Funder: Stanford University
Due Dates (Anticipated): February 2027 (Next cycle deadline) | June 2027 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: Up to $25,000 for postdocs and PhD students; up to $50,000 for faculty; projects up to 12 months
Summary: Supports novel uses of frontier AI to dramatically improve impact-focused social science research and its public value.
Key Information: Funds AI-enabled research methods, not studies primarily about AI’s effects on society.
Description
Stanford Impact Labs launched this fast grants program in 2026 to support novel uses of frontier AI that substantially improve the speed, quality, relevance, and public value of social science. It seeks proof points that other researchers could adopt or adapt, rather than modest extensions of established methods.
Projects may unlock or analyze new data, improve knowledge generation and synthesis, redesign research workflows using agentic systems, or strengthen how social science is evaluated, reviewed, replicated, translated, and used. Other approaches are welcome if they dramatically improve social science’s public value. The program welcomes work using current AI capabilities as well as approaches that become more valuable as AI advances, with attention to responsible use, benefits, risks, and limitations.
