Eligibility

Ohio State faculty, research staff, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students are eligible to apply. Graduate student applicants must identify a faculty advisor in the application and include a brief, one-paragraph endorsement from that advisor.

What Pilot Grants Can Support

Pilot Grant funds may support research-related expenses such as compensation or incentives for experimental or survey participants, research materials and equipment, and datasets. Conference registration and travel expenses are generally not funded. Personnel costs, including undergraduate wages and graduate student support, are also generally not funded.

Applicants must provide a budget that identifies all anticipated project costs and explains the purpose of each requested expense.

Proposal Requirements

The project description may not exceed three pages. It must clearly explain the central research question and its significance, how the proposed work builds on and advances existing scholarship, and how the project relates to IDEA’s mission.

Applicants must also describe the anticipated scholarly products, such as published papers or book chapters, and demonstrate the potential for, and a commitment to, developing and submitting a related proposal for future external funding. Applicants are also encouraged to explain how they would conduct the research in the absence of IDEA funding.

Application Materials

The application asks for information about the principal investigator, faculty advisor when applicable, other collaborators, previous IDEA funding, resubmission status, and current or pending support for the proposed research.

Applicants must also provide a project description, budget and budget justification, and current CVs for all researchers. Graduate student applicants must include the required faculty advisor endorsement.

How Proposals Are Reviewed

Reviewers evaluate proposals on the following criteria:

1. Significance
2. Contribution to scholarship
3. Fit with IDEA’s mission
4. Scholarly products
5. External funding potential
6. Budget

Pilot Grant Timeline

Pilot Grants are offered through an annual competition.

• Call for applications: December 2026
• Applications close: Friday, February 5, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern
• Application review: February 8–26, 2027
• Award notifications: Friday, March 5, 2027
• Grantee presentations: Autumn semester 2027 (September to November)

Dates are subject to change.

Award Recipient Responsibilities

As a condition of the award, recipients agree to:

• Use award funds within 15 months of the award date, consistent with the approved budget and university policy (including IRB approval for research with human subjects)
• Present their research at an IDEA Lab Workshop
• Acknowledge IDEA support in related presentations and publications
• Submit a brief final report on project outcomes and expenditures
• Respond to follow-up requests about resulting publications and external funding
• Notify IDEA of significant changes to the project’s scope, timeline, or budget