Review the IDEA Research Grants Guidelines before preparing an application. Pilot grant requests may not exceed $8,000. Matching grant requests may not exceed $10,000.

Complete the IDEA Grant Application Form and combine it with all required supporting materials in a single Word or PDF file. Email the complete application to democracyinstitute@osu.edu.

The project description is limited to three pages. The application form, budget and justification, CVs, and other required supporting materials are separate components of the application.

Pilot grants are reviewed once annually. Matching grant applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Consult the Request for Applications Timeline for information about the pilot grant cycle.

Required Application Materials

1. Application form

• Complete all applicable fields on the IDEA Grant Application Form, including:
  • The principal investigator’s name, email address, department and position.
  • The faculty advisor’s name, email address and department for postdoctoral and graduate student applicants, and whether the advisor is a collaborator on the project.
  • Other collaborators’ names, email addresses, positions and departments.
  • Whether the principal investigator has previously received IDEA funding.
  • Whether the proposal is a resubmission of an application that was not previously funded.
  • Whether the request is for a pilot grant or a matching grant.
  • Current and pending support for the proposed research, including each funding source, amount, duration and whether the support is pending or received.

2. Project description — maximum three pages

• Explain the project’s purpose, its contribution to existing scholarship and its relationship to IDEA’s mission. Address the central research question and why it matters.
• Describe the anticipated products, such as published papers or book chapters. Explain how the project could support a subsequent external funding proposal and your commitment to developing and submitting that proposal.
• Applicants are also encouraged to explain how they would conduct the research without IDEA funding.

3. Budget and budget justification

• Provide a budget showing all anticipated project costs. Explain the rationale for each requested expense and how it supports the proposed research.
• For matching grant requests, distinguish the support already provided by the external award from the additional funding requested from IDEA and explain the remaining funding gap.
• Review the Guidelines for examples of allowable expenses and costs that IDEA generally does not fund.

4. Current CVs

• Include a current curriculum vitae for each researcher involved in the project.

5. Faculty advisor endorsement — graduate student applicants

• Include a brief, one-paragraph endorsement from your faculty advisor.

6. External award documentation — matching grant applicants

• Include a copy of the external award notice and a brief explanation of why the existing award is insufficient to carry out the project well. Explain how the requested IDEA funds would address that gap.

Before You Submit

Check that your application includes the completed form, a project description of no more than three pages, a budget and budget justification, and current CVs for all researchers. Graduate student applicants must include the advisor endorsement; matching grant applicants must include the external award notice and funding-gap explanation.

Submit all materials as one Word or PDF file to democracyinstitute@osu.edu. The application template’s instructions page does not need to be included.

Questions?

Contact democracyinstitute@osu.edu or a member of IDEA’s leadership team.