Potential U.S. Federal Government Shutdown: Research Continuity Guidance

Listed below is a selection of recurring and prestigious funding opportunities that fall outside of the Limited Submission competitions. Please click on the link to the program page for more information. This list is not an exhaustive list of all funding opportunities available.

Note to PIs: The following summaries are intended for informational purposes and do not replace the sponsor's actual funding opportunity announcement. Always review the sponsor's full announcement to verify program guidelines, requirements and deadlines.

Sponsor Deadline Subject Area Program Amount
American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) September Humanities Collaborative Fellowship Program Up to $201,000 for 2 years
This program offers small teams of two or more scholars the opportunity to collaborate intensively on a single, substantive project in the humanities and related social sciences. The fellowship supports projects that produce a tangible research project (such as joint print or Web publications) for which two or more collaborators will take credit.
American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) September Humanities Fellowship Program Various - see guidelines
The Fellowship program invites applications in all disciplines of the humanities and related social sciences. The ultimate goal of the project should be a major piece of scholarly work. ACLS does not fund creative work (e.g. novels or films), textbooks, straightforward translation, or pedagogical projects. Full professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors (and equivalents) are eligible candidates.
DoD- Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) July or August Basic research Young Investigator Program (YIP) $150,000 per year for 3 years
The program objectives are to foster creative basic research in science and engineering; enhance early career development of outstanding young investigators; and increase opportunities for the young investigator to recognize the Air Force mission and related challenges in science and engineering.
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation September Basic/Life Science Sloan Research Fellowships $75,000 over 2 years
The Sloan Research Fellowships seek to stimulate fundamental research by early-career scientists and scholars of outstanding promise. Candidates must hold a PhD (or equivalent) in chemistry, computational or evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, ocean sciences, physics, or a related field.
DoD- Office of Naval Research (ONR) May Equipment Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) $50,000 - $1.5 million
DURIP supports university research infrastructure essential to high-quality Navy relevant research. The research instrumentation that is necessary to carry out cutting-edge research.
DoD- multiple offices June/September High-risk basic research Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI) $1.25 - $1.5 million for 5 years
Sponsored by DoD research offices, the MURI program addresses high-risk basic research and attempts to understand or achieve something that has never been done before. It supports basic research in science and engineering at U.S. institutions of higher education that is of potential interest to DoD. The program is focused on multidisciplinary research efforts where more than one traditional discipline interacts to provide rapid advances.
DoE Office of Science September Energy-related research, Basic Sciences Early Career Research Program At least $150,000 per year for 5 years
The Department of Energy Early Career Research Program supports the development of individual research programs of outstanding scientists early in their careers and stimulates research careers in the disciplines supported by the DoE Office of Science. Opportunities exist in the following program areas: Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR); Biological and Environmental Research (BER); Basic Energy Sciences (BES), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES); High Energy Physics (HEP), and Nuclear Physics (NP).
Fulbright September Various U.S. Scholars Program Varies
The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers approximately 470 teaching, research or combination teaching/research awards in over 125 countries. Opportunities are available for college and university faculty and administrators as well as for professionals, artists, journalists, scientists, lawyers, independent scholars and many others. In addition to several new program models designed to meet the changing needs of U.S. academics and professionals, Fulbright offers flexible awards including multi-country opportunities.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) June Biology Investigator Program Full salary of the Investigator and comprehensive benefits package 
The HHMI Investigator Program supports more than 250 Investigators, located at more than 60 research institutions across the United States, who are widely known for their scientific discoveries, their innovation, and their success in pushing the bounds of knowledge in biomedical research.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) July Natural Science Professors Program $1 -$1.5 million over 5 years
The HHMI Professors Program empowers research scientists who can convey the excitement of science to undergraduates. The professors model fundamental reform in the way undergraduate science is taught at research universities through innovative teaching that demonstrates the rigor and value of scientific research. Individual professors receive a five-year, nonrenewable HHMI grant totaling $1 million to support innovative approaches to linking research and education activities.Teams of two professors from the same institution receive a five-year, nonrenewable HHMI grant totaling $1.5 million.
Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) March Biomedical Young Investigator Grants and Program Grants $450,000 max per year
HFSP Research Grants support teams of 2-4 members conducting innovative basic research into fundamental biological problems with emphasis placed on novel and interdisciplinary approaches that involve scientific exchanges across national and disciplinary boundaries. Research grants are provided for teams of scientists from different countries who wish to combine their expertise in innovative approaches to questions that could not be answered by individual laboratories.
IBM October Computer Science PhD Fellowships Program See guidelines
The PhD Fellowship Award Program is an intensely competitive worldwide program, which recognizes and supports exceptional PhD students who want to make their mark in promising and disruptive technologies. All IBM PhD Fellowship awardees are mentored by an IBMer to collaborate on a research or technology project for the duration of the award period. Awardees are encouraged to do an internship
John Simon Guggenheim Foundation September Arts Fellowship Program See guidelines
Often characterized as “midcareer” awards, Guggenheim Fellowships are intended for individuals who have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts. The applicant must be for a single project. Applications that attempt to span too many disparate disciplines, or that include too many objectives, are less competitive than those that propose a balanced, focused goal. Awards are for a minimum of six months and a maximum of twelve months.
Northeastern IPM November Pest Management IPM Partnership Grants $50,000
Projects funded through the IPM Partnership Grants Program must further the mission of the Northeastern IPM Center, address or identify regional IPM stakeholder priorities, and benefit the region at large. Extension projects are encouraged.
National Science Foundation (NSF) December Next-gen healthcare solutions Smart and Connected Health program $500,000 per year for 5 years
The goal of the NSF Smart and Connected Health program is to accelerate the development and use of innovative approaches that would support the much-needed transformation of healthcare from reactive and hospital-centered to preventive, proactive, evidence-based, person-centered and focused on well-being rather than disease.
National Science Foundation (NSF)/USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Rolling Plant Biology Plant Biotic Interactions $50,000-$300,000 per year for 2-4 years
The Plant Biotic Interactions (PBI) program supports research on the processes that mediate beneficial and antagonistic interactions between plants and their viral, bacterial, oomycete, fungal, plant, and invertebrate symbionts, pathogens and pests. This joint NSF/NIFA program supports projects focused on current and emerging model and non-model systems, and agriculturally relevant plants.
DoD- Office of Naval Research (ONR) August/January Basic research Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship $3 million for 5 years
The VBFF program supports innovative basic research within academia, as well as opportunities intended to develop the next generation of scientists and engineers for the defense workforce. 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. 
DoD- Office of Naval Research (ONR) August Science & Engineering Young Investigator Program (YIP) Up $510,000 over 3 years
The ONR Young Investigator Program seeks to identify and support academic scientists and engineers who are in their first or second full-time tenure-track or tenure-track-equivalent academic appointment and who show exceptional promise for doing creative research. The program objectives are to attract outstanding faculty members of Institutions of Higher Education to the Department of the Navy's Science and Technology (S&T) research program, to support their research, and to encourage their teaching and research careers. 
Toyota Material Handling North America (TMHNA) December Engineering University Research Program Up to $1 million per year
The TMHNA University Research Program is a sponsored research program created to drive the next generation of technology for the material handling industry. The industry’s end-to-end approach to provide complete solutions to customers that are smarter, more efficient and more effective has fueled this program. The mission is to encourage professors and researchers to apply their knowledge of engineering and technical fields, drawing synergies and collaboration between collegiate research and Toyota Material Handling North America.
USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) March Food, agricultural, natural resources, and human sciences education Higher Education Challenge (HEC) Grants Program $30,000-$750,000 depending upon the program
Projects supported by theHEC Grants Program will: (1) address a state, regional, national, or international educational need; (2) involve a creative or non-traditional approach toward addressing that need that can serve as a model to others; (3) encourage and facilitate better working relationships in the university science and education community, as well as between universities and the private sector, to enhance program quality and supplement available resources; and (4) result in benefits that will likely transcend the project duration and USDA support.
Vilcek Foundation June Biomedical Prizes for Creative Promise in the Biomedical Sciences $50,000
The Vilcek Foundation will award three Creative Promise Prizes of $50,000 each to young foreign-born biomedical scientists who demonstrate outstanding early achievement. Eligible work may be in basic, applied, and/or translational biomedical science.

American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Collaborative Fellowship Program

  • Deadline: September
  • This program offers small teams of two or more scholars the opportunity to collaborate intensively on a single, substantive project in the humanities and related social sciences. The fellowship supports projects that produce a tangible research project (such as joint print or Web publications) for which two or more collaborators will take credit.