Apply for a Research Grant

Eligibility & Minimum Requirements

We welcome applications for Penn Global Research Grant funding that meet the following minimum requirements: 

• Penn-based Faculty or Affiliates: Projects’ Principal Investigators (PIs) must be a Penn affiliate with a long-term position at the University, normally a Penn faculty member or senior administrator. In addition, Penn Global welcomes proposals for projects that include co-PIs or collaborators from all affiliates of the Penn community, including academic support staff, undergraduate- and graduate-level students, visiting scholars, and alumni, as well as external partners.  We expect that the project PI will be responsible for at least 50% of the total work and responsibilities involved in the project.
  
• Globally Focused: Projects or activities must advance the study, teaching, and/or engagement of one or more countries outside the United States or issues, trends, topics, or challenges that are of global importance. The Penn Global Research & Engagement Grant Program cannot support projects that primarily take place within or are focused on the United States.
  
• Matching Funds: Some form of matching funding or support must be provided from another Penn or external source. Matching funds requirements vary depending on each application’s respective application track (see Application Tracks section of this page for more information.)

Note for Applicants with Multiple Grants and/or Planning Multiple Applications

Penn Global’s Grant Program endeavors to support as diverse an array of projects as possible across regions, disciplines, Penn Schools and Centers, and principal investigators (PIs). We welcome PIs to concurrently have one Convening and one Research and Engagement project running at any given time.

Applicants are also welcome to submit new applications while an existing project is finishing its final award expenditures such that the existing project’s expenditures would conclude prior to the launch of their new proposed project. Exceptions to this general project limit guidance may be made on a case-by-case basis, and while this limit extends to PIs there is no limit to the number of projects one may serve on as a collaborator. 

PIs are welcome to submit multiple applications for different projects in the same application cycle. However, please note that due to the limit on PI-ship the applications may be in competition with each other during the review process.

Types of Support

Penn Global Research Grants support many types of activities including the following, and Penn Global welcomes creative and innovative proposals featuring activities not captured below:

Research and Educational Collaborations: Development of international partnerships, research networks, or global programs on Penn’s campus, including but not limited to the development of a cross- or multi-School initiative on a particular topic or theme.

Research Travel & Associated Costs: Travel for faculty research activities or related work outside the United States, and costs associated with Penn faculty doing extended research outside the United States. Also includes in-country travel for partners and/or collaborators.

Provost’s Office funds can be used for no more than five round-trip flights, or ten one-way flights, per Project per year. Provost’s Office funds cannot be used for business class travel, though matching funds may be used to upgrade an economy-class ticket purchased using Provost’s Office funds.

Finally, all Penn Global-supported travel must comply with applicable University travel procedures, including the use of specified Penn travel portals and/or advance approvals when applicable due to public health or other considerations.

Field Work: Costs associated with conducting field work, which may include but is not limited to: data collection (e.g., surveys, focus groups, observations, etc.); data analysis, reporting, and archiving; manuscript preparation and publication; equipment* necessary to perform the work, etc. (See our Allowable and Unallowable Costs for types of equipment the Grant Program cannot fund.)

Certain Kinds of Training & Capacity Building: Support for Penn faculty and/or teams to partner with organizations abroad to develop or enhance skills, methods, and the expertise needed to address well defined issues of local, regional, and global importance in connection with research goals.

Penn Global Research Grants cannot support training or capacity building projects that are open-ended and/or do not involve a direct connection to ongoing research or teaching. Rather, the training and capacity building must be concretely tied to measurable and demonstrated research or teaching outputs and outcomes.

Teaching and Student Engagement: Support for Penn students to participate in the project (e.g., as research assistants), thereby providing them with significant research, educational, or service experiences. Such support should be directly and closely related to ongoing research activities, workshops, conferences, or other activities listed in this category.

Applicants seeking funding for courses that involve international travel are encouraged to consider applying to lead a Penn Global Seminars, managed by Penn Abroad.

Service Learning and Social Entrepreneurship: Activities with both an educational and public, community, or social service component that are intended to engage a specific target community, population, or organization abroad.

Penn Global Research Grants cannot support service learning or social entrepreneurship projects that are open-ended and/or do not involve a direct connection to ongoing research or teaching. 

Note about Workshops, Conferences and Other Convenings: Penn Global Research Grants also support workshops, conferences, and other convenings integral to a larger research project. Such convenings may provide a platform for the faculty member to share their findings with a public audience. If you are interested in seeking support for a stand-alone convening, or series of convenings, please apply for a Penn Global Convening Grant. 

Funding Tracks, Term, Budget & Matching Funds

Funding Tracks

The Penn Global Grant Program offers three research tracks based on the scope, length, and funding level of the project. Each Research Grant application is reviewed through one of three funding tracks. Your application will be reviewed only alongside others in the same funding track. Tracks include:

Track 1: Seed Grants

– Requested funding capped at $15,000
– Matching funds encouraged, but not required
– Ideal for new projects/concepts in exploratory phase

Track 2: Mid-size Grants

– Requested funding capped at $75,000
– Matching funds required; 1:1 ratio preferred
– Ideal for projects in proof-of-concept phase

Track 3: Large Grants

• No funding cap, though awards typically do not exceed $150,000
• Matching funds required; 1:1 ratio is expected and generally required
• Ideal for large-scale projects that advance School, Center, and University strategic global priorities; advance ambitious, interdisciplinary and inter-School collaborations; and scale up equitable partnerships between Penn and other international institutions

Award amounts are total per project, not per year project is active.

Please note that peer reviewers assess proposals’ prudence in budgeting for project-related expenses: requesting the maximum amount in your funding track without a strong budget justification may hinder your application’s chance at success.

TERM

Penn Global Research Grants have historically averaged terms of 1 to 3 years; however we welcome proposals for longitudinal research and engagement beyond 3 years as a proposal’s focus and scope may merit. Other exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis. 

BUDGET

There is no minimum or maximum award amount for Penn Global Research Grants, although awards generally range between $10,000 and $150,000, depending on the Funding Track. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis.

Allowable & Unallowable Costs. As applicants build their budget, applicants and their business administrators are strongly encouraged to review our list of allowable and unallowable costs.

Partnering with UPIASI. India Research and Engagement Fund (IREF) recipients are welcome to partner with the University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of India (UPIASI) to perform projects and activities in India. Any project activities directly engaging UPIASI are subject to a 15% facilitation fee. Project PIs and BAs are expected to keep this facilitation fee in mind if they plan to engage UPIASI.

Partnering with the Penn Wharton China Center. China Research and Engagement Fund (CREF) recipients are welcome to engage with the Penn Wharton China Center (PWCC) as part of their project (e.g. conferences hosted at the Penn Wharton China Center). Any project activities directly engaging the PWCC are subject to a 20% facilitation fee. Please figure this PWCC facilitation fee into your budget proposal. 

MATCHING FUNDS

With potential exception of Seed Grant-track applications, Penn Global Research Grants require matching funds material support to be contributed by the applicant’s School, center, or department, or from one or more Penn or external source(s).

As a general rule, the Provost’s Office expects to match awardee-provided funds on a 1:1 basis, so that Provost’s Office funds will comprise no more than 50% of the total Project budget. However, the goal of the funds is to stimulate transformative research, and proposers are welcome to submit proposals with alternative matching ratios, especially for proposals that respond to emerging or ongoing issues or challenges.

When to Secure Matching Funds. The proposal review process will take into consideration likelihood of securing match funds as evidenced by letters of intent or other documented expressions of support. Matching funds do not have to be in-hand when proposals are submitted, but the expectation is that the matching funds will be in-hand at the time of award.At the time of award, matching funds contributed by the Awardee must be confirmed with the Penn Global Business Office prior to any Provost Office funds being provided. It is expected that the awardee will meet their annual match commitment each year, or they may jeopardize future years’ Provost funding.

In-Kind Matching Funds. Forms of in-kind match may, but are not guaranteed to, be considered on a case-by-case basis. Applications proposing one or more forms of in-kind match should include these with equivalent cash value in their line-item budget proposals, and should additionally enclose a Letter of Support from each in-kind match source confirming this equivalent cash value.

Criteria for Priority Consideration

Penn Global looks for projects that enhance Penn’s engagement with one or more countries or regions outside the United States and/or issues, trends, topics, or challenges that are of global importance. Projects must primarily take place outside the United States and be focused on issues that are not United States-centric.

Success can be measured by a variety of criteria; there is no “one-size-fits-all” model. But in general, benchmarks for success can be measured by:

• Research and academic outputs (e.g., scholarly publications, presentations, events)
• Cultivation of or strengthening of existing equitable engagement with international partners
• Creation and development of new courses at Penn or educational opportunities for Penn students
• Ability to attract school/center and external funding, media coverage, and research or policy impact

Penn Global welcomes all proposals that meet its minimum criteria, but proposals that feature the following will receive preferential consideration: