Academic Venture Fund
ForecastedInternal — Cornell University only
Academic Venture Fund supports Cornell teams with seed funding for novel, interdisciplinary sustainability research that aims to influence real-world policies, practices, products, or opinions.
Funder: Cornell University
Due Dates (Anticipated): January 2027 (Optional LOI) | March 2027 (Full proposal)
Funding Amounts: Up to $150,000 per project; up to six awards anticipated in the 2026 RFP
Summary: Seed funding for Cornell teams pursuing novel, interdisciplinary sustainability research with clear pathways to real-world impact.
Key Information: Lead PIs must be Cornell Atkinson Faculty Fellows and meet Cornell’s principal investigator eligibility criteria.
Description
The Academic Venture Fund (AVF), administered by the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, seeds original, interdisciplinary research and programmatic development at Cornell. It supports work unlikely to attract traditional funding because it is novel, risky, early in development, needs preliminary data, or brings together new research teams.
Projects may address the full range of sustainability topics, with priority given to resilient rural-urban systems across Food, Climate, Energy, and One Health. Proposals must demonstrate a clear pathway to real-world impact on policies, practices, products, or opinions. Cornell Atkinson prioritizes sustained adoption and implementation, as well as convincing potential for external follow-on funding. Projects often involve industry, government, nongovernmental organizations, local leaders, and community members, and may advance sustainability locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally.
