Joint CPRC-ISERP Seed Grant
The Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy and the Columbia Population Research Center announce a joint call for proposals for one-year research Seed Grant Awards of up to $40,000 for research that will take place between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027.
The main goal of this project is to help faculty lay the groundwork for intellectually innovative population research to the point where they can attract external funding. Priority is placed on high-risk, high-return research, including work that develops new theories, identifies new areas of methodological innovation, or bridges different substantive domains. Projects may be domestic, international, or comparative.
Projects supported through this program can be used for various activities that will lead to an externally funded grant application, such as pilot data collection and support for a research assistant to conduct data analysis for a publication and/or proposal development task. Seed Grant funding may not be used for faculty release time, faculty summer salary, or computer purchases. Food purchases that adhere to the NIH Grants Policy Statement guidelines are allowable.
Recipients of the award are encouraged to submit related future grant applications through ISERP. Awardees will be asked to give a talk on their project. Seed grants are awarded for a period of one year. In some cases, we will grant no-cost extensions if justified.
Note: This announcement pertains to the joint ISERP-CPRC seed grant program. For information about the CPRC Seed Grant program, please click here. For information about the ISERP Seed Grant program, please click here.
We encourage applicants, particularly those submitting for the first time, to speak with a member of ISERP’s research development office. Learn more by visiting ISERP Seed Grants and the CPRC Seed Grant Program.
Eligibility
Applicant teams must include at least one full-time faculty member appointed in one of the six social science departments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University or SIPA and are welcome to include faculty from CSSW, MSPH, and other professional schools. Priority will be given to junior faculty and applicants who are active participants in CPRC’s intellectual community. We highly encourage members from groups that are historically underrepresented in academic research to apply. All PIs must play an active role in the proposed project.
Applicants should submit
- A five-page research proposal that details the specific aims, background to the study, preliminary data (if any), research plan, innovation/significance, future plans, and details on each investigator’s role in the project.
- A line-item budget utilizing the budget sheet attached to this call. Please download a copy to complete and submit along with the application.
- A budget narrative explaining how line items in the budget relate to the early work you need to convert your ideas into a fundable project.
- A detailed plan for seeking outside funding.
- A CV or NSF-style biosketch for each investigator.
Proposals should be submitted electronically via ISERP’s website here.
Proposals will be funded on the basis of:
- The intellectual merit and innovation of the proposed project and its thematic ties with CPRC’s primary research areas, inequality, and anti-racist research.
- The seed grant’s relationship to the proposed major project.
- The project’s organization and judicious use of funds.
- The plausibility of the investigator’s plan for seeing outside funding.
ISERP requires that all funded projects receive approval from Columbia’s IRB before funds are released. We generally advise that applicants prepare to submit their protocols for review before or promptly after the receipt of notice of award decisions (typically 6–8 weeks after the application due date).
Duration: One (1) Year
Award Amount: Up to $40,000
Application Deadline: April 10, 2026
Award Period: July 1, 2026–June 30, 2027