The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) has opened applications for Building Better Futures, a new interdisciplinary grant program administered in partnership with the Center for Global Health Equity (CGHE), Poverty Solutions, and the Institute for Research on Women and Gender. Proposals are due Wednesday, Jul. 29, at 5 p.m.
Faculty looking for support on interdisciplinary research have a new opportunity through Building Better Futures, a grant program from the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) that the Center for Global Health Equity (CGHE) is proud to help administer as a partnering center, alongside Poverty Solutions and the Institute for Research on Women and Gender.
The Building Better Futures funding mechanism is designed to catalyze new, generalizable research that can lead to future external funding. The program does not fund evaluations of existing academic or clinical programs; instead, it prioritizes new inquiry with the potential to grow into larger, publishable work.
The FY27 research focus area centers on work that empowers people to improve their quality of life, strengthen their communities, and expand opportunity for groups that have historically been excluded. Eligible topics include health and wellbeing, education and skill-building, the effects of fast-evolving technologies, socioeconomic mobility, community strengthening, and helping people navigate periods of change. Applicants are not limited to these domains, but proposals should speak clearly to the program's overall goal of building knowledge that serves the public good.
Two levels of grant awards are available. Successful proposals typically grow the scope of an existing research area, draw on multiple methodological approaches, and involve researchers from more than one discipline, department, or faculty rank. The program is especially interested in work developed in partnership with the communities it aims to serve, and in projects that build lasting capacity within those communities rather than treating them as one-time study sites.
Beyond the grant funding itself, awardees gain access to OVPR's Research Development team and are connected to additional support through CGHE, Poverty Solutions, and IRWG, including opportunities tied to student funding, public engagement, and dissemination of results.
Faculty interested in applying should note the deadline: proposals are due through InfoReady Review by Wednesday, Jul. 29, at 5 p.m. A full list of frequently asked questions, covering eligibility, budget rules, effort and cost sharing, and international data collection, is available on the Building Better Futures program page. Questions not addressed there can be directed to [email protected].
