Research Grants in the Arts

Research Grants in the Arts is sponsored by National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Funds research projects that strengthen the knowledge base about arts and culture, including studies on design education, human-centered design, and innovative pedagogies in engineering design. This program should be reviewed carefully against your organization's mission, staffing capacity, timeline, and compliance readiness before you commit resources to a full application. Strong submissions usually translate sponsor priorities into concrete objectives, clear implementation milestones, and measurable public benefit.

For planning purposes, treat March 23, 2026 as your working submission target unless the sponsor publishes an updated notice. A competitive project plan should include a documented need statement, implementation approach, evaluation framework, risk controls, and a realistic budget narrative. Even when a grant allows broad program design, reviewers still expect credible evidence that the proposed work can be executed within the grant period and with appropriate accountability.

Current published award information indicates $10,000 - $100,000 Organizations should verify the final funding range, matching requirements, and allowability rules directly in the official opportunity materials before preparing a budget. Finance and program teams should align early so direct costs, indirect costs, staffing assumptions, procurement timelines, and reporting obligations all remain consistent throughout drafting and post-award administration.

Eligibility guidance for this opportunity is: Nonprofit 501(c)(3) US organizations, units of state/local government, federally recognized tribal communities with at least 5 years operating history If your organization has partnerships, subrecipients, or collaborators, define responsibilities and compliance ownership before submission. Reviewers often look for implementation credibility, so letters of commitment, prior performance evidence, and a clear governance model can materially strengthen the application narrative and reduce concerns about delivery risk.

A practical approach is to begin with a focused readiness review, then build a workback schedule from the sponsor deadline. Confirm required attachments, registration dependencies, and internal approval checkpoints early. This reduces last-minute issues and improves submission quality. For the most accurate requirements, always rely on the official notice and primary source links associated with Research Grants in the Arts.

RESEARCH AWARDS | National Endowment for the Arts Partnership Agreement Grants Volunteer to be an NEA Panelist Celebrating America's 250th Anniversary Arts Education Partnership Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network Mayors' Institute on City Design Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge National Folklife Network Save America's Treasures Shakespeare in American Communities American Artscape Magazine National Endowment for the Arts Blog Arts & Artifacts Indemnity Program Disaster Readiness & Recovery for the Arts and Culture Sector Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships National Heritage Fellowships National Council on the Arts National Endowment for the Arts on COVID-19 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Office of the Inspector General The National Endowment for the Arts offers two funding opportunities for research projects: Research Grants in the Arts support research studies that investigate the value and/or impact of the arts in American life.

NEA Research Labs funds long-term research agendas that include multiple empirical studies and the dissemination of various products or services for promoting public knowledge about the arts and their contributions to American life. Each Lab must include an interdisciplinary team of researchers. Full grant program descriptions can be found under Program Guidelines below.

For detailed instructions on how to apply, see Application Instructions below . Research Grants in the Arts* : Organizations eligible to apply include: Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), U. S.

organizations; Units of state or local government; or Federally recognized tribal communities or tribes. Applicant organizations must have completed at least 5 years of operating history prior to the application deadline. Organizations eligible to apply include: U.

S. institutions of higher education, or Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), U. S.

organizations. Applicant organizations must have a five-year history of commissioning and conducting research in the behavioral or social sciences, and communicating research findings and policy implications through reports and/or convenings, at the time of application.

Funding is not available in either program for individuals, applications submitted by a fiscal sponsor, commercial/for-profit enterprises, State Arts Agencies, or Regional Arts Organizations. Full Eligibility criteria can be found in each opportunity’s Program Guidelines document.

Research Grants in the Arts: $20,000-$100,000 Research Labs: $100,000-$300,000 Program Guidelines and Application Instructions Published Part 1: Application Package Available on Grants.

gov Part 2: NEA Applicant Portal Opens to Applicants Part 2: NEA Applicant Portal Submission Deadline Notification of recommended funding or rejection Earliest project start date Program Guidelines & Instructions Program Guidelines : Includes a detailed description of the grant program, eligibility information, award information, an application calendar, application review details, FAQs, and federal award administration information.

Review this information before you decide to apply. Research Grants in the Arts Program Guidelines Research Labs Program Guidelines Application Instructions & Questions : This document includes all application questions and requirements, and full instructions on how to complete and submit both parts of the application.

Research Grants in the Arts Application Instructions Research Labs Application Instructions Applying for a federal grant can be time consuming, we estimate that after registering, the process to draft and submit an application takes approximately 35 hours. Detailed instructions on how to complete and submit the both parts of the application package can be found in the Application Instructions documents above.

Registration Guidance PDF Before you can submit an application, you must register with Login. gov , the System for Award Management (SAM) at SAM. gov , and Grants.

gov or renew/verify these registrations. Registration can take several weeks. Application Part 1, Grants.

gov Submit the Application for Federal Domestic Assistance/Short Organization Form . Clicking the link below will take you directly to the pre-populated application package in Grants. gov.

PART 1 GRANTS. GOV APPLICATION PACKAGES Application packages will be posted in February 2026, links will be available below. Research Grants in the Arts: Funding Opportunity Number 2026NEA01RESEARCHGRANTS Research Labs: Funding Opportunity Number 2026NEA01RESEARCHLABS After clicking the link above: The Grants.

gov “View Grant Opportunity” screen will open, click the red “Apply” button. To create the Workspace application, you must be logged into Grants. gov with a participant role of either Workspace Manager or Authorized Organization Representative (AOR).

If the Apply button is grey or you receive a “bad request” error, please see further instructions on how to troubleshoot . Create a Workspace application: Fill in the Application Filing Name field with your organization name, then Click the Create Workspace button . Go to the Manage Workspace page , where you can begin working on the application.

Application Part 2, NEA Applicant Portal Complete the Grant Application Form (GAF) . Login instructions and step-by-step directions for filling out the GAF are available via the Application Instructions documents above. The Applicant Portal (AP) is a separate website from Grants.

gov, click the link above to access the portal. Applicants may receive a courtesy email at the beginning of the Part 2 submission window as a reminder that the AP is open – you do not need to wait for this email to access the AP, it will open promptly at 9:00 am Eastern Time on the date indicated on the calendar.

Emails can occasionally get caught in spam filters, for this reason non-receipt of the courtesy email does not provide grounds for an extension, nor should it be interpreted to mean that Part 1 of your application was not received. See the Applicant Resources on the sidebar for tutorials, an application checklist and template, and other helpful resources.

Review reporting requirements and other information related to managing a federal award, including the General Terms and Conditions, on our Manage Your Award page. Stay Connected to the National Endowment for the Arts Section 508 Accessibility Scam Regarding NEA Grants 400 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20506