Scientific Software Research Faculty Award – Request for Applications 2026: How to Apply

Applicant Details: Complete all required fields for the applicant/PI, including academic rank, position/title and ORCID iD. This information should be completed in the applicant’s profile. The applicant may use the Edit Profile button to update their information as needed. Please note that the institution in the LOI application should reflect the applicant’s current institution.

Academic Degrees: Add/modify degrees (required).

Application Details: Enter the title of the LOI application.

Proposal — Upload required files as follows:

• Research Statement (two-page limit, including references and figures, which can be embedded within the text): Must outline the scientific background and motivation of the applicant’s research program.
• Scientific Vision Statement (four-page limit, including references and figures, which can be embedded within the text): Must describe the scientific vision of the research program and a plan for future research and software development. The statement should include a roadmap and software sustainability plan that outlines (1) new functionality development (to enable new scientific directions or questions), (2) work that will enhance the openness, reusability or access to the software and (3) work that will improve the sustainability of the project by implementing or supporting best practices for software sustainability (for example, by substantially developing or improving documentation and educational materials, working on testing and continuous integration systems, establishing contributor/maintainer mentorship programs or running workshops to train new users and developers).
• Ph.D. Degree Field: Enter the field for which the applicant received their Ph.D. degree.
• Applicant Biosketch: A SciENcv or fillable PDF NIH- or NSF-style biosketch. Include information about key software products and contributions in the “products” section of the biosketch.
• Indicate the extent to which, if any, generative AI technology was used and how it was used to develop your proposal.

Click the Check Application Progress button to check for any missing required information or files. All missing required information will be listed at the top of the screen and must be corrected before the application can be submitted.

When the LOI application is complete, please click on the Submit Application button to submit to the foundation. Institutional sign-off is not required for the LOI stage. Please note that you will not be able to submit an application if the deadline has passed. A submitted LOI will appear in the Submitted queue of the Applications in Progress table on the applicant’s SAM home page.

Notification of the status of the LOI will be sent by March 31, 2026.

A submitted LOI will appear in the Submitted queue of the Applications in Progress table on your SAM home page. If the LOI is approved, its status changes to In Progress. Click on the record to gain access to the full proposal application.

Applicant Details: Complete all required fields for the applicant/PI, including academic rank, position/title and ORCID iD. This information should be completed in the applicant’s profile. The applicant may use the Edit Profile button to update their information as needed.

• IMPORTANT NOTE: The institution in the full proposal application should reflect the applicant’s host institution — this must be changed before submission in the applicant’s SAM profile by contacting [email protected].

Academic Degrees: Add/modify degrees (required).

Application Details:

• Title: The title of the full proposal application will be the same as in the LOI proposal.
• Enter the start and end dates. These dates will automatically populate in the budget. The five-year award must begin no later than September 1, 2027. Appointments must begin on the first of the month.

Proposal: Proposal attachments that were included in the LOI are now available in the Full Proposal application.

• Enter name of host institution.
• Host Institution Letter of Support (must use provided template): Must be co-signed by the department chair and dean at the host institution and must describe the type of position and provide an affirmation of eligibility requirements. In particular, the letter must confirm principal investigator (PI) status for the applicant at the institution, specify that the fractional teaching load will be at or less than 50 percent time, and assure that the faculty position is not term-limited. The letter must clearly affirm that, once the applicant is awarded, the university and department will commit a clinical faculty line to the awardee.
• Indicate the extent to which, if any, generative AI technology was used and how it was used to develop your proposal.
• Indicate whether the PI or any project personnel listed on the application are affiliated with the Simons Foundation or the Flatiron Institute as a Visiting Scholar / Independent Contractor or Employee.
• Data & Renewable Reagents: Select ‘Data’ for the ‘Will data and/or renewable reagents be generated by your research?’ question. Provide your data sharing plan, addressing what data will be generated by your research and your policies for access and sharing the data during the life of your award and after award closeout.

Please refer to the instructions provided in SAM to designate the required institutional contacts for the host institution. Under Project Personnel, indicate all project personnel, other than the applicant PI, including postdoctoral research associates, that will receive funding from this grant.

Click the Edit/Modify button to add a detailed, five-year budget justification. Please refer to the RFA for funding levels and allowable expenses.

• In order for known project personnel to display in the Personnel column drop-down list, you must add them as Project Personnel in the Contacts & Personnel tab of the application as well as add an application role to each personnel using the “Add More Details” button. You will need to close and reopen the budget for the changes to populate. Do not select TBD in the Personnel drop-down list if the personnel are known. They must be first entered in the Project Personnel section as outlined above.
• Do not combine personnel on one budget line (e.g., multiple postdocs must be itemized individually).
• Provide justification for each budget line item entered, including all Personnel Costs requested.
  • In years three through five, for the SSRF awardee, the institution should confirm in writing that they will provide the other 50 percent of salary support each year through conventional departmental teaching appointments.
  • The $50K research allowance should be itemized within the appropriate budget line items and categories with sufficient justification.
  • Budget justification should be detailed and appropriate for the funds being requested. An insufficient budget justification will result in the proposal not being considered further.
• Within each budget period, you have the ability to copy the budget and justification from the previous period and then make edits as needed. Important note: If content has already been entered in year 2 or 3, for example, copying from the previous year will not replace the content — it will instead add the previous year’s content, potentially duplicating the budget in the next year. Duplicated entries can only be deleted individually by line item.

Click the Check Application Progress button to check for any missing required information or files. All missing required information will be listed at the top of the screen and must be corrected before the application can be submitted.

When the application is complete, please click on the ‘Send for sign-off’ button to send to your signing official for signature. The Signing Official will receive a notification when the application is ready for sign-off. The Signing Official must provide an electronic signature in the Submission tab of the proposal. When the application is signed, the Signing Official must click on the Submit Signature button which will submit the application to the foundation. A confirmation page will appear for the Signing Official once the application is successfully submitted, and the application will now appear in the Submitted tab of the Applications in Progress table. The applicant, Signing Official and Financial Officer will receive a notification when the application is signed and submitted. Please note that you will not be able to submit an application if the deadline has passed.