investigators, but only by collaborative teams.
Funding amount: Up to $50K
Deadline: April 25, 2024
Spencer Foundation
Small Research Grants on Education Program
The Small Research Grants on Education 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. Eligible investigators may also request additional supplemental funds for a course release. We accept applications three times per year. This program is “field-initiated” in that proposal submissions are not in response to a specific request for a particular research topic, discipline, design, or method. 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 seek to support scholarship that develops new foundational knowledge that may have a lasting impact on educational discourse.
We recognize that learning occurs across the life course as well as across settings—from the classroom to the workplace, to family and community contexts and even onto the playing field—any of which may, in the right circumstance, provide the basis for rewarding study that makes significant contributions to the field. We value work that fosters creative and open-minded scholarship, engages in deep inquiry, and examines robust questions related to education. To this end, this program supports proposals from multiple disciplinary and methodological perspectives, both domestically and internationally, from scholars at various stages in their career. 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, computational modeling, 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
Deadline: April 30, 2024
Guidelines: https://www.spencer.org/grant_types/small-research-grant
May Deadlines:
Retirement Research Foundation
Grantmaking Program
The Retirement Research Foundation (RRF) focuses on improving the quality of life for older people. In an effort to strengthen the Foundation’s impact, RRF has established Priority Areas. These Priority Areas are specific topics in aging that will be given higher priority within the Foundation’s grantmaking program.
- Caregiving: Ensuring that caregivers are informed, well-trained, and supported, while providing care to older people in community settings.
- Economic Security in Later Life: Valuing the dignity of older people through efforts that ensure and protect their economic security and well-being.
- Housing: Promoting efforts that make housing more affordable and provide coordinated services that enable older people to live safely in community settings.
- Social and Intergenerational Connectedness: Strengthening social bonds through efforts that promote meaningful connections, including those that span generations.
Each priority area will afford an opportunity for RRF to fund innovative and effective projects that support the ability of older people to live fully in community settings. Within these areas, RRF will continue to award grants involving advocacy, direct service, professional education and training, research, and organizational capacity building. While the priority areas reflect RRF’s primary funding interests, we will remain open to considering compelling applications addressing other topics on a limited basis.
Funding amount: Varies (approx. range $20K-$200K)
Deadline: May 1, 2024 (Letters of Inquiry)
Guidelines: https://www.rrf.org/apply-for-a-grant/
William T. Grant Foundation
Research Grants on Reducing Inequality and Research Grants on Improving the Use of Research Evidence
Research grants on reducing inequality fund research studies that aim to build, test, or increase understanding of programs, policies, or practices to reduce inequality in the academic, social, behavioral, or economic outcomes of young people ages 5-25 in the United States. We prioritize studies that aim to reduce inequalities that exist along dimensions of race, ethnicity, economic standing, language minority status, or immigrant origins.
Our research interests center on studies that examine ways to reduce inequality in youth outcomes. We welcome descriptive studies that clarify mechanisms for reducing inequality or elucidate how or why a specific program, policy, or practice operates to reduce inequality. We also welcome intervention studies that examine attempts to reduce inequality. Finally, we welcome studies that improve the measurement of inequality in ways that can enhance the work of researchers, practitioners, or policymakers.
Research grants on improving the use of research evidence fund research studies that advance theory and build empirical knowledge on ways to improve the use of research evidence by policymakers, agency leaders, organizational managers, intermediaries, and other decision-makers that shape youth-serving systems in the United States.
This program supports research on strategies focused on improving the use, usefulness, and impact of evidence in ways that benefit young people ages 5-25 in the United States. We welcome impact studies that test strategies for improving research use as well as whether improving research use leads to improved youth outcomes. We also welcome descriptive studies that reveal the strategies, mechanisms, or conditions for improving research use. Finally, we welcome measurement studies that explore how to construct and implement valid and reliable measures of research use.
We are particularly interested in research on ways to improve the use of research evidence by state and local policymakers, mid-level managers, and intermediaries. These decision-makers play important roles in deciding which programs, practices, and tools to adopt; deliberating ways to improve existing services; shaping the conditions for implementation; and making resource allocation decisions.
We invite studies from a range of disciplines, fields, and methods, and we encourage investigations into various youth-serving systems, including justice, housing, child welfare, mental health, and education.
Funding amount: $100K-$600K (Research grants on reducing inequality); $100K-$1M (Research grants on improving the use of research evidence)
Deadline: May 1, 2024
Guidelines: https://wtgrantfoundation.org/funding#current-opportunities
Nasdaq Foundation
Quarterly Grant Program
Established in 1994, the Nasdaq Foundation works to connect business, capital and innovative ideas to advance global economies and local communities to champion diversity in investor engagement. Driven by Nasdaq's Purpose to advance economic progress for all, the Foundation works with organizations that promote and support under-resourced communities by reimagining investor engagement and equipping communities with the financial knowledge needed to share in the wealth that markets create. The Quarterly Grant Program allows us to move nimbly to fund and help scale programs that align with the Foundation's mission.
Program Criteria
1. Empower organizations that equip diverse investors with the financial knowledge and confidence they need to share in the wealth that markets can create. Grants will be given in this area to organizations and programs which deliver impact in one or more of the following ways:
· Enhancing financial literacy among women and under-represented communities
· Improving access to knowledge and tools among women and under-represented communities
2. Support entrepreneurs who promote diversity with the resources to strengthen and scale those businesses and contribute to the prosperity of society. Grants will be given in this area to organizations and programs which deliver impact in one or more of the following ways:
· Equipping women and diverse founders with mentoring and resources
· Improving access to capital for women and diverse founders
There is no set minimum or maximum grant amount, though the average size of a grant made by the Foundation is $75,000. Reasonable overhead costs may be included in the grant request but must be specified. There is no limit as to the number of proposals a single entity may submit at one time.
Funding amount: $75K average
Deadline: May 10, 2024
Guidelines: https://www.nasdaq.com/nasdaq-foundation/grant-program
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 Racial Equity proposals that focus on the following areas: (1) innovative forms of measurement and assessment, (2) artificial intelligence (AI), and (3) current political challenges in k-12 and higher education around diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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. 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
Deadline: May 29, 2024
Guidelines: https://www.spencer.org/grant_types/racial-equity-special-research-grants
June Deadlines:
Arnold Ventures
Building Evidence: Support for Causal Studies to Evaluate Social Programs and Policies
Arnold Ventures’ (AV) Evidence and Evaluation team aims to identify, evaluate, and scale evidence-based solutions targeting the nation’s most pressing social problems. This Request for Proposals (RFP) aims to bolster the knowledge base about potentially effective policies, programs, and interventions by funding researchers to conduct rigorous, causal research that aligns with key AV policy areas, including higher education, infrastructure, contraceptive choice and access, and public finance.
· Higher Education: The Higher Education initiative seeks to identify and scale effective practices that improve student success and address equity gaps in higher education outcomes. Projects responding to this RFP will help build credible evidence about ‘what works’ to improve student success outcomes, including but not limited to student learning, persistence, degree or certificate completion, job placement, post-college earnings, and debt burden.
· Infrastructure: The Infrastructure initiative supports research, policy development, and advocacy aimed at bolstering U.S. capacity to build infrastructure – including housing, transportation, climate and clean energy infrastructure – faster, better, and at a lower cost. Projects responding to this RFP will expand the knowledge base of ‘what works’ when building infrastructure in the United States at any level of government. This initiative is particularly interested in using rigorous research to address cross-cutting challenges, such as supply-side bottlenecks, accelerating the permitting process, and improving state capacity.
· Contraceptive Choice and Access: The Contraceptive Choice and Access initiative aims to close the gaps in contraceptive affordability and access via research, policy reform, and implementation. Projects responding to this RFP will evaluate existing policies’ impacts on contraceptive access and identify barriers to care at the state and federal levels. This initiative is most interested in policies targeting contraceptive availability, including contraceptive coverage standards; payment reform; healthcare workforce and staffing issues; expansion of delivery channels (over the counter, pharmacist prescribed, telehealth); and expansion of Medicaid and state funded family care programs.
· Public Finance: The Public Finance initiative seeks to advance tax and budget policies that both promote fiscal stability in government and advance Americans’ economic opportunity, mobility, and security. Specific areas of interest include place-based policies, such as opportunity zones, benefits programs, and federal or state-level policies encouraging economic development within a community. Broadly, projects under this RFP will help us answer the question “how are tax and benefit policies improving people’s lives?”
Causal research employing strong, quasi-experimental methods are a critical component of the evidence-building process and are important for increasing the knowledge base for decision-makers and stakeholders. Examples of causal research methods include natural experiments, regression discontinuity, difference-in-differences, and instrumental variable designs.
Funding amount: Varies
Deadline: June 1, 2024 (Letters of Interest)
Guidelines: https://craftmediabucket.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/PDFs/AVEE_BuildingEvidenceRFP_Final.pdf
Kavli Foundation
Societal Considerations for Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems Research
The Kavli Foundation seeks to fund projects that will advance understanding of the societal considerations related to the emerging scientific area of Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems (NCE). This work should explore how an evolving research agenda in NCE might incorporate societal and civic considerations. Work may take the form of new scholarship (e.g., science and technology studies, philosophy, or other disciplines), or other activities by scientists, scholars, or practitioners.
The Kavli Foundation recently launched an initiative to support research in Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems, including an associated co-funding opportunity with the National Science Foundation. This emerging scientific area provides a unique opportunity to examine neural adaptation and resilience within a societally relevant context. As the emergence of the topic itself is driven by human activity and exists in the context of important societal considerations, it is salient and timely to consider questions, impacts, and priorities of society and publics together with the science itself.
Funding efforts to date have supported fundamental neuroscience research investigating how neural processes demonstrate resilience to, or are impacted by, changing environments at the cell, molecular or circuit level. Given ongoing, accelerating change throughout the world, understanding how humans and animals respond to change is a critical component for understanding how we adapt, evolve, and survive. In particular, recent rapid, anthropogenic environmental changes are pushing the boundaries of neural systems’ ability to adapt. Current work (see References here) seeks to understand how nervous systems respond to human-generated environmental disruptions, such as chemical and sensory pollution, habitat depletion, and changing climates.
The Kavli Foundation is seeking to identify, explore, and/or understand key societal perspectives related to Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems, that can influence the development of the research agenda or identify areas that require further study. This could include work to identify key societal issues or create a framework for how these societal implications would be considered or addressed. The foundation will prioritize funding projects that take a field-wide view. Projects that do not take a similarly broad approach will be considered if the work proposed has the potential to influence research directions, for example, through a collaboration with neurobiology and changing ecosystems researchers. Funds will be used to support projects that identify or carry out scholarship or other efforts that advance the understanding of the societal issues in this field.
Funding amount: Up to $150K
Deadline: June 3, 2024
September Deadlines:
Kavli Foundation and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)
Neurobiology in Changing Ecosystems (NiCE)
The Kavli Foundation and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) invite applications for the new Neurobiology in Changing Ecosystems (NiCE) grant program. Research in this emerging field has great potential to reveal novel scientific insights that will accelerate understanding of basic biology in neural adaptation and resilience at the molecular, biophysical, cellular, and circuit levels. Opportunities for investigation of neurobiology and changing ecosystems specifically cover modulatory, homeostatic, adaptive, and/or evolutionary mechanisms that impact neurophysiology in response to anthropogenic environmental influence. Proposals should emphasize interdisciplinary collaborations and integrate diverse methodologies, including environmental monitoring techniques, behavioral and physiological experiments, ecological and evolutionary modeling, combined with traditional approaches in neuroscience investigation.
NiCE proposals should explicitly address the following three criteria:
- The importance, extent, or urgency of the anthropogenic environmental change being investigated.
- The relationship between the neural mechanisms under investigation and the organism's fitness in the changing environment.
- How the results of the project will inform or predict resilience in related neural mechanisms, organisms, or environments.
Funding amount: Varies
Deadline: September 30, 2024
Guidelines: The Kavli Foundation partners with NSF to fund… | Kavli Foundation; Dear Colleague Letter: Neurobiology in Changing Ecosystems (NiCE) (nsf24044) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation
Ongoing Deadlines
Arnold Ventures
Causal Research on Community Safety and the Criminal Justice System
Arnold Ventures (AV) is a nonpartisan philanthropy whose core mission is to invest in evidence-based solutions that maximize opportunity and minimize injustice. AV focuses on correcting system failures in the United States through evidence-based solutions. AVs’ Criminal Justice Initiative seeks to generate new evidence to inform policies that will make communities safer and make the criminal justice system more fair and effective. This Request for Proposals (RFP) from the Criminal Justice Initiative (CJI) seeks letters of interest to conduct causal research projects of policies, practices, and interventions related to community safety and the criminal justice system.
To be eligible to submit through this funding opportunity, research projects must adhere to the following criteria:
· Propose a strong causal research design, which can reliably and validly isolate the treatment effect of a policy, practice, or intervention. Examples of such research designs include difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity, instrumental variable, and randomization.
· The policy, practice, or intervention being tested is in the United States.
· Outcomes include measures of real-world behaviors (such as crime rates or criminal justice involvement), as opposed to measures collected in a controlled lab setting or measures of perceptions. Submissions are welcome across all issues of crime and criminal justice that meet the above criteria. The ultimate goal of this RFP is to build credible evidence on policies, practices, and interventions that can improve crime and justice system outcomes and grow the number of policies and practices rigorously shown to produce improvements in community safety and to make the justice system fairer and more effective.
Arnold Ventures anticipates that project budgets will depend on a variety of factors, including the complexity of the data acquisition and analysis plans, the number of study sites, and the study timeline. While there is no budget ceiling or fixed period of performance for applications received under this RFP, we expect to support projects that align with a typical CJI research project that has a 3-4 year period of performance and a median budget of $500,000.
We will prioritize studies that:
• Focus on interventions where there is a clear path to federal and/or state policy adoption or implementation. Is there a state or federal policy lever available to scale this intervention?
• Outcomes are measured using administrative data, where they exist.
• Align with the CJI’s priority research areas: reducing violent crime; reducing unnecessary use of force or arrests by police; facilitating police investigations and increasing clearance rates; effects of alternative models of police/crisis response; reducing intimate partner violence; prosecutor-initiated resentencing; improving pretrial outcomes; strategies to improve the quality of public defense; improving community supervision outcomes; effects of prison oversight; effects of policy changes related to fines and fees or the payment of court debt; effects of record clearance/expungement policies; effects of sentencing reforms; projects using Criminal Justice Administrative Records (CJARS) data to measure effects of interventions on people with criminal records.
• Are led by researchers who have not previously received funding from Arnold Ventures as the primary or principal investigator, or are early-career/junior researchers (those who received their PhD in the past 6 years). We recognize the need to expand and diversify the pool of researchers doing causal research in the criminal justice space. Thus we strongly encourage researchers who are new to causal research, including those from groups historically underrepresented in the research community – such as researchers of color, women, and justice[1]impacted individuals – to participate in this funding opportunity.
Funding Amount: Varies (anticipated median budget of $500K)
Deadlines: Rolling
Arnold Ventures
Strengthening Evidence: Support for RCTs to Evaluate Social Programs and Policies
Arnold Ventures’ (AV) Evidence and Evaluation team aims to identify, evaluate, and scale evidence-based solutions targeting the nation’s most pressing social problems. One of the strongest tools in the evidence-building toolkit is the randomized controlled trial (RCT). While not applicable to all policy and program contexts, RCTs are often the strongest choice for evaluating social programs because they fairly compare results between a treatment group and a control group, making it clear whether the program or policy truly works. This strong evidence can be important for informing decision-makers and stakeholders to support effective programs.
This Request for Proposals (RFP) aims to build the body of proven, effective policies, programs, and interventions by funding researchers to conduct rigorous RCTs across the spectrum of social policy.
Proposals that demonstrate alignment with AV’s strategic areas of interest, such as higher education, housing, climate, transportation, and public finance, are encouraged. A full list of AV areas of investment can be explored here. (RCTs primarily measuring Criminal Justice outcomes will not be considered under this RFP; for such studies, please see this RFP).
Funding amount: Varies
Deadline: Rolling
Guidelines: https://craftmediabucket.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/PDFs/AVEE_StrengtheningEvidenceRFP_Final.pdf
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