The Columbia Center for Political Economy is seeking applications for grant funding from eligible Columbia University faculty. The Center will provide faculty with financial support to conduct research within the field of political economy, understood broadly.
About the Faculty Grant Competition
Center faculty grants are for one year and are intended to support research and the generation of new knowledge and networks. Awards are anticipated to range from $10,000 to $60,000.
Learn more about the 2024-25 Center faculty grant recipients and their research.
Topics
This round of grants will support work that aligns with the Center’s four Idea Labs, or with the cross-cutting themes of international political economy and political economy and democracy.
- Work and Labor focuses on the empirical study of labor and labor markets, including collective worker action and the future of domestic and international labor movements.
- Firms and Industrial Policy seeks to strengthen the knowledge base for smart industrial policy through explorations of firm behavior, drivers of innovation and technology adoption, conceptual issues in the design of industrial policies, and practical issues faced in implementation.
- Money and Finance explores the relation of money and finance both in theoretical terms and in institutional configurations, including the design of financial intermediaries and their relation to central banks and financial market regulators.
- Political Economy of Climate: Forests and Fossil Fuels explores how political and economic forces shape policy and societal responses to climate change. This year, the Lab particularly welcomes projects focused on the political economy of forests and how communities dependent on fossil fuel extraction adjust to shifts in demand.
- Political Economy and Democracy considers challenges emanating from the relationship between economic structures and democratic politics, such as economic and political inequalities and polarization and challenges to democratic institutions and processes.
- International Political Economy considers any of the above themes from an international perspective, as well as topics relevant to the theme of international macroeconomics and geopolitics.
Who Can Apply?
Columbia University faculty from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. Principal investigators must be full-time faculty members at Columbia University or its affiliates. Faculty may serve as principal investigator on only one proposal.
Deadline
The deadline for proposal submissions is Monday, March 3, 2025, at 5 p.m. EST. Applications must be submitted using the Submittable application form. Award announcements will be made in May 2025, and the award period will run from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026.
Proposal Requirements
A completed application includes the following:
- Project proposal (see application for additional details);
- Budget narrative and budget template (i.e., a summary table with a clear description of how the grant funds would be spent on participant payment, fees, travel costs, etc.); and
- Contact information and curricula vitae for project team members.
Apply
FAQs
- Are faculty from all Columbia University schools invited to apply? add
Yes, full-time faculty from all Columbia University schools and affiliates are invited to apply.
- Are research scientists eligible to apply? add
Research scientists of any rank are not eligible to apply as principal investigators; however, they may serve as collaborators for one or more applications.
- Who can serve as a collaborator? add
Collaborators may include other faculty members, research scientists, and external partners such as organizations and individuals from the nonprofit, higher education, public, or private sector.
- Which faculty members are encouraged to apply? add
While applications from early-career faculty are encouraged, all full-time Columbia faculty are eligible for Center faculty grants. Early-career faculty include full-time, assistant, and associate professors who have received their highest academic degree within the last 10 years.
- Can an individual faculty member apply for a grant? add
Yes, individual faculty members may apply; however, the Center is principally interested in supporting projects that are interdisciplinary and involve applicants from multiple departments and schools. Each proposal must have an identified principal investigator. The full administrative and fiscal responsibility and management of the project resides with the principal investigator named in the award.
- When is the application available and when is the deadline? add
The online application opens on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, and will close on Monday, March 3, 2025, at 5 p.m. EST. Grantees will be notified in May 2025.
- Do I need to complete the application in one sitting? add
No, you may return to the application as many times as needed until the application deadline. Once your application is submitted, no additional changes can be made.
- Is there a preference for projects in specific geographic locations? add
The Center will prioritize proposals with the potential to break new ground in understanding the intersection of economies and political and social processes in the U.S. However, projects may be domestic, international, or comparative in focus.
- What is the maximum length of the proposal? add
The executive summary must be limited to 350 words. The proposal narrative is limited to 3,000 words. All proposals must be submitted via the Submittable platform.
- What are allowable expenses for which grant funds may be used? add
Grants will support research and convening activities. The funds will cover a wide range of expenses. For example, they might be used to:
- Purchase data or computing resources
- Hire student research assistants and consultants
- Cover honoraria and logistical costs for workshops and conferences
- Cover domestic and/or international travel
- Purchase supplies and equipment
- Can grant funds be used to cover a percentage of Columbia faculty salaries? add
No, funds cannot be used to support a portion of Columbia University faculty salaries.
- What is the timeline for utilizing the funds of this grant? add
Grant funds must be used completely during the 12-month award period, which will run from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026.
- What Center activities will grantees be involved in? add
Each grantee is expected to serve as an active participant in the Idea Lab or cross-cutting initiative from which they are receiving funding. This may include producing publications, presenting project outcomes at conferences and workshops, and working with Center staff and postdoctoral research scholars on related engagements.
- How will applications be considered? add
In reviewing proposals, a grant selection committee will prioritize collaborative and multidisciplinary initiatives with the potential to break new ground in understanding the intersection of economies and political and social processes in the U.S. and elsewhere and advancing theoretical, conceptual, and methodological innovation. The Center will have discretion on the final grant amounts awarded.
- How do I get more information? add
Please email us at [email protected].