What Is a Research Grant?

This post was originally published on December 6, 2016 and updated on October 7, 2019.

Within the realm of federal government grants, research and development grants are some of the most numerous and diverse. What types of research grants does the Federal government support?

When you search for “research” on Grants.gov, there are currently over 1,600 open grant opportunities! Each of these diverse assistance programs and grant opportunities are legislatively authorized federal assistance programs that federal grant-making agencies use to support research.

What do you mean by “research”?

A simple definition of research is the “careful study that is done to find and report new knowledge about something” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). While many of us may picture scientists in white coats performing lab experiments, the range of research grants is far wider.

4 New Grants – Big Data, Environment, TB, Volunteering #FundingFriday

Here are four federal grant opportunities that were posted just this week. These fund research with the National Science Foundation (NSF), as well as grants from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).

Federal Grants in Honor of National PTSD Awareness Day #FundingFriday

National Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Day was this Wednesday, June 27th. In honor of the women and men who have bravely served our nation, here are several federal grant opportunities for organizations that support and improve the care of our veterans.

To learn more about PTSD, including an overview, symptoms, and risk factors, please read this resource from the National Institute of Mental Health.

If you are a veteran in search of personal assistance, read the Applying for Benefits page from the Veterans Benefits Administration.

#FundingFriday: Recent Research Grants Posted to Grants.gov

With federal agencies posting funding opportunities to Grants.gov, there are a range of research grants for you to consider applying for.

#FundingFriday: Scientific Research Grants Posted on Grants.gov this Week

Federal funding opportunities that support a range of scientific research were posted to Grants.gov this week. These grants from NSF, NIH, and DOD fund research in the areas of biology and statistics, modeling infectious disease agents, breast cancer, and several more listed below.

#FundingFriday: 5 Recent Research Grants on Grants.gov

Research grants support a wide variety of critical, public-serving missions by the federal government. Check out these five federal funding opportunities that support research in a variety of fields.

Grants.gov Workspace for Colleges and Universities, Part 3 of 3

In Part 3 of our ongoing blog series, we will look at how a Big Team of Specialists can apply for a federal grant using Workspace. We assume you have read Part 1 and Part 2 because these go over the basics and allow us to get into more specifics here.

If you are beginning to see how Workspace might fit your grant process, but you are concerned that some of the more nuanced parts of your standard grant proposal development process will not fit, here are a few ideas.

Grants.gov Workspace for Colleges and Universities, Part 2 of 3

So, you work in the Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) and have to lead your small grants team in applying for a federal grant. Before reading further, please read Part 1 of Grants.gov Workspace for Colleges and Universities. That’s the foundation we build on below.

Let’s say your IHE grant team fits the Small Team of Generalists category. You also know you don’t have a month to try to learn and test out a different grant application system. Here are your next steps to quickly learn whether Workspace will fit your team.

Grants.gov Workspace for Colleges and Universities, Part 1 of 3

Workspace is the new standard application method on Grants.gov. What does that mean for institutions of higher learning (IHE) that apply for federal grants? This 3-part series will provide tips for how you, as representatives of colleges and universities, can integrate Workspace into your grant application process.

The Office of Sponsored Research (or sponsored programs) is typically the go-to resource for principal investigators, researchers, professors, and other IHE employees who want to apply for a federal grant. For Tier 1 Research Universities, this may be a robust office with a very large team of specialized staff. For smaller public or private IHEs, this may be a couple full-time staff with institutional knowledge about who you should talk to for help with navigating Grants.gov or other federal grant systems.

#FundingFriday: Top 5 Most Viewed Grants in May (19th-31st)

Earlier this month, we shared the most viewed grants through the first half month of May. Over the last two weeks of the month, have these trends continued? Below are the top 5 for May 19-31.