This is a page of funding resources to accompany my short course on research funding:
Getting Started, Getting Funded [exercises]
[Updated 11/20/2009]
Increasingly, conducting innovative research requires resources that exceed those readily on-hand to the individual scholar. You can use research funding to access a wider set of research methods, to accelerate your research project, expand its scope and depth, and increase its impact. This short course provides an overview of the types and sources of funding available for research support, and introduces the fundamental elements of planning, proposal writing, and management for "sponsored" projects. The course is geared toward junior faculty, postdocs, and graduate students (in late stages or on the job market), who are new to the funding process, are considering whether to seek funding from new sources, or who would like a systematic review of the grant writing and review process.
Use these collections of resources to help you in your search for funders and funding opportunities:
And follow these four steps...
- Develop an original idea for a research project that solves some part of an important problem
(Even better if the idea or its implementation is clever.)
- Do your homework and target funders who are interested in that problem
- State the problem clearly for the reviewers:
- Why it is important
- How it is timely
- What you intend to do
- How you know that you can carry it out
- Why you chose to do that
- Be persistent, meticulous and systematic in writing submission and review
| Federal Funders | |
| National Science Foundation | Funds basic and applied research in social, behavioral, and economic areas. |
| National Institutes of Health | Funds social, behavioral, and economic research with health applications. |
| Department of Education | Funds education research and social science research with education applications. |
| Foundations | |
| Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation | The world's largest foundation. Funds research in health, education, and many other areas. |
| Ford Foundation | Funds research in governance and civil society, economic development, education, and many other areas. |
| Starr Foundation | Funds research in public policy, health, education and many other areas. |
| Specific Programs and RFP's of Interest | |
| IQSS Grants Administration | IQSS grants administration regularly scans for funding opportunities, lists many on their website, and can help Harvard affiliates target their searches. |
| Kennedy School Research Central | The HKS staff regularly scan for funding opportunities and list many on their website. |
| Advertising | |
| Google Grants | Offers AdWords advertisements for research projects and nonprofits. |
| Computing Resources | |
| San Diego Supercomputing Center (SDSC) | Offers grants of super-computing time for research along with consulting and storage. |
| Teragrid | Offers grants of super-computing time for research along with consulting and storage. |
| Data Archiving | |
| Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) | Offers permanent archiving for quantitative research. |
| The IQSS Dataverse Network | Offers your own virtually hosted archive, where you control branding and access. |
Survey time |
|
| British Election Study TSEPOP | Add your survey questions to the British Election Study. |
| Protogenie | Free on-line surveys. |
| TESS | Free RDD probability-sample surveys. |
| Software | |
| TechSoup | Commercial software at deep discounts for noprofits. |
| Harvard Help | |
| Harvard Fellowships Office | |
| Scholarship and Fellowship Funding Databases | |
| Cornell Fellowship Database | |
| Finaid.Org | Financial aid and scholarships (mostly for undergraduates). |
| Grantsnet | Science and medicine fellowships. |
| Harvard Fellowship Database | A database of external postdoctoral fellowship opportunities maintained at Harvard University |
| Harvard Fellowship Database | A database of external graduate fellowship opportunities maintained at Harvard University |
| Notre Dame Fellowship Database | A database of external fellowship opportunities maintained at Notre Dame |
| Petersons Scholarship Database | Undergraduate funding. |
| Simon Fraser Fellowship Database | A database of external fellowship opportunities maintained at Simon Fraser U. |
| Studentjobs.Gov | Internships and fellowships. |
| UCLA Fellowship Database | A database of external fellowship opportunities maintained at UCLA |
| Federally Supported Social Science Fellowships, Scholarships, Dissertation Support | |
| Fulbright Fellowships | For international research and learning, sponsored by the Department of State. |
| Javits Fellowships | Fellowships for humanities, education, and social science. |
| NSF Graduate Funding | General overview of graduate funding at NSF. |
| NSF International Research | Fellowships to conduct research outside the U.S. |
| NSF SBE | Dissertation support for social, behavioral, and economic sciences |
| Foundation/Non-Profit Fellowships (Selected) | |
| AAS Fellowships | Fellowships in science policy. |
| Harry F Guggenheim Foundation | Fellowships to to increase understanding of the causes, manifestations, and control of violence, aggression, and dominance. |
| Population Council | Fellowships in demography |
| Fellowships for international research and learning. | |
| Social Science Research Council | Dissertation support. |
| Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Foundation | Fellowships for teaching, foreign affairs, and women & gender research. |
| Scholarships and Fellowships in Health Policy | |
| NIH Support for Students | Opportunities for students, some at NIH. |
| NIH Fellowship Grants | Grants to indivdiduals. |
| NIH-Funded Fellowship Programs | NIH funded programs at other institutions (apply to institutions directly). |
| NIH List of Fellowships | A list of external opportunities collected by NIH. |
| Robert Wood Johnson Fellowships | Prestigious fellowships for research in health policy. |
| NIH Independent Scientist Awards | The Independent Scientist Award provides up to five years of salarysupport for newly independent scientists who can demonstrate the need for a period of intensive research focus as a means of enhancing their research careers. This award is intended to foster the development of outstanding scientists and enable them to expand their potential to make significant contributions to their field of research. |
| NIH FIRST Awards | The purpose of the FIRST award is to provide a sufficient period of research support for newly independent, biomedical and behavioral science investigators to initiate their own research and demonstrate the merit of their own research ideas. These grants underwrite the first independent investigative efforts, provide a reasonable opportunity to demonstrate creativity, productivity, and promise for an independent research career and for the principle investigator (PI) help in the transition to traditional types of NIH research project grants. |
| The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. | |
| Sloan Research Fellowships | The Sloan Research Fellowships were established in 1955 to provide support and recognition to scientists, often in their first appointments to university faculties, who were endeavoring to set up laboratories and establish their independent research projects with little or no outside support. Financial assistance at this crucial point, even in modest amounts, often pays handsome dividends later to society. |
| Support for Geographic Diversity | |
| EPSCOR: NSF | Program to avoid undue geographic concentration of research funding. |
| IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (NIH) | To enhance the caliber of scientific faculty at research institutions and undergraduate schools. |
| Support for Institutional Diversity | |
| NIH Support for Research in Minority Institutions | To support research centers in minority institutions. |
| NIH Special Initiatives | Special initiatives to support investigators, students, and institutions. |
| NSF Advance | Institutional support to increase the participation of women in (STEM) disciplines. |
| NSF Program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities | To enhance the quality of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and research at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. |
| NSF RUI | Supports research in undergraduate institutions. |
| Fellowship Support for Minority Students | |
| AAUW | Fellowships for women. |
| AERA | Minority fellowships in education research |
| APSA | Minority fellowships in political science |
| APA | Minority fellowships in psychology |
| ASA | Minority fellowships in sociology |
| Ford Foundation | Predoctoral, postdoctoral and dissertation fellowships. |
| NIH Kirschtein National Research Service Award | Dissertation and post-doctoral fellowships. |
| NIH Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) | Pre-doctoral and faculty fellowships. |
| NIH Special Initiatives | Special initiatives to support investigators, students, and institutions. |
| NSF ABP | NSF programs for broadening participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. |
| NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research | Supports postdoctoral research in STEM disciplines. |
| Research Supplements | |
| NIH Research Supplements | NIH Supplements for investigators with active awards. |
| NIH Special Initiatives | Special initiatives to support investigators, students, and institutions. |
| NSF ROA | Supplements for research at undergraduate institutions. |
| Paul and Daisy Soros Foundation | Fellowships for new americans. |
| Graduate Student Funding | |
| Center for European Studies Awards | Funds for dissertation completion, conference travel, and other special opportunities for graduate students studying Europe |
| Center for International Development Award | For dissertation research in international development ($3000) |
| Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies | Dissertation completion award. |
| Graduate Council of Students Award | For summer research and conference travel ($1000). |
| GSAS Graduate Guide to Students | A searchable database of internal and external funding for graduates. |
| International Experiences Funding | A searchable database of internal and external funding for undergraduates, graduates, and post-doctoral fellows for international research and learning. |
| Jean Humphrey Block Dissertation Award | Given by IQSS for research in social science. |
| Korea Institute Awards | Funding for graduate and postdoctoral research travel and writing. |
| Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (WCFIA) | Funding for undergraduate and graduate research projects, travel and writing related to international affairs. |
| Postdoctoral Funding | |
| GSAS Postodoctoral Funding Database | A searchable database of internal and external research funding opportunities for post-doctoral fellows. |
| International Experiences Funding | A searchable database of internal and external funding opportunities for undergraduates, graduates, and post-doctoral fellows for international research and learning. |
| Korea Institute Awards | Funding for graduate and postdoctoral research travel and writing. |
| Postdoctoral Travel Grant Program | A small grant offered by the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs for conference travel. ($1000) |
| Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowship | Seeks individuals who possess the skills and commitment to use the fellowship experience to provide leadership in improving health, health care, and health policy at national, state or local levels; who bring a depth of expertise and knowledge about health and health care to the policy-making process; and, who can offer an informed perspective on important and perplexing questions facing health policy-makers. |
| Yerby Postdoctoral Fellowship in Public Health | This initiative is geared toward expanding the diversity of those entering academic public health. The program creates a bridge between academic training in health-related disciplines and entry-level faculty positions at institutions throughout the United States. |
| Faculty Funding | |
| William F. Milton Fund | Awards $35,000 for faculty who conduct research the interest of, or for promoting, the physical and material welfare and prosperity of the human race (rather than its spiritual, intellectual or aesthetic welfare);assist in the discovery and perfecting of any special means of alleviating or curing human disease; orinvestigate and determine the value or importance of any discovery or invention. |
| Clark Fund | Up to $6000 for faculty research. |
| Provostial Funding Opportunities | Currently focusing on development and use of instructional technology and interdisciplinary interfaculty collaboration. ($2000-$50000) |
| Radcliffe Fellowship | The Radcliffe Institute Fellowship Program is a scholarly community where individuals pursue advanced work across a wide range of academic disciplines, professions, and creative arts. Radcliffe Institute fellowships are designed to support scholars, scientists, artists, and writers of exceptional promise and demonstrated accomplishment who wish to pursue work in academic and professional fields and in the creative arts. In recognition of Radcliffe's historic contributions to the education of women and to the study of issues related to women, the Radcliffe Institute sustains a continuing commitment to the study of women, gender, and society. Applicants' projects need not focus on gender, however. Women and men from across the United States and throughout the world, including developing countries, are encouraged to apply. |
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (WCFIA) Faculty Funding |
Funding for faculty research projects, conference hosting, and book completion related to international affairs. ($1000-$80000) |
| Undergraduate Funding | |
| Center for European Studies Undergraduate Grants | Support for senior research travel. |
| Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies | Support for undergraduate research internships and senior thesis writing. |
| International Experiences Funding | A searchable database of internal and external funding for undergraduates, graduates, and post-doctoral fellows for international research and learning. |
| Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (WCFIA) | Funding for undergraduate and graduate research projects, travel and writing related to international affairs. |
Federal Funding Clearinghouses |
|
| Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance | Non-research grants and aid from the federal government. |
| Fbo.gov | A large and official database of federal contracts and other business opportunities. |
| Federal Register Monitoring from the Grantsmanship Center | Monitors for announcements of contracts and awards in the federal register. |
| Grants.gov | The first place to look for federal grants. A comprehensive searchable database. |
| Foundations in the United States | |
| Chronicle of Philanthropy | The place to go for news on philanthropy. Their guide to grants database is a good source of information on past awards. |
| An extremely useful and comprehensive site comprising funder databases, training materials, and analyses of trends in foundation giving. | |
| Guidestar | Offers free access to a large database of foundations. (More advanced searching is available with a fee.) |
| Corporate sponsorship | |
| An online database from the Foundation Center. Also available as a printed directory. | |
| IEG Sponsorship Sourcebook | A CD-ROM directory of corporate sponsors. |
| International Foundations | |
| European Independent Funders | A funder database from the European Foundation Center. |
| Library Resource Pages | |
| Michigan State University Library Guide to Funding | A broad and extensive guide to funding sources and gran writing. (Somewhat slow to load, but worth waiting for.) |
| University of Wisconsin Library Guide to Funding | A broad and useful guide to funders and grant writing. |
| Multi-Funder Databases (information aggregators, library sites, professional organizations) | |
| Community of Science | A large commercial database of research funding opportunities from federal and foundation sources. Overlaps considerably with grants.gov, but contains non-federal sources as well. |
| Decade of Behavior Project | A broad but selective database of foundations, international and federal programs of particular interest to behavioral scientists. |
| H-Net Funding List | Funding opportunities for social scientists and historians, aggegated by H-NET. |
| A large commercial database of research funding opportunities from federal and foundation sources. Overlaps considerably with grants.gov, but contains non-federal sources as well. | |
| Professional Associations Opportunities List | |
| Opportunities in geographical research | |
| American Educational Research Association (AERA) Funding List | Opportunities in education research |
| American Political Science Association (APSA) Funding List | Opportunities in political science research |
| American Sociological Association (ASA) Funding List | Opportunities in sociological research |
| Copyright © 1995-2009 | Micah Altman |