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Grants
Hybrid
About the Call for Grant
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Grant Application Facility provides a structured pathway for outstanding research teams and innovators to secure non-profit funding for highly rigorous, original initiatives. The Foundation primarily backs high-impact projects where private venture capital or government funding is not yet widely available. Applications must align directly with the Foundation’s active programmatic divisions: Deep Research (Economics, Energy/Environment, Matter-to-Life, Physics), Technology (Open Source in Science, Scientific Collaboration), and Public Understanding of Science (Books, Film, Digital Media).
Eligibility
The Foundation enforces strict structural and financial compliance rules:
- Organisational Status: Grants are typically awarded to non-profit universities, academic institutions, and independent research organisations globally.
- Inclusions: Non-U.S. institutions and international research teams (including universities and consortiums in Kazakhstan) can receive funding, provided the project exhibits exceptional methodological rigor and global societal returns.
- Exclusions: The Foundation does not fund for-profit companies, political campaigns, religious activities, medical/clinical research, or regular humanities. Grants are not given to individual researchers (except via the specialized Books program).
Priority Areas
- Economic Analysis, Energy Systems, and Environmental Trade-offs
- Open-Source Software in Science and Advanced Computational Data Tools
- Small-Scale Fundamental Physics and Matter-to-Life Systems Exploration
- Public Understanding of Science via Broadcast, Digital Media, and Books
Format:
Funding Architecture & Three-Step Application Protocol
💰 Funding Scope & Review Tiers:
Sloan Foundation grants are divided into two main operational categories:
- Officer Grants: Smaller, localized pilot grants capped up to $250,000.
- Major Grants: Large-scale structural awards exceeding $250,000. Major grants are approved quarterly by the Board of Directors.
The budget should be built using the official Sloan Excel template, limiting indirect institutional overhead to a maximum of 20% (or specific program caps).
⏱️ Project Duration:
Typically spans from 12 months to 3 years, depending on technical complexity and milestones.
📅 Application Deadlines:
No fixed closing dates for initial contact (Open on a rolling basis year-round).
🔄 Step-by-Step Application Workflow:
1. Program Alignment: Applicants must review specific Sloan Program pages to verify if that particular branch is currently accepting unsolicited inquiries.
2. Letter of Inquiry (LOI): Submit a concise, maximum 2-page email inquiry detailing the project scope, estimated cost, timeline, and key personnel. Review takes up to 8 weeks.
3. Formal Proposal: Unsolicited formal proposals are rejected. Only applicants with approved LOIs receive an invitation to submit a full technical proposal, which undergoes a strict academic peer-review process.