June 2019
Funding Opportunities in the Social Sciences

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Unless otherwise noted, all proposals to funders outside of Harvard must be sent for review to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) five business days prior to the sponsor deadline. We can help you navigate the routing process for your proposal.

Questions? Please contact Paige Belisle, Research Development Officer at [email protected]  or 617-496-7672.

* Indicates opportunities new to the newsletter this month
Internal Opportunities
For a more comprehensive list of Harvard internal funding opportunities, please see  here .
External Opportunities
Non-Federal Opportunities:
Federal Opportunities:
Internal Funding Opportunities
DSSGFellows
Deadline: September 3, 2019 (Spring 2020 Term Courses)
Award Amount: course support (please see details below)

The Digital Teaching Fellows Program aims to facilitate the integration of digital tools and methods into FAS courses, spark innovative digital active learning projects, and foster new patterns of faculty-student interaction. Any course in the FAS that has a primarily undergraduate audience is eligible for the program. Applications must be submitted by the course instructor, and should include a description of how they plan to work with the Digital Teaching Fellows to incorporate digital methods and tools into the course. Benefits of participation include collaborative support for integrating digital methods and tools into the FAS course; support from the  Digital Scholarship Support Group ; and additional Teaching Fellow support.
fhb
Deadline: Last day of February, May, August and November
Award Amount: $40,000 for ladder faculty; $5,000 for doctoral students and post-docs
Eligible Applicants: Harvard University full time doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows, and ladder faculty.

The FHBI provides seed grants to support transformative research in the social and behavioral sciences. Successful proposals will be those that promise to advance understanding of the social, institutional and biological mechanisms shaping human beliefs and behavior. Funds will be used to support interdisciplinary social science research projects based on innovative experimental or observational designs that make use of sophisticated quantitative methods. The Fund also supports seminars, conferences, and other research-related activities.

External Funding Opportunities
NYPLCullman
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: review not required for grants awarded directly to individuals
Sponsor Deadline: September 27, 2019
Award Amount: Stipend of up to $75,000, an office, a computer, and full access to the Library's physical and electronic resources. 

The Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers offers fellowships to people whose work will benefit directly from access to the research collections at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. Renowned for the extraordinary comprehensiveness of its collections, the Library is one of the world's preeminent resources for study in anthropology, art, geography, history, languages and literature, philosophy, politics, popular culture, psychology, religion, sociology, and sports. The Cullman Center's Selection Committee awards up to 15 fellowships a year to outstanding scholars and writers-academics, independent scholars, journalists, and creative writers. The Cullman Center looks for top-quality writing from academics as well as from creative writers and independent scholars. It aims to promote dynamic communication about literature and scholarship at the very highest level-within the Center, in public forums throughout the Library, and in the Fellows' published work. There is no citizenship requirement for this opportunity.
Radcliffe
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: review not required for grants awarded directly to individuals
Sponsor Deadline: September 12, 2019
Award Amount: stipend of $77,500 plus an additional $5,000 to cover project expenses

Radcliffe fellows are exceptional scientists, writers, scholars, public intellectuals, and artists whose work is making a difference in their professional fields and in the larger world. Based in Radcliffe Yard--a sanctuary in the heart of Harvard University--fellows join a uniquely interdisciplinary and creative community. A fellowship at Radcliffe is an opportunity to step away from usual routines and dive deeply into a project. Radcliffe fellows develop new tools and methods, challenge artistic and scholarly conventions, and illuminate our past and our present. Applicants may apply as individuals or in a group of two to three people working on the same project. The following areas--while not exclusive--are of special interest: 
  • Radcliffe supports engaged scholarship. The Institute welcomes applications from scholars and practitioners who connect research to law, policy, pressing social issues, and/or who seek to actively engage audiences beyond academia.
  • Reflecting Radcliffe's unique history, each year some projects focus on women, gender, and society or draw on the Schlesinger Library's rich collections. In 2020-2021, one fellow will be designated a Mellon-Schlesinger fellow, as part of the project commemorating the centennial of the 19th Amendment
Banting
Deadline to Request Harvard Institutional Endorsement: September 9, 2019 by 12:00 PM
Sponsor Deadline: September 18, 2019  
Award Amount: $70,000 per year for two years (taxable)
 
The objective of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Program, offered by the Government of Canada, is to attract and retain top-tier postdoctoral talent, to develop Fellows' leadership potential and to position them for success as research leaders of tomorrow, positively contributing to Canada's economic, social and research-based growth through a research-intensive career. Applications are accepted from all fields in the humanities, social sciences, health research, natural sciences and engineering.
 
This program is open to Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada and non-Canadian citizens. Candidates to be hosted by Harvard must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada who have obtained or will obtain their PhD or equivalent from a Canadian university. Applicants must fulfill or have fulfilled all degree requirements for a PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree between September 15, 2016 and September 30, 2020 (inclusively), and before the start date of their award. Applicants who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada may apply to hold a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship at a Canadian institution. Applicants who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada and who obtained their PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree from a non-Canadian university may also apply to hold a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship at a Canadian institution. The program's full eligibility criteria can be viewed  here.   
 
Please Note: There are no limits to the number of applicants that may apply to the Banting Fellowship opportunity, but those who wish to be hosted by Harvard University must include with their application an Institutional Letter of Endorsement signed by the Vice Provost for Research. To request this endorsement letter, candidates must submit their contact information and a copy of their proposed supervisor's statement here.
CabotFamily
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline for Concept Paper: August 23, 2019 
Sponsor Deadline for Concept Paper: September 1, 2019
Award Amount: $5,000 to $50,000 over a one-year period 
 
Grants are awarded in the areas of arts and culture, education and youth development, environment and conservation, health and human services, and for civic and public benefit. Within these fields, as appropriate, the trustees prefer programs mainly serving youth and young adults, with a special interest in programs focused on insuring the healthy growth and development of infants and young children, as a foundation for their future success. The Trust makes grant awards twice a year to nonprofit organizations in the city of Boston and contiguous communities, as well as to organizations in which Cabot family members maintain philanthropic interest.
JMKaplan
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: August 23, 2019 
Sponsor Deadline: September 1, 2019    
Award Amount: $1,500 - $15,000    

Furthermore grants assist nonfiction books having to do with art, architecture, and design; cultural history, New York City, and related public issues; and conservation and preservation. Grants support work that appeals to an informed general audience, gives evidence of high standards in editing, design, and production, and promises a reasonable shelf life. Funds apply to such specific publication components as writing, research, editing, indexing, design, illustration, photography, and printing and binding.  Book projects to which a university press, nonprofit or trade publisher is already committed and for which there is a feasible distribution plan are usually preferred.

SSRCAbe
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: review not required for grants awarded directly to individuals
Sponsor Deadline: September 1, 2019
Award Amount: The program provides Abe Fellows with a minimum of 3 and maximum of 12 months of full-time support over a 24-month period.

The Abe Fellowship is designed to encourage international multidisciplinary research on topics of pressing global concern. The program seeks to foster the development of a new generation of researchers who are interested in policy-relevant topics of long-range importance and who are willing to become key members of a bilateral and global research network built around such topics. It strives especially to promote a new level of intellectual cooperation between the Japanese and American academic and professional communities committed to and trained for advancing global understanding and problem solving. Applications are welcome from scholars and nonacademic research professionals. The objectives of the program are to foster high quality research in the social sciences and related disciplines, to build new collaborative networks of researchers around the four thematic foci of the program, to bring new data and new data resources to the attention of those researchers, and to obtain from them a commitment to a comparative or transnational line of inquiry. Candidates should propose to spend at least one third of the fellowship tenure in residence abroad in Japan or the United States.This competition is open to citizens of the United States and Japan as well as to nationals of other countries who can demonstrate strong and serious long-term affiliations with research communities in Japan or the United States.
WoodrowKennan
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: review not required for grants awarded directly to individuals  
Sponsor Deadline: September 1, 2019
Award Amount: Monthly stipend of $4,000

The Kennan Institute seeks fellowship applicants from diverse, policy-oriented sectors such as media, business, local government, law, civil society, and academia to examine important political, social, economic, cultural, and historical issues in Russia, Ukraine, and the region. Among the aims of the new fellowships are to build bridges between traditional academia and the policy world, as well as to maintain and increase collaboration among researchers from Russia, Ukraine, the U.S., and around the globe. George F. Kennan Fellows will be based at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. for three-month residencies. Fellows will receive access to the Library of Congress, National Archives, and policy research centers in Washington, D.C., as well as the opportunity to meet with key experts and officials at the State Department, USAID, Department of Defense, and Congress. Applicants have an option to apply for the fellowship as individuals or as part of a team. If applying as a team of two (or three) applicants, the applicants must be citizens of at least two different countries. 
JohnTempleton
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline for Online Funding Inquiry: August 9, 2019 
Sponsor Deadline for Online Funding Inquiry: August 16, 2019 
Award Amount:   up to $234,800 (Small Grants); over $234,800 (Large Grants)

The John Templeton Foundation provides grants under its core funding areas: Science & the Big Questions; Character Virtue Development; Individual Freedom & Free Markets; Exceptional Cognitive Talent & Genius; Genetics; and Voluntary Family Planning. A number of topics--including creativity, freedom, gratitude, love, and purpose--can be found under more than one funding area. The Foundation welcomes proposals that bring together these overlapping elements, especially by combining the tools and approaches of different disciplines. The Foundation generally funds specific projects and favors proposals where the applicant has sought or secured partial funding from other sources. 
SociologicalInitiatives
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline for Short Concept Proposals: August 9, 2019
Sponsor Deadline for Short Concept Proposals: August 16, 2019
Award Amount: $10,000 - $20,000. The Foundation does not support overhead costs. This falls short of the 15% overhead required by FAS/SEAS policy. Please discuss with your grants administrator before preparing an application. 

The Sociological Initiatives Foundation supports social change by linking research to social action. It funds research projects that investigate laws, policies, institutions, regulations, and normative practices that may limit equality in the United States and Puerto Rico. It gives priority to projects that seek to address racism, xenophobia, classism, gender bias, exploitation, or the violation of human rights and freedoms. It also supports research that furthers language learning and behavior and its intersection with social and policy questions. The Foundation supports research that focuses on improving services and systems and increasing positive social and physical conditions through:
  • Policy development
  • Placement and shaping of the policy agenda
  • Policy adoption or implementation
  • Policy blocking
  • Increasing advocacy capacity and political influence
  • Shaping public sentiment
  • Addressing challenges related to language and literacy
Language issues include literacy, language loss and maintenance, language policy, language and national security, bilingualism, language and gender, language and law, language disabilities, language and health, language and education, different language cultures, and second language acquisition.
AmAcademyReligion
AmAcadReligion
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: July 25, 2019 
Sponsor Deadline: August 1, 2019 
Award Amount: $500 - $5,000  

Collaborative grants are intended to stimulate cooperative research among scholars who have a focus on a clearly identified research project. They may also be used for interdisciplinary work with scholars outside the field of religion, especially when such work shows promise of continuing beyond the year funded. Collaborative project proposals are expected to describe plans for having the results of the research published.
Grants can provide funds for networking and communication. Funds may also be used to support small research conferences. Conference proposals will be considered only if they are designed primarily to advance research. Conferences presenting papers that report on previous research will not be considered.  A group must apply through an AAR member designated as the Project Director. Not all participants need to hold AAR membership.  

HRGuggenheim
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: July 25, 2019
Sponsor Deadline: August 1, 2019
Award Amount:  $15,000 to $40,000 per year for periods of one or two years. The Foundation does not support overhead costs. This falls short of the 15% overhead required by FAS/SEAS policy. Please discuss with your grants administrator before preparing an application. 

The foundation welcomes proposals from any of the natural and social sciences and the humanities that promise to increase understanding of the causes, manifestations, and control of violence and aggression. Highest priority is given to research that can increase understanding and amelioration of urgent problems of violence and aggression in the modern world. Questions that interest the foundation concern violence and aggression in relation to social change, intergroup conflict, war, terrorism, crime, and family relationships, among other subjects. Research with no relevance to understanding human problems will not be supported, nor will proposals to investigate urgent social problems where the foundation cannot be assured that useful, sound research can be done. Priority will also be given to areas and methodologies not receiving adequate attention and support from other funding sources.
MacArthur
Sponsor Registration Deadline: July 16, 2019
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: July 30, 2019
Sponsor Application Deadline: August 6, 2019
Award Amount: $100,000,000 over a five-year grant period

100&Change is a MacArthur Foundation competition for a $100 million grant to fund a single proposal in any field that proposes a bold and lasting solution to an urgent, significant problem of our time. Applicants must identify both the problem they are trying to solve, as well as their proposed solution. The MacArthur Foundation seeks projects that are impactful, evidence-based, feasible, and durable. Interested applicants are encouraged to review  the last round's semi-finalists  to get a sense of these qualities. Applicants are also encouraged to review the  Trait Scoring Rubric  that will be used to assess all applications. The  organizational readiness tool  may be utilized to help potential applicants determine their readiness to compete in 100&Change. The program is not intended to support basic or clinical research, or fund tool/technology development, and does not support general operating expenses for established programs.
 
While the 100&Change opportunity does not limit the number of applications that may be submitted from Harvard University, given the scale of funding involved, it is recommended that applicants ensure that their cognizant dean is aware of their intent to apply. Applicants should work with their pre-award office to assemble and submit their proposal. If your team consists of two or more organizations, a fully-executed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) must be submitted in which one organization clearly has control and discretion over the use of the grant funds.

Questions regarding this opportunity may be directed to Jennifer Chow ( [email protected] , 617-496-2170).

LOCKluge
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: review not required for grants awarded directly to individuals
Sponsor Deadline: July 15, 2019 
Award Amount: $5,000 per month for 4-11 months

The Kluge Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. encourages humanistic and social science research that makes use of the Library's large and varied collections. Interdisciplinary and cross-cultural research is particularly welcome in the Kluge Fellowship program. The fellowship is open to scholars in the humanities and social sciences with special consideration given to those whose projects demonstrate relevance to the challenges facing democracies in the 21st century. 

Scholars who have received a terminal advanced degree within the past seven years in the humanities, social sciences, or in a professional field such as architecture or law are eligible. Kluge Fellowships are offered for a period of four to eleven months. Applicants may be U.S. citizens or foreign nationals. 
LeakeyFoundation
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: July 8, 2019
Sponsor Deadline: July 15, 2019
Award Amount: up to $25,000

The mission of The Leakey Foundation is to increase scientific knowledge, education, and public understanding of human origins, evolution, behavior, and survival. The Leakey Foundation exclusively funds research related specifically to human origins. Priority of funding is commonly given to exploratory phases of promising new research projects that meet the stated purpose of the Foundation. Advanced doctoral students (advanced to candidacy - all but dissertation) and established scientists are eligible for Leakey Foundation Research Grants.
USJapanPolicy
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline for Letter of Inquiry: July 8, 2019
Sponsor Deadline for Letter of Inquiry: July 15, 2019
Award Amount Not specified; recent grants have ranged from $5,000-$150,000

The United States-Japan Foundation supports US-Japan policy-related studies, initiatives and exchanges that help address issues of significant mutual concern to the United States and Japan. The Foundation seeks to respond to policy-relevant needs as identified by experts and practitioners in US-Japan policy studies field and is therefore open to innovative projects. Policy projects the Foundation funds:
  • Emphasize research over dialogue
  • Have lasting impact and practical relevance to US-Japan policymakers
  • Encourage growth, education and interaction of younger scholars and policymakers in both countries
  • Disseminate results widely
  • Focus on the long term as opposed to addressing the "issue of the moment." Areas of current interest are:
    • National Interest/Foreign Policy
    • Nationalism/National Identities
    • Energy and the Environment
    • Managing Globalization
    • Understanding Institutions
    • US-Japan Trade and Economic Relations
WorldAntiDoping
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: July 5, 2019
Sponsor Deadline: July 14, 2019
Award Amount: T he Agency is willing to award funding in excess of $100,000 where applications can clearly demonstrate that the research project builds on an established program of research and offers implementable solutions to prevent doping in sport.

Increasing  and enhancing research-led anti- doping education is one of the World Anti-Doping Agency's ( WADA)  strategic priorities. Accordingly,  WADA's Education Committee is  tasked with identifying relevant areas of social science research in the field of anti-doping to inform more effective doping prevention strategies. WADA-supported research requires that clean sport education programs and initiatives are grounded in scientific knowledge and evidence. In particular, proposals are invited for research that specifically measure the effectiveness of existing anti-doping strategies and interventions for athletes and support personnelIt should be noted that proposals that demonstrate partnerships and collaboration between research institutions and anti-doping organizations will be looked upon favorably during the decision-making process. Similarly, interdisciplinary proposals drawing from multiple social science fields (e.g., sociology, psychology, law, economics, and management science) are encouraged. Extra weighting will also be given to projects involving more than one country.
NatGeoHumanJourney
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: July 2, 2019
Sponsor Deadline: July 10, 2019
Award Amount: $10,000 - $30,000

Human Journey focuses on learning more about who we are and what our future will be on this planet. It supports projects in a range of fields that are helping us understand the origins and development of our species; how we modified and adapted to diverse landscapes across the globe; the evolution of cultures and societies; and the current status of and trends in our cultural, linguistic, and genetic diversity. Recognizing that human society is currently out of balance with the natural world, we also seek projects that propose solutions to mitigate this imbalance.  

NatGeoHumanOrigins
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: July 2, 2019
Sponsor Deadline: July 10, 2019
Award Amount:  Typical proposals should request less than $30,000; however, applicants may request up to $50,000 if they are running a field school for students from the region.

The goal of this fund is to encourage further investigation of hominid evolution in Africa and Asia, with preference given to projects in relatively unexplored parts of those continents.Preference will also be given to applicants who are residents or citizens of the country of fieldwork, as well as to projects with strong local capacity development components. Priority will be given to projects that aim to do one or more of the following:   
  • Discover or explore new paleoanthropological fossil sites in Africa or Asia, particularly those in Central and West Africa and those in East, Southeast, South, and Central Asia
  • Design or test new methodologies for discovering or exploring paleoanthropological sites in Africa or Asia
  • Develop local capacity in human origins exploration in Africa or Asia

NIHCMInvestigator
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline for Letter of Inquiry: July 1, 2019
Sponsor Deadline: July 9, 2019
Award Amount: NIHCM Foundation is making approximately $500,000 available and expects to fund 8 to 9 studies from this amount. A maximum of 12% overhead may be charged to the Program Grants. This falls short of the 15% overhead required by FAS/SEAS policy. Please discuss with your grants administrator before preparing an application. 

The  National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation supports innovative investigator-initiated research with high potential to inform improvements to the U.S. health care system. Projects must advance the existing knowledge base in the areas of health care financing, delivery, management and/or policy. I nterested researchers must submit a brief letter of inquiry (LOI) outlining their study idea by 5:00 PM EDT on July 9, 2019. Full letter of inquiry instructions and requirements can be found here.
rsf_visiting
OSP review not required
Sponsor Deadline: June 27, 2019
Award Amount: Scholars are provided with an office at RSF, research assistance, computer and library facilities, and salary support of up to 50 percent of their academic year salary when unavailable from research grants or other sources (up to a maximum of $125,000 for the full term, or $62,500 for half of the full term).

The Russell Sage Foundation's Visiting Scholars Program provides a unique opportunity for select scholars in the social, economic and behavioral sciences to pursue their research and writing while in residence at the Foundation's New York headquarters. Research carried out by Visiting Scholars constitutes an important part of the Foundation's ongoing effort to analyze and understand the complex and shifting nature of social and economic life in the United States. While Visiting Scholars typically work on projects related to the Foundation's current programs, a few scholars whose research falls outside these areas are occasionally invited as well. 

The Foundation annually awards about 17 residential fellowships to social scientists who are at least 3 years beyond the Ph.D. Visiting Scholar positions begin September 1st and ordinarily run through June 30th. On rare occasions, scholars visit for only half this period, starting either in September or in February.
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: review not required for awards made to individuals
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling
Award Information: St ipend of $30,000, a work space, and access to EPIC's Library and research materials.   The typical period for the Scholar in Residence will be a single semester, though longer or shorter periods may be considered.  

The EPIC Scholar in Residence will provide a unique opportunity to pursue work at one of the leading privacy research centers in the world. EPIC, located in Washington, DC, routinely advises Congress, courts, and international organizations about emerging privacy and civil liberties issues. EPIC also litigates significant privacy cases in federal and state courts. The EPIC Library contains several thousand volumes on privacy and related fields, as well as Congressional materials on the development and enactment of US privacy law. EPIC also has an extensive collection of documents, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, concerning government surveillance, monitoring and related programs.  

EPIC encourages applications from post-graduates in law, public policy, and computer science. Terminal degree must be either a J.D. or Ph.D. Mid-career experts in the data protection field are also welcome to apply.  The EPIC Scholar in Residence will be encouraged to participate in the work of EPIC, to meet with outside experts, and to conduct research and writing at EPIC. The expectation is that the individual will produce substantial published work.
OSP review not required for awards made directly to individuals
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount:  PAI is able to provide compensation starting at $6,600/month for Postgraduate and Junior Research Fellows, and compensation starting at $10,000/month for established mid-to-late career Research Fellows and Senior Research Fellows.   Fellowships can last from 6 months to 2 years.

The Partnership on AI (PAI) was jointly created by leading technology companies, civil society organizations, and academic institutions to maximize the benefits and confront the challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The Partnership seeks to study and formulate best practices on AI, advance the public's understanding of AI, and serve as an open platform for discussion and engagement about AI and its influences on people and society. Researchers at PAI's member organizations and in the wider AI community are invited to submit applications for residential fellowships based at the Partnership on AI's San Francisco offices. Three classes of Fellowships are available:
  • Postgraduate Research Fellowships are suitable for candidates who are nearing the end of a PhD or equivalent research degree;
  • Research Fellowships are suitable for early to mid-career candidates, who have a PhD and a demonstrated track record of research and/or technology policy work; or who have more than a PhD equivalent level research, technical or policy experience and output in non-academic settings; and
  • Senior Research Fellowships are suitable for well-established, senior researchers who have led successful labs or research teams or have an extensive track record of research and/or policy work.
Sponsor Deadline:  Rolling
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information:  Grantees will receive r esearch funding up to $50,000 via the SSRC, access to Facebook data via  Social Science One , and peer pre-review services from Social Science One. The first dataset is a database of Facebook URL shares; details about these data, including the codebook, can be found at the Social Science One  Dataverse repository . Awards provide support for up to 12 months.

Proposals for the Social Media and Democracy Research Grants should examine the impact of social media and related digital technologies on democracy and elections, generate insights to inform policy at the intersection of media, technology, and democracy, and advance new avenues for future research. This initiative seeks to study these processes in an independent, transparent, and ethical way according to the highest standards of data privacy and academic research, to improve the lives of all. Applicants must demonstrate the technical and methodological skill base to effectively work with large, complex data sets and a commitment to data privacy.

Federal Funding Opportunities

ONRVannevarBush
Sponsor Registration Deadline (required): August 14, 2019
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline for White Papers (required): August 16, 2019
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals (if invited): January 17, 2020
Award Information: The maximum award with be $3M over 5 years.
 
The Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship (VBFF) program is sponsored by the Basic Research Office, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD (R&E)). VBFF supports innovative basic research within academia, as well as opportunities intended to develop the next generation of scientists and engineers for the defense workforce. This FOA seeks distinguished researchers for the purpose of conducting innovative basic research in areas of interest to the DoD and fostering long-term relationships between the VBFF Fellows and the DoD. VBFF is oriented towards bold and ambitious "blue sky" research that may lead to extraordinary outcomes such as revolutionizing entire disciplines, creating entirely new fields, or disrupting accepted theories and perspectives. Faculty with tenure and full-time research staff with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to conduct the proposed research as the principal investigator (PI) are invited to submit an application. Applicants should have a record of substantial scientific contributions. The PI must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.  This FOA is for single investigator grant proposals for basic research in one or more of the following technical subject categories of interest to the DoD:
  • Engineering Biology
  • Quantum Information Science
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Novel Engineered Materials
  • Applied Mathematics and Computational Science
  • Other fields of research with high potential

NSFRDC
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: September 23, 2019
Sponsor Deadline: September 30, 2019
Award Amount:  Investigators may request up to $100,000 a year over a 1-3 year period to cover start-up costs for new RDCs. NSF programs collectively expect to contribute no more than $300,000 per year to new RDC awards, pending availability of appropriations.

This solicitation invites proposals for the establishment of new Research Data Centers (RDCs). RDCs are secure Census Bureau facilities within which external researchers are given access to confidential micro data in accordance with specific statutory requirements. NSF will provide start-up costs for new RDC facilities. RDCs are expected to engage researchers from across the social, behavioral, and economic sciences. Potential investigators first must contact Census regarding the feasibility of sponsoring an RDC prior to submitting a proposal to NSF. Information about the current RDCs is available at  https://www.census.gov/ces/rdcresearch .  
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: September 19, 2019
Sponsor Deadline: September 26, 2019
Award Information:  $150,000-$1M per year for three to five years. 10-12 awards are anticipated.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is interested in receiving proposals for the  Minerva Research Initiative , a university-led defense social science program seeking fundamental understanding of the social and cultural forces shaping U.S. strategic interests globally. OSD is particularly interested in projects that align with and support the  National Defense Strategy . The Minerva Research Initiative emphasizes questions of strategic importance to U.S. national security policy. It seeks to increase the Department's intellectual capital in the social sciences and improve its ability to address future challenges and build bridges between the Department and the social science community. Minerva brings together universities and other research institutions around the world and supports multidisciplinary and cross-institutional projects addressing specific interest areas determined by the Department of Defense. Proposals will be considered both for single-investigator awards as well as larger teams. Minerva funds basic, not applied, research.
NIH_Transformative
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: September 13, 2019
Sponsor Deadline: September 20, 2019
Award Amount: Application budgets are not limited but should reflect the needs of the proposed project.
 
The NIH Director's Transformative Research Award supports individual scientists or groups of scientists proposing groundbreaking, exceptionally innovative, original, and/or unconventional research with the potential to create new scientific paradigms, establish entirely new and improved clinical approaches, or develop transformative technologies. Applications from individuals with diverse backgrounds and in any topic relevant to the broad mission of NIH are welcome. Little or no preliminary data are expected. Projects must clearly demonstrate the potential to produce a major impact in a broad area of biomedical or behavioral research. 
NIH_Pioneer
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: August 29, 2019
Sponsor Deadline: September 6, 2019
Award Amount: $700,000/year for 5 years
 
The NIH Director's Pioneer Award supports individual scientists of exceptional creativity who propose highly innovative approaches to addressing major challenges in the biomedical or behavioral sciences towards the goal of enhancing human health. Applications proposing research on any topic within the broad mission of NIH are welcome. Emphases are on the qualities of the investigator and the innovativeness and potential impact of the proposed research. Preliminary data and detailed experimental plans are not requested. 
 
To be considered pioneering, the proposed research must reflect substantially different ideas from those being pursued in the investigator's current research program or elsewhere. The Pioneer Award is not intended to expand a current research program into the area of the proposed project. While the research direction may rely on the applicant's prior work and expertise as its foundation, it cannot be an obvious extension or scale-up of a current research enterprise which may be competitive as a new or renewal R01 application. Rather, the proposed project must reflect a fundamental new insight into the potential solution of a problem, which may develop from exceptionally innovative approaches and/or radically unconventional hypotheses. 
NIH_NI
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: August 19, 2019
Sponsor Deadline: August 26, 2019
Award Amount: Up to $1,500,000 over five years
 
The NIH Director's New Innovator Award supports exceptionally creative Early Stage Investigators who propose highly innovative research projects with the potential for unusually high impact. The award is designed specifically to support unusually creative investigators with highly innovative research ideas at an early stage of their career when they may lack the preliminary data required for an R01 grant application. The emphasis is on innovation and creativity; preliminary data are not required, but may be included. No detailed, annual budget is requested in the application. The review process emphasizes the individual's creativity, the innovativeness of the research approaches, and the potential of the project, if successful, to have a significant impact on an important biomedical or behavioral research problem.
 
Applicants must meet the definition of an Early Stage Investigator (ESI) at the time of application. An ESI is a new investigator (defined as a PD/PI who has not competed successfully for a significant NIH independent research award) who is within 10 years of completing his/her terminal research degree or end of post-graduate clinical training.
DODFederalInteragencyBrain
Sponsor Deadline for Letter of Intent: August 7, 2019
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: September 5, 2019
Award Amount: The total costs budgeted for the entire period of performance for an award should not exceed $750,000.

The Psychological Health/Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program (PH/TBIRP) mission is to establish, fund, and integrate both individual and multi-agency research efforts that will lead to improved prevention, detection, and treatment of PH issues and TBI. The vision of the PH/TBIRP is to prevent, mitigate, and treat the effects of traumatic stress and TBI on function, wellness, and overall quality of life for Service members as well as their caregivers and families. The Joint Program Committee-6/Combat Casualty Care Research Program (JPC-6/CCCRP) Neurotrauma Portfolio's mission is focused on closing military-relevant gaps across a broad range of research areas to improve the prevention, diagnosis, management, and treatment of TBI and related sequelae from point of injury through recovery. The goal is to decrease morbidity and mortality from neurotrauma, mitigate secondary brain injury across all TBI severities and all roles of care, advance materiel and knowledge development, and expand and develop clinical guidelines, care algorithms, therapies, devices, and procedures that advance the decision-making capabilities of medical personnel, enabling earlier intervention and improved outcomes.

The JPC-6/CCCRP has identified the following Topics of Interest for funding under the FY19 Federal Interagency Traumatic Brain Injury Research (FITBIR) Analysis Award. Applicants are not restricted to this list and may propose other retrospective studies of FITBIR data that align to the intent of the mechanism. However, funding for the FITBIR Analysis award will only support studies that utilize existing FITBIR data. The FY19 FITBIR Analysis Award Topics of Interest include, but are not limited to:
  • Identification of unique clinical outcomes for civilians and Service members
  • Utilization of FITBIR data to inform clinical practice guidelines for TBI
  • Examination of treatment responders vs. non-responders to better understand the profiles of injury
  • Analysis of how TBI outcomes relate to quality of life, employment, and other psychosocial measures
  • Correlation of injury severity and response to treatment in patients with varying TBI severities (mild, moderate, severe)
  • Exploration of chronic (more than one year post injury) patient characteristics (e.g., psychiatric symptoms, sleep disturbance, cognitive deficits) that suggest particular treatment approaches
  • Definition and analysis of outcomes related to post-concussion syndrome, from weeks, months, or years after injury
  • Determine the best classification parameters for initial injury based on evolving clusters of symptoms or sequelae
  • Correlation of the time between injury and initial treatment with long-term outcomes
  • Correlation of TBI assessment/diagnostic devices with diagnosis and outcomes
  • Analysis of the exacerbation or regression of specific sequelae or symptoms at intermediate and long-term time points
  • Identification of signs and symptoms of neurodegenerative disease during follow-up
  • Generation of data on signs of neurodegenerative disorders that appear during follow-up and  how these signs may affect long-term outcome
  • Exploration of the relationship between intensity of emergency, critical, and acute care to long-term disability
neh_stipend
Harvard Pre-Proposal Deadline: July 8, 2019 by 11:30 PM
Sponsor Deadline (if nominated): September 25, 2019
Award Amount: $6,000 for two consecutive months of full-time research and writing beginning May 2020 or later
 
NEH Summer Stipends support individuals pursuing advanced research that is of value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both. Summer Stipends support continuous full-time work on a humanities project at any stage of development for a period of two months. Summer Stipends normally support work carried out during the summer months, but arrangements can be made for other times of the year. Eligible projects usually result in articles, monographs, books, digital materials and publications, archaeological site reports, translations, or editions. Projects must incorporate analysis and not result solely in the collection of data. NEH funds may support recipients' compensation, travel, and other costs related to the proposed scholarly research.
 
This is a limited submission opportunity. Faculty members who teach full-time at institutions of higher education must be nominated by their institutions to apply for a Summer Stipend. Harvard may nominate two faculty members for this program. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research will conduct the internal competition to select the Harvard nominees. To be considered for the Harvard nomination, potential applicants must submit an internal pre-proposal via the link above.
DODARIFSRU
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: July 5, 2019
Sponsor Deadline: July 12, 2019
Award Amount:  No award floor or ceiling thresholds have been established for individual awards under this BAA.  

This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the Foundational Science Research Unit (FSRU) of the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) solicits new proposals for its fiscal year 2019 program of basic research in behavioral science. ARI is the Army's lead agency for the conduct of research, development, and analyses for the improvement of Army readiness and performance via research advances and applications of the behavioral and social sciences that address personnel, organization, and Soldier and leader development issues. The mission of the Basic Research Program is to develop fundamental theories and investigate new domain areas in behavioral and social sciences with high potential impact on Army issues related to personnel readiness.
 
While all proposals will be considered, ARI has identified several domains as particularly germane to its basic research needs, one of which is Personnel Testing and Performance, including the creation of new techniques to handle complex psychometric data sets and provide real time data analytics, and improving existing methods to accurately examine complex longitudinal data. A second area of interest is Learning in Formal and Informal Environments, including developing and demonstration of novel (e.g., focused on behavioral, high dimensional, and longitudinal data) construct validation methods for inferring learner psychological states across diverse levels of theoretical granularity (e.g., from low level behaviors to high level self-concepts).
 
This funding opportunity is divided into two types of proposals for basic research:
  • Standard Proposals. Most basic research awards are awarded in response to Standard Proposals provided by Applicants with experienced researchers. In recent years, the performance period of these has typically been two to three years with a median total award of $840,785.
  • Early Career Proposals. To foster the development of innovative and creative researchers, ARI solicits proposals from Applicants with individuals who are early in their research careers (PI must have received their PhD within five years of proposal submission) and have never received ARI funding as a Principal Investigator. All ARI evaluation criteria will be used to evaluate Early Career Proposals, except the criteria that address the experience of the Principal Investigator. Projects should be designed for one year of funding at a level of approximately $110,000.
NSFDCHarassment
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission of a full proposal
Sponsor Deadline: varies by program; please see details below
Award Amount: varies by program; please see details below

This Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) is intended to highlight for the research community that NSF, as a primary federal funder of basic science and engineering research in the United States, continues to welcome and support competitive, peer-reviewed research that advances fundamental knowledge about the nature and underlying dynamics of sexual and other forms of harassment, and mechanisms for evaluating harassment prevalence, prevention, and responses, in a range of STEM education, research, and workplace settings. A number of programs across the Foundation may be appropriate for proposals that have clear, theoretically-driven research orientations and advance generalizable knowledge about sexual or other forms of harassment in STEM contexts. Examples of potential research foci include: the nature and dynamics of harassment, including underlying social and behavioral processes; mechanisms for assessing and evaluating harassment prevalence, prevention, and responses across a range of organizational levels; and harassment dynamics with respect to ethics, diversity, and inclusivity in science. Additionally, NSF programs in any research area may elect to support basic research or conferences about sexual or other forms of harassment in a specific research field, group, or context. Proposals involving international collaboration, in which NSF supports the U.S. component of the collaborative activities, may also be considered.

To determine whether a research idea is within the scope of this DCL and appropriate for a particular program, prospective principal investigators are strongly encouraged to contact, prior to submitting proposals, the directorate/office Liaison(s) for Harassment Research  most closely aligned with the research activities to be proposed.

USHUD
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline:  Rolling through December 31, 2020
Award Information: There are no minimum or maximum award amounts, and the period of performance will be determined by the applicant's proposal and subject to negotiation by HUD. HUD is making approximately $1M available for Research Partnerships. Applicants must provide cost sharing for at least 50 percent of the total project cost from philanthropic entities or Federal, state or local government agencies. The number of awards will be based on the number of proposals HUD reviews, approves, and funds.
 
HUD developed the Research Partnerships vehicle to allow greater flexibility in addressing important policy questions and to better utilize external expertise in evaluating the local innovations and effectiveness of programs affecting residents of urban, suburban, rural and tribal areas. Through this notice, HUD can accept unsolicited research proposals that address current research priorities and allow innovative research projects that could inform HUD's policies and programs. The documents that establish a framework for HUD's research priorities are the  HUD Strategic Plan 2018-2022, which specifies the Department's mission and strategic goals for program activities; and the  HUD Research Roadmap: 2017 Update , which is the most recent integration of diverse stakeholder viewpoints into a five-year research and learning agenda. In considering potential research partnerships, PD&R urges organizations to consider ways to take advantage of key research assets, HUD's data infrastructure, that the Roadmap Update identifies as part of HUD's comparative advantage.
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling through April 29, 2023
Award Amount: Research grants and conference grants are available. 

The ARI is the Army's lead agency for the conduct of research, development, and analyses for the improvement of Army readiness and performance via research advances and applications of the behavioral and social sciences that address personnel, organization, and Soldier and leader development issues. Programs funded under this BAA include basic research, applied research, and advanced technology development that can improve human performance and Army readiness.

otherfederal
Other Federal Funding Opportunities:

Agency for International Development (USAID)

Department of State

National Institute of Justice
National Institutes of Health

National Endowment for the Humanities
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Paige Belisle
Research Development Officer
[email protected] | 617-496-7672
 
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