Pipeline Grants Competition
Competition Details
The Pipeline Grants Competition deadline is usually in the Fall for funding the following Summer. Please see our deadlines page and sign up for the RSF mailing list and follow RSF on Twitter for updates.
Eligibility
Early-career scholars (anyone who is currently an Assistant Professor or Adjunct Assistant Professor, as well as Lecturers who received the Ph.D. after January 1, 2014) are eligible to apply. The pipeline grants competition is only available to faculty who have not previously received a research grant or a visiting fellowship from RSF. The program seeks to promote racial, ethnic, gender, disciplinary, institutional, and geographic diversity and will prioritize applications from scholars who are underrepresented in the social sciences.
Budget Guidelines
A budget is not required at the time of submission. The budget will be finalized with the grantee, their university's research office, and RSF after the approval of the grant. For general budget guidelines, see our budget requirements. The following are special budget exceptions that are specific to this program. The budget guidelines listed here for the pipeline grants competition supersede any conflicting guidelines listed on the general budget webpage.
- Budgets are limited to $35,000 for individuals or $50,000 for teams of eligible assistant professors and should use the Pipeline Budget Template
- PI/co-PI salary support is limited to $15,000 per eligible PI (not including fringe), course buyouts are allowed, but count towards the limit
- Conference travel is allowed, limited to $3,000
- Projects are limited to 1-year
- No indirect costs are allowed
- Full professors, associate professors, and assistant professors who have previously received RSF funding are eligible to be co-PI’s on projects, but cannot receive funding
RSF will pair grantees with mentors working in the same field, and provide an honorarium for the mentors.
Proposal
We do not require or accept letters of inquiry for the Pipeline Grants Competition. Proposals should be submitted through RSF’s online application portal. Proposals are limited to seven single-spaced pages (with standard 11 or 12-point font, and 1-inch margins), and should include a very brief literature review (no more than one page), and detailed information on the research question, hypotheses, research methods and data, analytic plan, and project timeline. References do not count towards the page limit. Also required are an abbreviated CV (5 pages max). If your proposal is positively reviewed, we will ask for a detailed budget, budget justification (1-2 pages), and a letter from your institution stating that it will act as the fiscal agent for the project should a grant be made, but these are not required at the time of application. Investigators from the selected projects will be invited to an onboarding webinar after the funding decisions have been made, to inform about RSF grantee reporting and best practices, as well as budget guidelines and other due diligence requirements.
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted via the RSF online application portal, Fluxx.
- Create an account or log in to your existing account. **Allow up to 48 hours for a new account to be approved**
- Start a new “Pipeline Grants” application
- Submit the following documents:
- A concise single-spaced proposal (7 pages maximum) describing the proposed work;
- An up-to-date abbreviated CV (maximum of 5 pages per CV) for each investigator;
- Not required at submission, but required prior to funds being disbursed:
- A budget narrative (1-2 pages);
- A detailed Excel budget using the Foundation’s budget template;
Research Conference
The funded researchers will be expected to present their findings at a capstone conference. Investigators, mentors, advisory committee members, and other experts will participate. The conference will focus on improving the quality of the research and also foster collaboration among researchers. RSF will reimburse participants for reasonable travel expenses to attend the conference.
Administrative Procedures
The grant must be administered by the grantee’s university. RSF will pay the entire grant amount upon submission of all completed grant documents. At the end of the grant period, the investigator(s) must submit a final substantive report to RSF along with an official financial report from the university and copies of all research papers supported by the grant.
Submit a Pipeline Grant Proposal
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about applying for a pipeline grant