Advance Research That Strengthens a Free and Open Society
IHS funds independent research on digital governance, nuclear energy, and deliberative democracy to advance understanding of the foundations of a free and open society.
Funder: Institute for Humane Studies
Due Dates: July 1, 2026: Digital Governance as Liberal Experimentation — full application deadline | July 1, 2026: Nuclear Energy and the Challenge of a Growing Grid — full application deadline | July 10, 2026: Deliberative Democracy and the Effects of Deliberation — full application deadline
Funding Amounts: Up to $20,000 per project; larger awards possible for exceptional proposals; typically 1-year projects.
Summary: Supports independent research on governance, technology, democracy, and economic tools to advance a free and open society.
Description
The Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) offers targeted research funding through Requests for Proposals (RFPs) focused on the institutional, economic, constitutional, and cultural foundations of a free society. Current RFPs invite proposals addressing digital governance, nuclear energy policy, deliberative democracy, and related topics. Funded projects are expected to engage rigorously with the core questions outlined in each RFP, contributing to scholarship on how technologies, democratic processes, and economic tools can sustain and strengthen open, liberal societies. Awardees maintain full independence over their research design, analysis, conclusions, and publication.
