[Sloan Foundation](https://sloan.org)

No longer accepting new proposals

Varies by project; major grants (>$250K) approved quarterly; typical award size and duration determined by proposal scope.

Supports initiatives to improve software development practices, infrastructure, and recognition in academic research.

This program is currently closed to new grant proposals.

--- ## Description The program aimed to advance scientific discovery by bringing best practices from software engineering into academic research, focusing on adapting tools, institutions, economic models, and incentives to enhance the development, maintenance, and adoption of research software. Rather than funding individual software projects, the initiative targeted systemic improvements such as aligning open source community practices with academia, improving software integration into scholarly communication, and supporting the roles and career paths of those building and maintaining research software. --- ## Due Dates - **No longer accepting new proposals.** --- ## Funding Amount - Award sizes vary based on the scope and duration of the proposed project. - Major grants (over $250,000) are approved quarterly. - Typical funding covers the full project budget as proposed in the letter of inquiry and subsequent proposal. --- ## Eligibility - Grants are made to organizations, not individuals (except through the Books program). - Generally, grants are not made to for-profit institutions, political campaigns, or for lobbying activities. - Not eligible: projects in religion, medical research, or the humanities; pre-college initiatives (except NYC); creative/performing arts (unless related to public science/technology/economics education); endowments, fundraising, or building construction. - Proposals should be for original initiatives with high societal return, strong methodological rigor, and not widely funded elsewhere. --- ## Application Process - This program is currently closed to new proposals. - When open, the process involves: - Submitting a two-page letter of inquiry by email to the relevant program director. - If invited, submitting a formal grant proposal following detailed guidelines. - Review process may take up to 8 weeks for a response to the letter of inquiry. - Major grants are reviewed and approved quarterly; allow sufficient time for review and revisions. --- ## Additional Information - Focus areas included open source community alignment, software publication and archiving, and advancing recognition and career paths for research software engineers. - The program emphasized systemic change over individual software development projects. --- ## External Links - [Program Page: Better Software for Science](https://sloan.org/programs/digital-technology/better-software-for-science) - [Sloan Foundation Grant Application Process](https://sloan.org/grants/apply#tab-letters-of-inquiry) --- ## Contact Information | Type | Details | |--------------|-------------------------------------------------| | Email | [frontdesk@sloan.org](mailto:frontdesk@sloan.org) | | Phone | +1 212-649-1649 | | Contact Page | [https://sloan.org/about/contact](https://sloan.org/about/contact) |

Better Software for Science

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