Democracy Catalyst Fund

Democracy Catalyst Fund is sponsored by Rutgers Democracy Lab (RDL). This fund supports ambitious, interdisciplinary, or collaborative projects related to democracy. Successful applications will show evidence from pilot studies, prototypes, and preliminary research.

Projects related to AI and democracy are aligned with the lab's theme.

RDL Democracy Summer Research Fellowship | Rutgers Democracy Lab RDL Democracy Summer Research Fellowships The Rutgers Democracy Lab (RDL) Democracy Summer Research Fellowships support multi-disciplinary research from Rutgers PhD students that advances our understanding of American democracy. We are excited to announce the launch of the inaugural RDL Democracy Summer Research Fellowship .

The fellowship funds 25 projects led by doctoral students from Rutgers–New Brunswick, Camden, and Newark across 15 academic disciplines. Fellowships support dissertation or co-authored research projects on deliberative dialogue, AI and democracy, democratic innovation, or other topics aligned with the 2025-2026 theme of the Rutgers Democracy Lab. Below, you can find more information about our fellows and their projects.

Click on each fellow to read their biography and project description. Communication, Rutgers–New Brunswick Organizing Risk in Complex Systems Prevention Science, Rutgers–Camden School-Based Participation and Lifelong Democratic Engagement: Evidence from the Add Health Study Muhammad Ammar & Chia-Lin Kao Political Science, Rutgers–New Brunswick Political Science, Rutgers–New Brunswick What the Heck is Populism?

Political Science, Rutgers–New Brunswick From Casework to Chatbots: The Integration of AI in Legislative Offices and Its Implications for Constituent Representation Sociology, Rutgers–New Brunswick AI Policy Adoption Across New Jersey School Districts Industrial Relations and Human Resources, Rutgers–New Brunswick Love or Hate: Testing Effects of (Dis)Liking Politically (Dis)Similar Coworkers Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers–New Brunswick Fiscal Enclaves, Public Finance, and Democratic Visibility Industrial Relations and Human Resources, Rutgers–New Brunswick Organized Labor and Worker-Owned Firms: Building solutions to the challenges of Neoliberalism American Studies, Rutgers–Newark Vietnam Summer 1967: Public History as Political Education in the American Antiwar Movement Library and Information Science, Rutgers–New Brunswick Public Comment on Federal Rules in the Age of Generative AI Sociology, Rutgers–New Brunswick Seeing Conspiracies: Multimodal Diffusion in the AI Era Education, Rutgers–New Brunswick Learning In the Spirit: Reading 19th Century Abolitionist Theology as an Education Philosophy Anthropology, Rutgers–New Brunswick Sharing More Than Space: Democracy and Interdependence in Communal Living Global Urban Studies, Rutgers–Newark The Garden State's Black Politics: Black Women in New Jersey's Elected Offices Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers–New Brunswick Who Decides Where AI Lives?

Community Power and the Democratic Politics of Data Center Siting in New Jersey Psychology, Rutgers–New Brunswick Political Stereotypes and Cross-Party Dialogue: What Keeps Us From Talking To Each Other Anthropology, Rutgers–New Brunswick “We Are Being Hunted”: Policing Black Muslim Life and Limits of Democracy in Minenapolis Public Affairs and Community Development, Rutgers–Camden Safe Haven, Political Bind: Sustaining Democratic Engagement Among Immigrant-Serving Organizations in New Jersey Political Science, Rutgers–New Brunswick AI Politics is Local: Turning Down the Temperature on Data Center (DC) Politics Bilingualism and Second Language Acquisition, Rutgers–New Brunswick Nonprofessional Translators in the Age of AI: Exploring Translator Aptitude and Human-Computer Interaction Political Science, Rutgers–New Brunswick Geography, Rutgers–New Brunswick The Cloud Footprint Index: Developing a Flexible Evaluation Multi-Dimensional Framework for Data Center Impacts on Sustainability and Regional Economies Social Work, Rutgers–New Brunswick The Mic and the Masculine: Sexism and Gender Politics on the Joe Rogan Experience Library and Information Science, Rutgers–New Brunswick Learning Democracy with AI: User Uncertainty and Civic Understanding in LLM-Mediated Information Seeking Yi Zhao & S.

M. Mehedi Zaman Communication, Rutgers–New Brunswick Library and Information Science, Rutgers–New Brunswick Moral Bridging at Scale: AI-Personalized Persuasion and Democratic Outcomes The program is especially interested in projects aligned with three priority areas, but also funds research on other democracy-related topics. Proposed research should focus on American democracy.

Comparative work will also be considered if it demonstrates clear relevance to or implications for the United States. Research examining constructive dialogue, public skill building for civil discourse, civic trust, and/or participatory governance practices such as citizen assemblies, participatory budgeting, etc. 2.

The Effects of AI on Democracy Projects that analyze how artificial intelligence and emerging technologies shape governance, elections, public opinion, media ecosystems, regulation, civic participation, or political power.

Research on institutional reform, participatory governance models, civic technology, electoral reform, community-based efforts to foster healthier democratic engagement, as well as other efforts to strengthen democratic accountability and responsiveness. Research on other democracy-related topics that aligns with the Mission of the Rutgers Democracy Lab, the 2025-2026 theme , or broader programming .

Support fieldwork, pilot studies, archival visits, surveys, experiments, or related project costs. Support ambitious, interdisciplinary, or collaborative projects. Successful applications will show evidence from pilot studies, prototypes, and preliminary research.

Catalyst funds are limited to students who have advanced to PhD candidacy or will advance in Summer/Early Fall 2026. Students who are in the process of advancing to candidacy can explain their timeline in the application form. Applications for the Democracy Catalyst Fund will also be considered for the Seed Fund.

Must be an actively enrolled PhD student at Rutgers–Newark, Rutgers–Camden, Rutgers Health, and Rutgers–New Brunswick. Open to students in any discipline. Funds may not be used for equipment purchases or as a writing stipend.

Fellowships can support dissertation research or other projects. Catalyst funds are limited to students who have advanced to PhD candidacy or will advance in Summer/Early Fall 2026. Students who are in the process of advancing to candidacy can explain their timeline in the application form.

Co-authored and collaborative projects are permitted. Active enrollment during the fellowship period is required. Fellows will be required to participate in an in-person meeting at the beginning of the summer, two virtual check-in meetings during the summer, and present (preliminary) findings at a symposium scheduled for Fall 2026.

One half of the award will be disbursed at the start of the summer. The remaining half will be released at the end of the summer following required check-ins.

Research statement - Provide a clear and concise description of your proposed project, including the central research question, its significance, and your methodological approach, and explicitly articulate how the project aligns with and advances one or more of the thematic priorities identified in this call.

Applicants should situate their work within relevant scholarly conversations or gaps in the field and outline the anticipated intellectual contributions of the project.

1,250 words (Democracy Catalyst Fund) Impact Statement - Explain the potential real-world implications of your project, including the populations, institutions, or systems it seeks to influence, with attention to pathways through which the work may generate meaningful societal outcomes. (300 words) Letter of support from faculty advisor Applications for the Democracy Catalyst Fund will also be considered for the Seed Fund.

Letters of support for the Catalyst Fund should indicate why the applicant is well-positioned to undertake a project at this expanded scope and level of investment. The Selection Committee includes faculty from a range of disciplines engaged in democracy research. Applicants should therefore describe the project’s goals, methods, and significance in clear, accessible language that can be understood by non-specialists.

Please avoid technical jargon and write as clearly and concisely as possible. Applications can be submitted here by May 1, 11:59pm. Results will be announced in early May.

Please email questions to democracy@eagleton. rutgers. edu .