Funder: Russell Sage Foundation
Due Dates: July 16, 2025 (LOI: Future of Work & Inequality) | October 27, 2025 (Invited Proposals: Future of Work & Inequality) | October 29, 2025 (LOI: Behavioral Science, Race/Ethnicity/Immigration) | February 18, 2026 (Invited Proposals: Behavioral Science, Race/Ethnicity/Immigration)
Funding Amounts: Up to $200,000 (Trustee Grants, incl. 15% indirects) or $50,000–$75,000 (Presidential Grants, no indirects); typically for up to 2 years.
Summary: Supports innovative social science research using novel or original data, with a focus on RSF program areas and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Key Information: LOI required; routine use of public data sets is not eligible unless use is novel or linked to new/restricted data.
Description
The Russell Sage Foundation (RSF) provides research grants to support rigorous social science projects that address questions in its core program areas and special initiatives. RSF is particularly interested in projects that utilize newly available data, demonstrate innovative uses of existing data, or involve original data collection (including field experiments, qualitative interviews, and ethnographies). The foundation encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and methodological diversity, but all proposals must have a well-developed conceptual framework, clear research questions or hypotheses, and a robust research design.
RSF does not fund projects that rely solely on routine analyses of publicly available data (e.g., CPS, ACS, PSID, NLSY) unless the use is novel (such as linking to new data sets or using restricted versions). Grants may be used for research assistance, data acquisition, data analysis, and investigator time for research and writing.
Due Dates
- July 16, 2025: Letter of Inquiry (LOI) deadline for Future of Work and Social, Political and Economic Inequality programs
- October 27, 2025: Invited proposal deadline for Future of Work and Social, Political and Economic Inequality programs
- October 29, 2025: LOI deadline for Behavioral Science and Decision Making in Context, Race, Ethnicity and Immigration, and Immigration and Immigrant Integration programs
- February 18, 2026: Invited proposal deadline for Behavioral Science and Decision Making in Context, Race, Ethnicity and Immigration, and Immigration and Immigrant Integration programs
Deadlines are strict and typically close at 2pm Eastern/11am Pacific.
Funding Amount
- Trustee Grants: Up to $200,000 (including up to 15% indirect costs), typically over two years.
- Presidential Grants: Up to $50,000 (no indirect costs), or up to $75,000 (no indirects) for projects with special data needs or multiple assistant professor PIs.
- Note: Projects using only publicly available data may be considered for Presidential Grants up to $35,000 if the use is innovative.
Eligibility
- Applicants must hold a doctorate or demonstrate a substantial research career.
- Open to researchers and professors; pre-doctoral students are not eligible.
- LOIs and proposals must be submitted by the PI or co-PI (not by administrative staff or students).
- RSF does not fund tuition, scholarships, or general institutional support.
- Visiting Scholars at RSF may not apply for a grant during their fellowship year.
Application Process
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Letter of Inquiry (LOI):
- Required for all applicants; max 4 pages (excluding references).
- Should function as a mini-proposal, focusing on research questions, data/methods, sample, analytic strategy, and project fit with RSF priorities.
- Only one project per LOI; multiple LOIs may be submitted for different projects.
- Submit via the RSF Fluxx portal. New accounts must be created at least one week before the deadline.
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Full Proposal (by invitation only):
- If invited, submit a full proposal (max 20 double-spaced pages, plus required appendices).
- Must include a detailed budget (using RSF template), budget justification, abbreviated CVs (max 5 pages), draft data collection instruments (if applicable), and IRB approval (if applicable).
- Proposals are peer-reviewed and may be considered by RSF advisory committees and the Board of Trustees (for grants >$50,000).
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Review Process:
- LOIs are screened for fit and detail, then may be sent for external review.
- About 15% of LOIs are invited to submit a full proposal; 4–5% of LOIs are ultimately funded.
- Feedback is limited due to volume; only brief reviewer comments may be provided.
Additional Information
- RSF encourages cost-sharing and co-funding, but must be informed of all current and pending support.
- Indirect costs are capped at 15% for Trustee Grants; not allowed for Presidential Grants.
- RSF seldom funds developmental work (e.g., literature reviews, survey development) through regular program grants.
- Annual financial and semi-annual narrative reports are required for funded projects.
External Links
Contact Information