# Dean’s Competitive Fund for Promising Scholarship ## Dean's Competitive Fund for Promising Scholarship FORA-Managed Grants ![An ecologist or forester stands in a sunny forest looking at a tablet with a topographic map.](/sites/g/files/omnuum5536/files/styles/hwp_28_10__1920x685/public/2025-08/AdobeStock_516796496.jpeg?itok=vp2PqJkc) ## expand\_more ## Spring 2026 Cycle ***The application deadline has passed. The Spring 2026 guidelines and FAQs remain for informational purposes and are subject to change.*** In May 2025, Dean Hoekstra announced a doubling of the Fund's annual budget to $8 million; a [recent story](https://current.fas.harvard.edu/stories/bolstered-deans-competitive-fund-awards-promising-research) highlights some of the research this program has supported since the decision to augment the Fund. The committee will make awards to only the most promising applications. The review committee will reserve the right to reduce budget requests in order to fund as many projects as possible. Please review the FAQs below and contact [Research Development](mailto:research_development@fas.harvard.edu) with any questions about the Dean's Competitive Fund for Promising Scholarship. ## Program Information The Dean’s Competitive Fund for Promising Scholarship provides funding up to $125,000 for bold, imaginative work in every discipline in the following categories: 1. ***Seed funding**,* to encourage faculty to launch exciting new scholarship or research directions that might not yet be ready to compete in traditional funding programs or to pivot to new sources of funding (e.g., private foundations, corporate partnerships). Faculty impacted by changes to federal funding are encouraged to apply for seed funding to support a new or different direction for their research. 2. ***Bridge funding**,* to allow faculty to continue work on previously funded research, scholarship, or creative activity that does not currently have external funding. Faculty who apply in this category should demonstrate that efforts have been made or will be made to obtain new external funding. 3. ***Enabling infrastructure***, to provide small funds which allow for the purchase (or upgrade) of critical equipment, or to support needs such as the production of databases, organization of museum exhibits, or procurement of resources for community benefit. Ideally, requests in this category will be made to top off funding available from other sources. Please apply only if your funding needs fit into one of these categories. For all categories, **applicants should clearly explain in non-specialist language the critical need, make a compelling case for large marginal gain, and justify the need for support from this fund rather than traditional sources.** ### **Eligibility:** - This program is open to FAS and SEAS assistant, associate, and tenured faculty; Professors in Residence and Professors of the Practice are also eligible. - Postdoctoral fellows and graduate students cannot serve as co-PIs but may be included as personnel on a project. An eligible faculty member must serve in the role of PI, lead the project, and oversee all personnel. - Faculty may only submit one application as the lead PI per cycle, but may be listed on additional applications in other roles. - Previous recipients may apply, though the committee is unlikely to provide continued funding for a project that has already received funding through this source and applicants who have received prior awards may be assigned a lower priority. The Dean’s Competitive Fund is not intended to continuously support a scholar from year to year. - **Current research balances for any applicant are considered and may influence the likelihood of funding.** ### **Application:** A committee made up of faculty from the three FAS divisions and SEAS will review the applications, so please ensure that proposals can be understood across disciplines. Applicants are asked to provide the following: 1. Contact information 2. Information on any other sources of funding the applicant has applied for or intends to apply for to support the proposed project. 3. If the applicant has received funding from this program in the past, they will be asked to describe how they used the funds. 4. 1-3 sentence synopsis of the project (for public dissemination if awarded) 5. One paragraph explaining why this funding source is essential to the launch or success of the proposed project. 6. Project description that is accessible to non-specialists (limit one page, PDF; an additional page may be included for figures and/or references). Proposals will be evaluated by reviewers from all three FAS divisions and SEAS, so **it is critical that proposals be accessible across fields**. The project description should include: 1. The question or problem, and why it is important 2. The approach to be taken 3. The potential impact of the proposed work. 7. Abridged CV (limit two pages, no specific template required, PDF) 8. List of all current and pending internal and external sources of funding in direct support of the applicant's research and scholarship (PDF, include $ amounts). Applicants do not need to include startup or unrestricted funds. 9. Budget and budget justification (limit one page, no specific template required, PDF). Budgets may request up to $125,000 and should provide enough information to convey the alignment of costs with the proposed work. 1. Proposals with insufficient budget justifications may see their budgets reduced. 2. Proposals typically request support for one year; however, the funded period may extend beyond a year if the project requires additional time. The project start date will coincide with the date of award notification—anticipated to be December 15 for fall applications and May 15 for spring applications. Although awarded funds do not have a firm end date, the FAS expects they will be used as quickly as is feasible to advance the proposed work. Applicants are not required to specify exact project dates, but may do so in the budget request if they wish. 3. Faculty are strongly encouraged to work with their grant administrators, particularly when including personnel and fringe. Faculty in Social Science departments without a designated grant administrator should contact [Jimmy Matejek-Morris](mailto:jmatejek@fas.harvard.edu) for support. Faculty in the Arts and Humanities should contact [Katherine Zuccala](mailto:kzuccala@fas.harvard.edu) for support. 4. Examples of eligible expenses include but are not limited to: 1. Personnel such as postdocs, graduate students, undergraduate students, consultants, translators. **For any Harvard personnel who are not trainees, or any personnel external to Harvard, the budget justification should explain why the personnel were selected and their abridged, two-page CV(s) should be included in the supplementary documents**. 2. Fringe benefits 3. Computer software that directly supports the proposed research 4. Domestic and international travel 5. Equipment user fees 6. Archive fees 7. Copyright acquisition 8. Data acquisition costs, including human subject payments 9. Training to acquire a new skill or area of expertise that will enable the proposed project 5. The following expenses are NOT eligible for funding: 1. Overhead 2. Faculty salary 3. Tuition 4. Educational/course use 5. Publication costs 6. Operational costs not attributed to a specific project 7. Conferences, seminars, workshops, and events unless directly related to strengthening a project so that it can compete for external funding 10. Optional Supplementary Documentation: Applicants may upload the following supplementary documents: 1. A previously submitted external proposal that was declined for funding, along with any reviews received (up to ten pages), if they believe it will provide insight into their project or demonstrate why it is difficult to fund through traditional sources. 2. Two-page CV(s) for additional personnel. **Please do not upload proposals and/or review documents longer than ten pages, or additional types of documents, such as letters of support, books, references or figures (these may be included as an additional page in the project description), or notices of award.** Please note that proposals to the Dean’s Competitive Fund for Promising Scholarship will be reviewed by non-specialists. There is no guarantee these supplementary documents will be read. Supplementary documents are not a replacement for the required documents. Applicants must still provide the required materials listed above, including a one-page narrative that responds to the questions asked. ### Sample Budgets: Looking for guidance on preparing your project budget? Sample budget documents are available at the links below. Please review these examples to assist you in developing your own budget. [### Sample Budget 1 ](/resource/sample-budget-1) [### Sample Budget 2 ](/resource/sample-budget-2) [### Sample Budget 3 ](/resource/sample-budget-3) ## Review Process: For AY 2025-26, the FAS Dean has appointed a committee of twelve senior faculty members to meet once per semester to review submitted applications and make awards. The current committee membership is as follows: - **Vinothan Manoharan (Committee Chair)**, Wagner Family Professor of Chemical Engineering and Professor of Physics - **Gabriel Chodorow-Reich**, George Fisher Baker Professor of Economics - **Fiery Cushman**, Professor of Psychology - **Sean Eddy**, Ellmore C. Patterson Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology - **Roger Fu**, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences - **Kosuke Imai**, Professor of Government and of Statistics - **Yue Lu**, Gordon McKay Professor of Electrical Engineering and of Applied Mathematics and Harvard College Professor - **Masahiro Morii**, Donner Professor of Science - **Lee Rubin**, Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology - **Gordon Teskey**, Francis Lee Higginson Professor of English Literature - **Xiaofei Tian**, Ford Foundation Professor of East Asian Studies - **Melanie Matchett Wood**, William Casper Graustein Professor of Mathematics ## Reporting: Award recipients may be requested to provide occasional updates on their funded activities, however a formal progress report is not required at this time. ## Dean's Competitive Fund for Promising Scholarship Frequently Asked Questions Open all sections Close all sections ### Who is eligible for the Dean’s Competitive Fund? expand\_more This program is open to FAS and SEAS assistant, associate, and tenured faculty; Professors in Residence and Professors of the Practice are also eligible. ### Can other individuals with PI rights apply, such as Benjamin Peirce Fellows, Society of Fellows, Rowland Fellows, etc.? expand\_more No. Only FAS/SEAS ladder faculty, Professors in Residence, and Professors of the Practice may apply. ### Can a postdoctoral fellow or graduate student serve as co-PI with an eligible faculty member? expand\_more This award is intended for FAS and SEAS faculty. Postdoctoral fellows and graduate students cannot serve as co-PIs but may be included as personnel on a project. An eligible faculty member must serve in the role of PI, lead the project, and oversee all personnel. ### Can the Dean’s Competitive Fund be used for funds to help publish a new book? expand\_more No. Faculty should apply to the FAS [publication funds](https://prod-facultyresources.drupalsites.harvard.edu/internal-funding). There is one funding opportunity for senior faculty and a separate opportunity for tenure-track faculty. ### Will the Dean's Competitive Fund support collaborative projects? expand\_more Yes. Collaborators may submit separate, related proposals which reference each other and would result in two individual awards, or a single proposal requesting resources to benefit two (or more) faculty. In the case of a single proposal, one investigator must serve as lead PI and accept the full award for the project. In the case of multiple proposals, each must: (1) be distinct and understandable on its own; (2) make the case for the specific budget being requested and (3) explain the role of the PI that is submitting the proposal. ### Can the Dean’s Competitive Fund support costs for a center, institute, or other large-scale collaboration? expand\_more The Dean’s Competitive Fund is not intended to fund large collaborative efforts. At most, faculty wishing to apply on behalf of such collaborations should identify a critical piece that this Fund can support which would strengthen the collaboration’s competitiveness for external grants. ### Will the Dean’s Competitive Fund support every application it receives? expand\_more No. The committee will make awards to only the most promising of the applications and will stay within the budget of the Fund. The review committee will reserve the right to reduce budget requests in order to fund as many projects as possible. ### How will faculty receive awards from the Dean’s Competitive Fund? expand\_more Awards are transferred to faculty members’ research accounts, typically Fund #016124 in the FAS, Fund #033043 in SCRB, and Fund #015250 in SEAS. ### What conditions and limitations apply to this funding? expand\_more It is expected that awarded faculty members will use these funds to advance their proposed research so they can eventually apply for other internal or external competitive funding. It is also expected that the funds awarded in support of the proposal will be used as quickly as is feasible to advance the work described. ### What are the start and end dates of the award? expand\_more Proposals typically request support for one year; however, the funded period may extend beyond a year if the project requires additional time. The project start date will coincide with the date of award notification—anticipated to be December 15 for fall applications and May 15 for spring applications. Although awarded funds do not have a firm end date, the FAS expects they will be used as quickly as is feasible to advance the proposed work. Applicants are not required to specify exact project dates, but may do so in the budget request if they wish. ### Can funds be used to pay for project expenses incurred prior to the award date? expand\_more While retroactive spending is not encouraged, project expenses incurred up to one month prior to the anticipated award date (December 15 for fall awards and May 15 for spring awards) are permitted. However, there is no guarantee that a project will be funded and applicants should consider alternative plans in the event that the project is not funded. Awards involving regulated research (e.g., IRB, IACUC, COMS) must not begin any project activities or incur expenses related to the regulated work until all required approvals have been obtained. ### Should Dean’s Competitive Fund awards be listed on a PI’s Current & Pending (Other) Support form? expand\_more Yes. Since these awards are made via a competitive process in support of the PI’s research efforts, the total amount requested and/or awarded should be reported as Current & Pending (Other) Support. The Dean's Competitive Fund project start date will coincide with the date of award notification—anticipated to be December 15 for fall applications and May 15 for spring applications. While exact project dates are not required in Dean's Competitive Fund applications and awarded funds do not expire, PIs should estimate the project period and list an appropriate end date on their Current & Pending (Other) Support form. In most cases, these awards support projects for one year. ### Can applicants view an example of a successful proposal? expand\_more Yes. Please [contact Research Development](mailto:research_development@fas.harvard.edu) to request a sample successful proposal. ### Is there a cap on the number of times faculty can apply to the Dean’s Competitive Fund? expand\_more No. There is no cap on how often a faculty member can submit. ### Can applicants include letters of support as supplementary documents? expand\_more No, letters of support should not be included. ### Whom can faculty contact with questions about the Dean’s Competitive Fund? expand\_more Please [contact Research Development](mailto:research_development@fas.harvard.edu) with questions about the Dean’s Competitive Fund for Promising Scholarship.