Russell Sage Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Russell Sage Foundation funds social science research projects concerning behavioral economics, labor, race, immigration, poverty, inequality and the future of work in the U.S.
IP TAKE: The Russell Sage Foundation is an accessible source of support for researchers in the social sciences, although grants and fellowships are limited to scholars and journalists working in the foundation’s prioritized areas of interest. A range of grants and in-house fellowships support researchers at various stages of their careers. Each program page provides detailed information about eligibility, application guidelines and due dates. This is an approachable foundation, so reach out with questions if you aren’t sure which program is right for you.
PROFILE: Established by Margaret Olivia Sage in the early 1900s, the Russell Sage Foundation (RSF) is one of the oldest charitable foundations in the United States. In its early years, RSF funding centered on “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States." Its current mission involves “strengthening the methods, data, and theoretical core of the social sciences.” This funder awards research grants and fellowships in four thematic areas: Behavioral Science and Decision Making in Context; Future of Work; Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration; and Social, Political, and Economic Inequality.
With the exception of one journalism fellowship, grants are limited to scholars conducting research in the social sciences at at U.S.-based universities. This funder does not support direct interventions or services.
Grants for Work and Opportunity, Immigrants and Refugees, Racial Justice and Democracy
The Russel Sage Foundation’s Research Grants, Dissertation Research Grants and Pipeline Grants Competition support research in the social sciences addressing the following topical areas:
Behavioral Science and Decision Making in Context grants support research that aims “to further our understanding of economic, social, political, and psychological decision-making processes, attitudes, behaviors, and institutional practices in public and private contexts such as policing/criminal legal systems, employment, housing, politics, racial/ethnic relations, and immigration.” Relevant disciplines include but are not limited to economics, psychology, political science, sociology, law and public policy.
The Future of Work program supports research that “examines the causes and consequences of the deteriorating quality of low-wage jobs in the United States.” Topics of interest have included technology, labor union decline, immigration, the outsourcing of jobs to other countries and minimum wage.
Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration grants support research addressing “questions stemming from the significant changes in the racial, ethnic, and immigrant-origin composition of the U.S. population.” This program prioritizes multi-disciplinary “perspectives and methods” and aims to “foster an understanding of how we might better achieve the American ideals of a pluralist society.”
A special initiative of this program funds grants for research on Immigration and Immigrant Integration. Funded in collaboration with the Carnegie Corporation, these grants prioritize “innovative research on the effects of race, citizenship, legal status and politics, political culture and public policy on outcomes for immigrants and for the native-born of different racial and ethnic groups and generations.”
Grants for research on Social, Political, and Economic Inequality supports research that “examines the factors that contribute to social, political, and economic inequalities in the U.S., and the extent to which those inequalities affect social, political, psychological, and economic outcomes.”
The foundation’s three main grant programs support researchers at various stages in their careers or with varying goals and needs.
Research Grants support social science research projects with funding intended “primarily for analyzing data and writing up results.” The foundation seeks projects with “well-developed conceptual frameworks and research designs” but welcomes a range of research methodologies and interdisciplinary collaborations. Collection of new data, analysis of existing or “newly available data,” and qualitative studies are all encouraged.
With only a few exceptions, research grant applicants must hold doctoral degrees. Letters of interest are accepted through the foundation’s application portal for three annual grantmaking cycles, with due dates that change each year, but generally fall in spring, summer and fall. After peer review, approximately 15% of applicants will be invited to submit full proposals. Grants are awarded in two main categories:
Trustee grants are awarded in amounts of up to $200,000 over two years, “including 15% indirect costs.”
Presidential grants are awarded in amounts of up to $50,000 over two years, “including 15% indirect costs.”
Grantees may also request additional amounts of up to $75,000 for “special needs for gathering data (e.g.: qualitative research) or gaining access to restricted-use data, or when the proposal budget includes salary support for multiple assistant professor PIs.”
Dissertation Research Grants “support innovative and high-quality dissertation research projects that address questions relevant to RSF’s priority areas.” The program prioritizes candidates whose work involves “appropriate use of relevant theory, innovative data, rigorous research methods, and measures.” Dissertation grants are awarded in amounts of up to $10,000 and application is limited to candidates pursuing degrees at institutions in the U.S. and U.S. territories. Guidelines and due dates, which are subject to change each year, are linked to the program page.
The Pipeline Grants Competition, run in collaboration with the Economic Mobility and Opportunity program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, promotes “diversity in the social sciences, including racial, ethnic, gender, disciplinary, institutional, and geographic diversity.” The program supports “early career scholars” working in thematic areas related to the foundation’s priority areas.
Grants are awarded in amounts of up to $35,000 for individuals or $50,000 for teams. In addition to financial support, grantees are “paired with mentors who offer advice on their projects and career development.” Guidelines and due dates, which are subject to change each year, are linked to the program page.
The Russell Sage Foundation also supports the following Visiting Fellowships programs, which aim to support “research and writing while in residence at the foundation in New York City.”
The Visiting Scholars program is a ten-month fellowship for researchers who are “at least two years beyond the Ph.D.” and pursuing work areas related to the foundation’s stated funding priorities. The foundation hosts between 15 to 17 scholars each year from the “social, economic, political and behavioral sciences.” While in residence at the foundation, fellows “are provided with an office at the foundation, a computer and software, access to research materials including online journals and databases,” as well as “salary support of up to 50 percent of their academic year salary.”
The Visiting Journalists program aims to “provide journalists the time and resources needed to carry out an original project” and to provide journalists with the opportunity to interact “with resident visiting scholars who might help inform the development of these projects.” Only one or two journalists are selected to participate in the program each year. Fellows spend between two and four months in residence at the foundation and receive a stipend of $8,000 a month for the duration of the fellowship. Applications should have five to seven years of experience reporting on “ocial, economic, or political conditions in the United States.” Guidelines and due dates, which are subject to change, are linked to the program page.
The Visiting Researcher program consists of short-term fellowships for “scholars who are conducting research relevant to the Foundation’s priority areas.” These residencies are awarded on an “as space permits basis” and are not accompanied by financial support. Applicants should be “several years beyond the PhD and have a publications record and current research project that is relevant to the Foundation’s program areas.” Guidelines and due dates, which are subject to change, are linked to the program page.
Additionally, the Russell Sage Foundation runs Summer Institutes on topics of special interest and publishes books and the Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences.
Important Grant Details:
The Russell Sage Foundation’s grants are awarded in amounts set by its individual grantmaking programs and generally range from $8,000 to $200,000.
Grantmaking is limited to support for research and writing in various disciplines of the social sciences.
Grantmaking is also strictly limited to work that relates to the foundation’s stated funding priorities.
Multidisciplinary and collaborative work is welcome.
The foundation accepts letters of inquiry and/or applications for all of its grant and fellowship programs and links detailed application information to each program page.
Eligibility, guidelines and due dates vary significantly by program.
Grants are mainly limited to researchers and teams working at universities in the U.S.
Information about past recipients is generally linked to each grant or fellowship program page.
Direct questions to the foundation’s staff at programs@rsage.org or by telephone at (212) 750-6000.
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