Strategic Research Initiatives provides resources for targeted funding searches and offers guidance on interacting with funders including foundations, corporations, or public agencies.
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Pivot Funding Opportunities Database
Create customized funding searches, set up funding alerts, and browse topical funding opportunity lists curated by SRI.
Limited Submissions
Some sponsors cap the number of applications per campus. Those opportunities go through a UCSB internal competition before anyone can apply.
Current Internal CompetitionsFunding Guides
Curated opportunity lists maintained by SRI.
By Career Stage
Fellowships and funding resources for postdocs.
Programs and awards for faculty, usually at the rank of Assistant Professor.
Build new skills or pursue new and bold research directions.
By Field or Topic
Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences & Education
Opportunities commonly awarded to UCSB faculty in these fields.
Long-running DoD BAAs that are currently open to university researchers.
Funding Agencies and Programs
- State Grants Database
- California Arts Council
- California Department of Education
- California Department of Food and Agriculture
- California Department of Pesticide Regulation
- California Department of Toxic Substances Control
- California Department of Transportation
- California Department of Water Resources
- California Energy Commission
- California Environmental Protection Agency
- California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board
- California Environmental Protection Agency State Water Resources Control Board
- California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development
- California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
- California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways
- CalRecycle
- Employment Training Panel
- State Council on Developmental Disabilities
- State of California Coastal Conservancy
- State of California Ocean Protection Council
- State of California Sierra Nevada Conservancy
- State of California Wildlife Conservation Board
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Army Research Office
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
- Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- USDA Cooperative State Research Service
- Department of Commerce
- Department of Education
- Department of Energy (DOE)
- Federal Laboratory Consortium
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
- National Institute of Standards & Technology
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
- National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Naval Research Laboratory (Office of Naval Research)
- Office for Human Research Protections
- Office of Science and Technology Policy
Foundations
Interested investigators should contact Foundation Relations before contacting or submitting an application to a private foundation. Foundation Relations provides assistance in making meaningful connections with foundations and in identifying proposal support services.
- Rob Dunton, Senior Director of Development, Foundation and Corporate Relations, robertdunton@ucsb.edu - STEM
- Spencer Lash, Director of Development, Foundation Relations, spencer.lash@ucsb.edu - Creative Arts, Social Sciences, Humanities, Education (CASSHE)
- Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (CASSHE)
- Amgen Foundation (STEM)
- Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation (STEM)
- Brain Research Foundation (STEM)
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund STEM)
- The Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc. (STEM)
- Carnegie Corporation of New York (CASSHE)
- The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation (CASSHE)
- John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (HFA)
- John Templeton Foundation (CASSHE, STEM)
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (CASSHE, STEM)
- W.M. Keck Foundation (STEM)
- The McKnight Foundation (STEM)
- The David & Lucile Packard Foundation (STEM, SS)
- Pew Charitable Trust (STEM)
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (STEM, CASSHE)
- Russell Sage Foundation (SS)
- Searle Scholars Program (STEM)
- Simons Foundation (STEM)
- Spencer Foundation (ED)
- William T. Grant Foundation (CASSHE)
Supplements to Active Awards
If you hold an active NSF or NIH award, you may be able to request supplemental funding on top of the original grant for research, travel, or student and teacher support.
- NSF allows requests for supplemental funding, as described in the NSF PAPPG. Common supplement requests include Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), Research Experiences for Teachers (RET), and Research Assistantships for High School Students (RAHSS).
- NIH offers supplemental funding through the Administrative Supplements mechanism (Guidance for NIH Administrative Supplements).