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Funding Resources

 

Find Support for Your Research

The College and University provide a variety of funding opportunities and resources to support faculty research, teaching, creative works, and other scholarly activities. If you need additional guidance navigating the funding landscape, please contact the COH Office of Research. We can help you search for grants or fellowships that match your needs, assess funding opportunities for fit and feasibility, and assist in formulating a strategic application submission plan. 

  • Review Funding Opportunity Lists: Review the curated lists of internal funding and external funding opportunities on the COH Research website. In addition, we regularly share information about grants and fellowships; contact us to be added to our email list. Also subscribe to mailing lists of funding organizations of interest to you. For more information, check out the other funding opportunity lists and databases provided lower on this page.
  • Conduct a Custom Funding Search: Initiate a custom funding search in Pivot-RPto find funding opportunities relevant to your research interests and needs. Pivot-RP is a comprehensive global database of sponsored funding announcements, including grants, fellowships, awards/prizes, travel, conferences, publications, etc. Plus, you can set an alert to be emailed when new opportunities post. It can also be helpful to do a simple Google search for funding opportunities.
  • Connect with Your Peer Network: Pay attention to what grant and fellowship opportunities are shared in your field and consider how your research could be adapted to them. Connect with colleagues to learn where they have applied for funding. Check what funding programs are offered by the professional associations you belong to. Take note of what funding organizations attend conferences in your field (and schedule to meet with them).
  • Carefully Review the Requirements: To determine if a funding opportunity is a good fit, carefully review all the requirements in the program announcement and application instructions. Also review the organization’s website, pre-recorded webinars, and funded projects to get an idea of their mission, funding priorities, and the types of projects they fund. To learn even more, connect with program officers and serve on peer review panels.
  • Understand the Funder’s Priorities: Keep in mind that funders are looking for projects that clearly align with their priorities. They are more likely to fund proposals that have significant potential for making an impact and achieving their goals. Pursue opportunities that align with the central themes of your proposed research or project. In some cases, you may be able to refine your ideas somewhat for a stronger fit while remaining within your area of expertise. Also, make sure your project is feasible for the time and money to be requested.
  • Make Sure You are Eligible to Apply: Check the eligibility criteria delineated in the application instructions to make sure you are eligible to apply. Be aware that if a funder states that individual applications are not accepted or that only non-profit organizations may apply, the U’s OSP must submit the application on your behalf; contact our college grants officer for guidance. Also, if the instructions say only a certain number of applications can be submitted by an organization, immediately notify our college grant writer; the University must first run an LSO internal competition to select which application(s) can be submitted to the funder.
  • Develop a Yearly Timeline: Planning in advance and applying to multiple competitions increases your success at getting funded. For example, craft a proposal to submit to the NEH Fellowship due in April and then enter it into our college’s NEH Fellowship Incentive Program in June. Revise the application and submit a narrower version for the NEH Summer Stipend due in September. Use a revised version to pursue internal funding (e.g., URC Faculty Fellowship, Small Grants Program, Research Incentive Seed Grant) and external funding (e.g., ALCS Fellowship, APS Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship) in the Fall. If your proposal is not funded, submit it to our college’s Kickstart Funding Program in March. Repeat this process each year until funding is obtained.
  • Talk to Your Department Chair: When you identify a grant or fellowship opportunity you want to pursue, talk to your department chair about how to proceed. This will best position them to help support your proposals. If you are planning to take leave, start thinking about your strategy a year-and-a-half before the academic year in which you plan to be on leave.
  • Consult University Advancement: If you are interested in submitting a proposal to a foundation, first consult the college’s Development team and/or the University’s Corporate & Foundation Relations team. They have relationships with many of those funders and can provide invaluable insights, guidance, and connections. And, in some cases, those funders only accept U-affiliated applications through special calls. Our college grant writer can connect you with the applicable internal contact.

Last Updated: 11/2/23