Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

For opportunities to fund interdisciplinary social science research, refer to the following sponors:

American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Collaborative Research Awards - These awards support collaborative research in the humanities and related social sciences . Collaborations need not be interdisciplinary or inter-institutional, but must involve at least two scholars; applicants at the same institution must demonstrate why local funding is insufficient to support the project. It is hoped that projects of successful applicants will help demonstrate the range and value of both collaborative research and inquiry in the humanities, and model how such collaboration may be carried out successfully. Collaborations that involve the participation of assistant and associate faculty members, or that of scholars at different kinds of institutions, are particularly encouraged.
Deadline: November 12

Ford Foundation Domestic Research Opportunties - The Ford Foundation awards grants to develop new ideas and strengthen organizations that reduce poverty and injustice and promote democratic values, international cooperation and human achievement. Categories of interest: Arts and Culture, Civil Society, Community Development, Development Finance and Economic Security, Education and Scholarship, Envionment and Development, Governance, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights, Media, Religion, Society and Culture, Sexuality and Reproductive Health, Workforce Development. Funding for grants in this area are invitation only, see web site for details on submitting an inquiry.
Deadline: Open

Ford Foundation International Research Opportunites - The Ford Foundation awards grants to develop new ideas and strengthen organizations that reduce poverty and injustice and promote democratic values, international cooperation and human achievement. Categories of interest: Arts and Culture, Civil Society, Community Development, Development Finance and Economic Security, Education and Scholarship, Envionment and Development, Governance, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights, Media, Religion, Society and Culture, Sexuality and Reproductive Health, Workforce Development. Funding for grants in this area are invitation only, see web site for details on submitting an inquiry.
Deadline: Open

National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 Competition - The Research Project Grant (R01) is an award made to an institution/organization to support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in areas representing the specific interests and competencies of the investigator(s). The R01 research plan proposed by the applicant institution/organization must be related to the stated program interests of one or more of the NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) based on descriptions of their programs. All research project grant applications described in this announcement will be assigned to NIH ICs according to standard Public Health Service (PHS) referral guidelines and specific program interests.
Deadline: February 16, June 16, October 16

National Institutes of Health (NIH) R03 Competition - The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Investigator-Initiated Small Grant (R03) funding opportunity supports small research projects that can be carried out in a short period of time with limited resources. Investigator-initiated research, also known as unsolicited research, is research funded as a result of an investigator submitting a research grant application to NIH in an investigator’s area of interest and competency. The R03 grant mechanism supports different types of projects including pilot and feasibility studies; secondary analysis of existing data; small, self-contained research projects; development of research methodology; and development of new research technology.
Deadline: February 16, June 16, October 16

National Science Foundation (NSF) -Decision, Risk and Management Science (DRMS) Program - The DRMS program supports scientific research directed at increasing the understanding and effectiveness of decision making by individuals, groups, organizations, and society. Disciplinary and interdisciplinary research, doctoral dissertation research, and workshops are funded in the areas of judgment and decision making; decision analysis and decision aids; risk analysis, perception, and communication; societal and public policy decision making; management science and organizational design. The program also supports small grants for exploratory research of a time-critical or high-risk, potentially transformative nature.
Deadline: January 18, August 18

National Science Foundation (NSF) Linguistics Program - This NSF program supports scientific research of all types that focus on human language as an object of investigation. The program supports research on the syntactic, semantic, phonetic, and phonological properties of individual languages and of language in general; the psychological processes involved in the use of language; the development of linguistic capacities in children; social and cultural factors in language use, variation, and change; the acoustics of speech and the physiological and psychological processes involved in the production and perception of speech; and the biological bases of language in the brain.
Deadline: January 15, July 15

National Science Foundation (NSF) - Methodology, Measurement, and Statistics (MMS) Program - The Methodology, Measurement, and Statistics (MMS) Program is an interdisciplinary program in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences that supports the development of innovative analytical and statistical methods and models for those sciences. MMS seeks proposals that are methodologically innovative, grounded in theory, and have potential utility for multiple fields within the social and behavioral sciences. As part of its larger portfolio, the MMS Program partners with a consortium of federal statistical agencies to support research proposals that further the development of new and innovative approaches to surveys and to the analysis of survey data.
Deadline: January 16, August 16

Skoll Foundation Social Entrepreneurship Program (SASE) - The Skoll Awards provides core support to help organizations expand their programs and capacity to deliver long-term, sustainable equilibrium change. The Skoll Awards are not intended for new or early-stage programs or initiatives. Programs submitted for consideration should have a track record of no less than three years. In addition to core support, the Skoll Foundation supports the participation of Award recipients in the annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship. The Skoll Foundation Awards provide later-stage, or mezzanine, funding, which is generally structured as a $1 million award paid out over three years, subject to payment limitations described on their web site.
Deadline: November 4, February 10

John Templeton Foundation - The John Templeton Foundation supports a very wide range of research activities in such fields as theoretical physics, cosmology, evolutionary biology, cognitive sceince, and social science relating to love, forgiveness, creative, purpose, and the nature and origin of religious belief. The John Templeton Foundation aims to stimulate new thinking about wealth creation in the developing world, character education in schools and universities, and programs for cultivating the talents of gifted children. Important: After Friday, January 16, 2009, the John Templeton Foundation will not be accepting new requests for funding until the new grant-making policy is announced September 2009. If you did not submit an Online Funding Inquiry by January 16, 2009, John Templeton Foundation will be unable to review your proposal idea until the fall of 2009.
Deadline: Open