Small Grants for Faculty Research

The University of Michigan’s Population Dynamics and Health Program (PDHP), part of the Population Studies Center at the Institute for Social Research, is pleased to accept applications for its Small Grants Program. PSC offers four types of small grants — (1) Pilot Project Seed Grants, (2) Methods Development Small Grants, (3) Mini Seed Grants for Project Development, and (4) Mini Grants for Computing and Secure Data Analysis — each described further below. While each of these types of small grants serves different research goals, the funds for this program are designed to strengthen subsequent applications for external funding and to improve the scientific innovation and impact of research in population science.

We prioritize funding research within the scope of the Population Dynamics Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, particularly in our three primary research areas:

  1. Family and Intergenerational Influences on Health and Wellbeing
  2. Reproductive Health, Fertility, and Romantic Relationships
  3. Population Health, the Life Course, and Biosocial Processes

If your proposed research activities include what NIH defines as a foreign component or a clinical trial, we cannot fund it through this mechanism, but we may be able to fund it using PSC endowment funds from our generous donors. Please include detailed information in your application materials so that we can evaluate them for their match with our funding sources.

Human subjects: For projects that will involve human subjects, no funds will be released until all IRB permissions are in place. Please plan accordingly so that the research may commence on time.

Click on the links below for details about each type of small grant and its application form.

Types of small grants table
Type of Small Grant Purpose Award Size Eligible Faculty Application Due Date
Pilot Project Seed Grants To fund pilot projects in population science that enhance the strength of subsequent proposals to NIH (or other external sources) for full-scale population science research projects Most grants will range from $10,000 to $15,000, but grants above this range will also be considered All U-M faculty March 29, 2024
Methods Development Small Grants To support work that advances population science by developing, testing, and implementing new methods that meet researchers’ needs across existing projects and/or in new proposals Most grants will range from $10,000 to $15,000, but grants above this range will also be considered. PSC Faculty Affiliates March 17, 2023
Mini Seed Grants for Project Development To support PHDP Faculty Affiliates who are developing projects that are externally funded or are likely to lead to external funding and are in need of relatively small-scale support Up to $3,000 PSC Faculty Affiliates Applications reviewed on a rolling basis
Mini Grants for Computing and Secure Data Analysis To support PDHP faculty affiliates in need of high-performance computing and other computing resources (including setting up secure workspaces for sensitive data) Up to $3,000 PSC Faculty Affiliates Applications reviewed on a rolling basis