Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: Scientific Collaboration Grant (< $250k)

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: Scientific Collaboration Grant (< $250k)

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Alfred P Sloan Foundation
Amount: Up to US $250,000
Last Updated: February 24, 2026

Summary

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation supports original research and education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and economics through its Scientific Collaboration Grant, which offers funding up to $250,000. This grant aims to enhance collaboration among researchers by developing innovative technological tools and practices. The foundation prioritizes projects that demonstrate methodological rigor and societal impact, while also emphasizing the inclusion of underrepresented communities in science.

Overview

Note: Interested grantseekers should email a letter of inquiry of no more than two pages to technology@sloan.org. Due to the volume of inquires we receive, it can take up to 8 weeks to receive a Foundation response to a letter of inquiry. Mission The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation makes grants primarily to support original research and education related to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and economics. The Foundation believes that these fields—and the scholars and practitioners who work in them—are chief drivers of the nation's health and prosperity. The Foundation also believes that a reasoned, systematic understanding of the forces of nature and society, when applied inventively and wisely, can lead to a better world for all. Scientific Collaboration Program Goal To develop technological tools and practices that help teams and communities of researchers be more creative and productive, independent of place and time. Strategy Technology platforms can enable geographically dispersed collaboration in configurations that mix remote and in-person, live and asynchronous, immersive, and even human and nonhuman interaction. Given the climate, public health, and equity issues raised by needing to meet in-person, this program explores the ways that technology can enable or inhibit rich interactions at different scales across distance, time zones, and languages. Focus Areas The Future of Conferences & Workshops A tremendous amount of generative interaction in science is enabled by field- and discipline-level convenings. While technology platforms open up new opportunities for virtual and hybrid meetings, we are still in the early days of understanding how to recreate (or even expand on) the rich social practices that we have taken for granted in in-person meetings. Grants in this area aim to study these more ephemeral practices and develop prototypes that explore alternate forms of conference participation. Group Dynamics in Science Every collaborative interaction between researchers is mediated by some form of technology. From chalkboards to Slack to VR, tools enable researchers to generate new ideas and coordinate research activities. Grants in this area aim to better understand the mutual shaping of collaboration tools and scientists, with a particular interest in immersive technologies that enable collaboration across geography and time. Our goal is to explore the potential for and effects of such technologies on research outcomes,, and encourage continued experimentation by scientific teams with emerging digital platforms and immersive technologies. Human-AI Collaboration Recent developments in generative AI have inspired substantial excitement about applications to science, but taking full advantage of these applications will require a nuanced, empirically grounded understanding of how best to structure and optimize collaboration between human researchers and emerging AI agents. Grants in this area support multidisciplinary research on human-AI interaction, as well as prototyping of novel uses of AI systems that move these insights into practice.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Budget & Detailed Budget JustificationRequests for salary should adhere to the following restrictions based on the type of staff seeking support:Faculty (on a 9-month academic salary)All faculty supported through a Sloan grant must receive a standard benefits package customary for their institution.Proposals may request (and must justify) up to one month of summer salary support for senior faculty members in the amount of either 1/9 of academic-year salary or $35,000, whichever is lower. The Foundation may make exceptions to this policy in unusual circumstances, but a strong case for such an exception must be made in the budget justification.For faculty on unpaid leave, the Foundation may consider modest academic-year salary support.Project StaffAs needed, up to 100 percent of full-time salaryAll project/research staff employed by the grantee institution must receive a standard benefits package customary for the institution.Postdoctoral ResearchersAs needed, up to 100 percent of full-time salary.Salary must be customary for the department and institution employing the researcher. All Sloan-supported postdoctoral researchers must receive a standard benefits package customary for their institution.Graduate StudentsAs needed, up to 100 percent of fulltime salarySalary must be customary for the department and institution employing the student.TuitionThe Foundation strongly prefers that funds requested for graduate students be allocated toward salaries, stipends, and other forms of direct support. If tuition coverage must be requested, a clear rationale must be provided in the budget justification.In all circumstances, tuition reimbursement will be capped at the NSF Graduate Research Fellow cost-of-education allowance, as specified in the most recent NSF program solicitation, currently set at $16,000 per student per year.If there is a subcontract, proposers must split overhead costs with the subcontractor institution, with total overhead not to exceed 20 percent of direct project costs. The Foundation suggests that the grantee’s institution take 4% of the overhead on the subcontract and assign the remaining 16% to the subcontractor (although this specific overhead split is not a strict requirement).If the total cost of the project is larger than the amount requested from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the request should include a financial plan for the whole effort that identifies any other financial contributions (either secured or anticipated). When possible, letters of support from other funders should be included indicating their willingness to provide funds and the amount of support to be provided.Empirical Research MethodsGrant proposals that request support for research must include a detailed methodological discussion in the form of an appendix.On some occasions, the Foundation will support the purchase or construction of scientific equipment if such equipment is essential to the success of a Foundation-supported research project or educational initiative.

Ineligibility

What We Do Not FundThe Foundation does not make grants to political campaigns, to support political activities, or to lobby for or against particular pieces of legislation.The Foundation does not make grants to individuals except through its Books program.The Foundation does not generally make grants to for-profit institutions.The Foundation does not make grants in religion, medical research, or research in the humanities.The Foundation does not make grants aimed at pre-college students except through its New York City initiative.The Foundation does not make grants to projects in the creative or performing arts except when those projects are related to educating the public about science, technology, or economics.The Foundation does not make grants for endowments, fundraising drives, or fundraising dinners.The Foundation does not make grants in support of the purchase, construction, or renovation of buildings or laboratories.The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation does not accept or review unsolicited grant proposals.Budget & Detailed Budget JustificationFaculty (on a 9-month academic salary)The Foundation discourages budget requests to pay summer salary for senior faculty.Graduate StudentsThe Foundation does not pay indirect costs on graduate student tuition.Note also that tuition is excluded from overhead calculations, so if the subcontractor is spending money on grad student tuition, that money is not eligible for overhead.For grant requests of $50,000 or less, no indirect (overhead) costs are permitted.For grant requests in excess of $50,000, indirect (overhead) costs may not exceed 20 percent of direct project costs.