How To Apply

Who and what we fund

Solicitations are open to researchers affiliated with U.S. universities, including graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and professors. Our next requests for proposals will be available in the fall of 2014. Please check back then for up-to-date information regarding our 2015 requests for proposals and application guidelines.

The areas in which we requested proposals during our inaugural round of grant making were:

Does inequality affect macroeconomic and financial imbalances and if so, how? We are interested in proposals that explore how the composition and distribution of income affect consumption and saving decisions, as well as the distribution of income between factors and among sectors of the economy.

Does the level of inequality affect the development of human capital and the potential for talent to emerge from across the income distribution and if so, how? We are interested in proposals that explore questions about inequality and the development of human capital, including but not limited to mobility, educational outcomes, non-cognitive abilities, and the ability of individuals to match their skills and talent to appropriate occupations.

Does the level of inequality affect how the next generation of entrepreneurs is incubated and if so, how? We are interested in proposals that explore how inequality impacts the development of entrepreneurs, including issues related to financial security, access to credit, appetite for risk, education and training, and macroeconomic stability.

Does the level of inequality affect governance of the economic commons and if so, how? We are interested in proposals that explore the relationship between inequality and the quality of socio-political institutions contributing to growth: political polarization, governance, civic engagement, social trust, and rent-seeking and regulatory capture.

These topics represented the primary research interests of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth at the time of our first solicitation, though we entertained exceptional proposals on other issues related to equitable growth. In each category we encouraged researchers to consider the effects of public policies on both economic growth and inequality. We were particularly interested in funding data collection, as well as proposals that draw on interdisciplinary research and/or study the effects of inequality on individual economic behavior in any of the categories listed above.

We will solicit our next requests for proposals in the fall of 2014, with the winners announced in the 2nd quarter of 2015. Grants will normally be in the range of $25,000 to $125,000, though we will also consider smaller proposals up to $15,000 range from graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, as well as proposals for larger grants for exceptional projects.

We are willing to fund a wide range of research activities, including researcher salary and benefits, research assistance, costs associated with conducting experiments, small and essential equipment expenditures, the production of papers, and travel to relevant conferences. Please note that we will provide no overhead.

How to apply

Please note that Equitable Growth’s 2014-2015 competition is not yet open, and we are not accepting Letters of Inquiry at this time. The guidelines below are subject to change.

After reviewing Equitable Growth’s grant program description and information on who and what we fund, researchers interested in applying for a grant should submit a letter of inquiry no longer than three pages detailing the proposed project, including a timeline for completion of the project, expected outcomes, and, if applicable, other secured and anticipated funding sources for the proposed work.

Applicants should include an outline of their proposed budget in a separate document. If a project will require spending in excess of $5,000 on equipment, please include a separate budget justification narrative describing the need for this purchase. When preparing the budget, please note that we will provide no overhead.

Letters of inquiry must be submitted to grants@equitablegrowth.org by February 1, 2015.

We will respond to applicants by April 1, 2015, inviting the applicants we consider promising to submit full proposals. We does not accept unsolicited proposals.

Full proposals should be no longer than 10 pages and should include a description of the proposed work, a review of relevant literature, a timeline for completion of the project, expected outcomes, and, if applicable, other secured and anticipated funding sources for the proposed work. Fonts should be no smaller than 11 point, with margins of at least one inch.

Although the submission of new budget documents along with the full proposal is not required, applicants should be prepared to submit any relevant updates or revisions to the budget.

Full proposals from invited applicants only will be due on June 1, 2015.

Review process

Letters of inquiry will be reviewed by our staff economists. Full proposals will be reviewed by our staff economists, external reviewers when necessary, and members of our steering committee.

If you are interested in serving as an external reviewer for future solicitations, please email grants@equitablegrowth.org.