Greetings,

We are excited to share this internal funding opportunity, which is providing support as part of Harvard University's recently-announced strategic initiative to invest $150 million in basic and applied research. The Frontiers of Innovation for Societal Impact Fund exists to expand the excellence and impact of Harvard faculty members’ research and creative activity beyond academe to tackle societal challenges through collaborations with external partners. More information about the award can be found in the synopsis and links below. For a full list of currently open opportunities that have been announced through our office, please visit our Current Opportunities web page. As a reminder, our Research Development team is available to provide proposal development support to FAS ladder faculty.

Frontiers of Innovation for Societal Impact Fund

• Application Deadline: October 26, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET
• Award Amounts:
  • Spark awards, up to $100,000 for two years, will support the initiation of an area, branch of research, or creative activity that can lead to new or expanding external partnerships. At least 10 Spark awards are anticipated.
  • Ascend awards, up to $400,000 for two years, will support the expansion or elaboration of an ongoing area of research or creative activity that can lead to new or expanding alliances. In exceptional circumstances, where a proposal is uniquely aspirational, a larger budget may be awarded. At least 5 Ascend awards are anticipated.
  • Awards will be commensurate with the scale of projects, reflecting differing costs across project disciplines and proposal scopes. 
  • All award funds must be spent within two years of distribution.
  • Salary support for Principal Investigators (PIs) and co-Investigators (co-Is) is allowable; applicants requesting salary support must attest to the approval of their school’s academic dean, department chair, or other appropriate institutional officer.
  • Unallowable expenses include student tuition, renovation, and capital project costs.

Program Overview

The Frontiers of Innovation for Societal Impact Fund exists to expand the excellence and impact of Harvard faculty members’ research and creative activity beyond academe to tackle societal challenges through collaborations with external partners. The Fund aims to create mutual value with, for example, industry through shared research outcomes and collaborative problem-solving. The Fund’s primary end goal is work that addresses a demonstrated societal challenge that outside parties are willing to help advance. A funded project should lead to something tangible: for example, a tool, product or prototype, a technological platform, a patent, a process, a company or licensing agreement, a dataset or instrument, or a creative work that delivers a positive societal impact. The common thread is that an entity outside Harvard—whether a corporation, a venture investor, an industry consortium, or a foundation—finds the work valuable enough to partner on or invest in. That willingness from external partners to engage is a measure of societal value.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applications are invited from individuals who hold a faculty appointment at any Harvard school and who have Principal Investigator (PI) rights at that school.
• Spark and Ascend awardees from last year are ineligible to apply for Ascend awards for their previously supported projects.
• Awardees from last year, however, are eligible to apply for Spark and Ascend awards if proposing a different project.  
• Spark project proposals with multiple investigators are encouraged.
• Ascend project proposals require multiple investigators.
• Faculty may apply to both the Spark and Ascend tracks, but will need to complete two separate applications. Applicants applying to both tracks will not receive more than one award if selected. 
• Awards may only distribute funds to members of the Harvard community.
  • Faculty members who have an appointment at a Harvard-affiliated hospital may serve as co-Investigators.
  • No sub-awards to other institutions are allowed. 
• There is no requirement for background or pre-existing inventions, nor any prior intellectual property. However, if there is background intellectual property, it must have been assigned, at least in part, to Harvard and be managed by Harvard’s Office of Technology Development (OTD).
  • If such background intellectual property is jointly owned with one or more other institutions, then an inter-institutional agreement between Harvard and the co-owning institution(s) must be put in place by OTD prior to the initiation of the grant, authorizing OTD to manage the commercialization of the jointly owned background intellectual property on behalf of the co-owning institutions.

Application Materials

• Project Information
• Biosketch or CV (3 page maximum per document) for PIs, co-Investigators, collaborators, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate students (please note, postdocs and grad students must submit CVs, not biosketches)
• Proposal Summary (150 word maximum)
• Proposal (3 page maximum for Spark awards, 6 page maximum for Ascend awards)
  • Supplemental information (figures, images, etc.) is allowed (up to 3 additional pages)
  • References or citations do not count against page limits
• Translational Research Narrative (1 page maximum for Spark awards, 2 page maximum for Ascend awards)
• 1-3 Letters of Support (encouraged for Spark proposals, required for Ascend proposals)
• Budget and Justification (using templates provided in the application portal)
• Other Support disclosure (using template provided in the application portal)
• Attestation (see pages 6-7 of the Request for Proposals for details)

Selection Process

• For both Spark and Ascend awards, proposals will undergo a first-tier faculty subject matter expert confidential review by two reviewers. Then, proposals will undergo a committee review by the Corporate Engagement Steering Committee. 
  • Final decisions on Spark awards will be made based exclusively on the merit of the written proposal. 
    • Spark award applicants will be notified of their results in December 2026, with funding disbursed in January 2027.
  • In addition to the merit of the written proposal, final decisions for Ascend awards will also be informed by an External Review Panel, comprised of individuals with expertise across academic disciplines, with significant representation from external research institutions, corporations, investors, and/or foundations (each of whom will sign non-disclosure agreements).
    • Ascend proposal teams reaching the finalist stage will be required to deliver an in-person five minute project presentation before the External Review Panel, followed by Q&A where panel members ask questions to the presenting team. 
    • Ascend applicants will be informed whether they are moving on to the finalist round in December 2026. Presentations will follow in January 2027, with awards made in February 2027. Funds are expected to be disbursed in March 2027.

Additional Information and Resources

 

 

 

 

Curated funding opportunity lists are funding search topics of broad interest. The following curated lists can be further refined in Pivot based on your funding needs. To view the results you must be on a Harvard network or logged in to your Pivot account. Information on setting up a Pivot account can be found in our one-page Pivot user guide. 

Arts

Data Science, Computer Science, and Artificial Intelligence

Engineering and Technology

Environmental and Climate Science

Humanities

Life Sciences

Neuroscience

Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Social Sciences

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