What’s coming up and how QI can help
A number of opportunities for research funding are listed below. Federal agencies and private foundations continue to release funding solicitations and accept proposal submissions. If you need help preparing a grant application, QI proposal writer Molly Wofford is ready to assist. Contact her at mwofford@ucsd.edu to learn more.
Agency/RFP: Simons Foundation: Targeted Grants to Institutes
Amount: $750K over 3 years
Deadline: September 30, 2026
Program Description: The Targeted Grants to Institutes program is intended to support established institutes or centers in the mathematics and theoretical basic physical sciences through funding to help strengthen contacts within the international scientific community.
Agency/RFP: NSF: Advanced Technological Education (ATE)
Amount: $475K – 1M over 3 years
Deadline: October 1, 2026
Program Description: With a focus on two-year Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program supports the education of technicians for the high-technology fields that drive our nation’s economy. The program involves partnerships between academic institutions (grades 7-12, IHEs), industry, and economic development agencies to promote improvement in the education of science and engineering technicians.
Agency/RFP: NSF: NIH: Novel Experiential Technologies Assisting Individual Learning (NExT AI) Hubs (P20 Clinical Trial Optional)
Amount: $390K/yr for 4 years
Deadline: October 2, 2026
Program Description: This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) invites exploratory grant applications, hereafter referred to as the Novel Experiential Technologies Assisting Individual learning Hubs or NExT AI Hubs (formerly Learning Disabilities Innovation Hubs), to address the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies on developmental outcomes in children diagnosed with or at risk for developing a specific learning disability (SLD) impacting reading, writing, and mathematics.
Agency/RFP: Tiny Blue Dot Foundation: Exploring the Science of Perception Box
Amount: $900K over 3 years
Deadline: October 5, 2026 (Letter of Intent)
Program Description: Our foundation seeks to fund neuroscientific research related to studying the science of Perception Box.
Agency/RFP: NSF: NIH: Laboratories to Optimize Digital Health (R01 Clinical Trial Required)
Amount: Not limited, as appropriate to a 4-year project period
Deadline: October 5, 2026
Program Description: NIMH seeks applications for innovative research projects to test strategies to increase the reach, efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of digital mental health interventions which may impact mental health outcomes, including suicide behaviors and serious mental illness.
Agency/RFP: NIA Impact Collaboratory: Demonstration Project for Dementia Care
Amount: $800K over 2 years
Deadline: October 15, 2026 (Letter of Intent)
Program Description: The goal of the Demonstration Project is to generate evidence on effective care delivery practices that can be expanded and implemented in other systems.
Agency/RFP: Cancer Research Institute: CRI Technology Impact Award
Amount: $600K over 2-4 years
Deadline: November 1, 2026 (Letter of Intent)
Program Description: The CRI Technology Impact Award is designed to support early-stage, pre-development concepts — innovations that have not yet been built or tested, but that hold the potential to transform the landscape of cancer immunotherapy.
Agency/RFP: NSF: National Science Foundation Translation to Practice (NSF-TTP)
Amount: $1.2M-2M over 3-4 years
Deadline: November 17, 2026
Program Description: The NSF Translation to Practice (NSF TTP) program focuses on real-world applications of all areas of Science, Technology, and Mathematics (STEM). Proposers can tailor their research and/or innovation activities to solve specific problems faced by consumers, industries, and/or governments.
Agency/RFP: NSF: Expeditions in Computing
Amount: $15M over 7 years
Deadline: December 2, 2026 (Preliminary Proposal)
Program Description: Supports large, multidisciplinary teams pursuing ambitious, long-term foundational research to drive transformative advances in computing, information science and engineering.
Agency/RFP: ArtsConnect Prize
Amount: $200K
Deadline: December 18, 2026 (Letter of Intent)
Program Description: UC San Diego’s ArtsConnect Prize calls on artists living in the San Diego–Tijuana region to think boldly and engage their communities in the creation of a new work.
Agency/RFP: NIH: Biomedical Technology Optimization and Dissemination Center
Amount: $850K/yr for up to 5 years
Deadline: January 28, 2027
Program Description: NIGMS encourages investigators to propose BTOD Centers that focus on technology research areas within the NIGMS mission. Technologies of interest include but are not limited to analytical biochemistry, chemical biology, computational methods, high throughput biochemistry methods, molecular modeling, modeling of biological systems, data science, spectroscopy, microscopy, imaging, structural biology, molecular biology, and cell manipulation.
Agency/RFP: NIH: Focused Technology Research and Development (R01)
Amount: $250K – 500K/yr for up to 5 years
Deadline: February 5, 2027
Program Description: Projects should be justified in terms of technical innovation and utility of such technical innovation for impacting future biomedical research. Outcomes or products of the proposed project should significantly advance the current state of the art and be sufficiently characterized for application in addressing a broad range of biomedical research questions.
Agency/RFP: NSF: Engineering (ENG): Electrical, Communications, and Computing Systems (ECCS)
Amount: $350K – 450K/yr for up to 5 years
Deadline: Rolling
Program Description: Supports foundational research in electrical, communications and computing systems, including advanced devices, communications and sensing, artificial intelligence, control, and power and energy systems.
Agency/RFP: NSF: IUSE/Professional Formation of Engineers: Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (IUSE/PFE:RED)
Amount: Varies
Deadline: Rolling
Program Description: Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (hereinafter referred to as RED) is designed to build upon previous efforts in engineering education research. Specifically, previous and ongoing evaluations of the NSF Engineering Education and Centers Division program and its predecessors, as well as those related programs in the Directorate for STEM Education, have shown that prior investments have significantly improved the first year of engineering students’ experiences, incorporating engineering material, active learning approaches, design instruction, and a broad introduction to professional skills and a sense of professional practice – giving students an idea of what it means to become an engineer.
Agency/RFP: Sloan Foundation: Exploratory Grantmaking in Technology
Amount: Varies
Deadline: Rolling Acceptance of Letters of Inquiry
Program Description: The Sloan Foundation continually explores the intersection of research and technology to identify emerging focus areas where recent innovation, changing contexts, or scarce funding open up potential opportunities for new programs. Exploratory grantmaking is intended to bring community needs and priorities into sharper focus and allow us to determine whether there is a clear strategy and potential impact for the Foundation in a specific area. Supported activities may include workshops and other expert convenings, early software development and prototyping, landscape analyses, development of protocols and standards, initial research on and engagement with potential user communities, and demonstration or other proof-of-concept projects.
Agency/RFP: Sloan Foundation: Open Source in Science
Amount: $1.5M
Deadline: Rolling Acceptance of Letters of Inquiry
Program Description: a licensing strategy, open source has become increasingly established as a set of practices that facilitate distributed collaboration. To fully realize the potential of innovations like data science, computational modeling, novel instrumentation, and machine learning, this program aims to adapt and extend best practices in open source into academic technology development while recognizing the unique workflows and incentives of scientific research.
Agency/RFP: NSF: Infrastructure Systems and People (ISP)
Amount: Varies
Deadline: Rolling
Program Description: Supports fundamental research on the design, optimization, sustainability and resilience of infrastructure systems during normal operation and extreme events, such as natural hazards, to serve community needs.