Centers of Excellence in Ukraine – Request for Applications 2026: How to Apply

• Applicant Details: Update your profile using the Edit Profile button. Complete all required fields, including position/title, academic rank and ORCID iD.
• Degrees: Click the Add/Modify Degree(s) button to provide this information.
• Application Details: Complete all required fields, including title, start date and end date. The earliest permitted start date is November 1, 2026. Start dates should begin on the first of the month.
• Proposal: The following information must be entered/uploaded:
  • Proposal Narrative (up to fifteen [15] pages): Please download the template provided in SAM by clicking the link in the field instructions, then upload the completed document using the Upload button. The template asks for details on the following:
    1. An abstract — a brief summary of an ambitious research and training program in cutting-edge computational, data-driven and theoretical basic science and in mathematics
    2. A description of the proposed project
    3. Preliminary results, when applicable
    4. Project significance in a broader field
    5. List of Principal Investigators
    6. Timeline and milestones
    7. Plans to become a hub of excellence for nearby institutions
    8. Plans of partnership with institutions outside Ukraine
    9. Plans for continuation of the proposed research project beyond the five-year period
  • Researcher Information Sheet (up to two [2] pages per researcher/PI): Use the provided template. Please download by clicking the link in the field instructions, then upload the completed document using the Upload button. Please include information for each PI on the project.
  • Resources and Research Environment: Use the provided template. Please download by clicking the link in the field instructions, then upload the completed document using the Upload button. The template asks for details about the facilities to be used for the proposed research, and details about major equipment, if applicable.
  • Indicate the extent to which generative AI technology was used to develop your proposal.
  • Indicate whether the CoE Director or any project personnel listed on the application are affiliated with the Simons Foundation or the Flatiron Institute.
  • Data & Renewable Reagents: Indicate whether data and/or renewable reagents will be generated by your research and your plan for sharing data and renewable reagents (if applicable) by answering the provided questions.

• Institution administrative contacts are required. You must add at least one Institution Signing Official and Financial Officer to the Institution Administrative Contacts section before you will be able to submit.
• Project Personnel: Please indicate all personnel on the proposed project. Please do not add the CoE Director (the main applicant) to this section, because they will already automatically display in the budget. Project personnel include any other individuals who contribute to the scientific development or execution of a project in a substantive, measurable way, whether or not they request salaries or compensation. Personnel can be added either with or without access to the application. Project personnel who will be named in the budget must be added to the Project Personnel section on this tab before they will display as available options in the budget module. This does not apply to TBD personnel.
  • If other PIs within the CoE will be at different institutions from the CoE Director during the proposed project, they should be listed as subcontract personnel. If this is the case, please select ‘Yes’ under ‘will there be a subcontract?’ and add the personnel. Please assign their role (e.g. Additional Principal Investigator) in the Add/Modify Project Personnel window.

Click the Edit/Modify button to add a detailed budget. The budget cannot be completed until project dates are entered in the Proposal tab. If a budget has more than one period, using the ‘copy from previous period’ functionality will copy items from the previous period into the current period. Expenses should be listed in USD.

• Subcontractor budgets, including budgets with PIs from a different institution than the CoE Director, will be visible once the subcontract personnel is added in the Contacts and Personnel tab and a role assigned, as described above.
• Budget Considerations:
  • Personnel: Please see the RFA text for details on the personnel who should be included in the budget and their proposed rates. Reasonable variations on both the structure and budget will be permitted.
  • Fringe benefits: Fringe benefits of up to 20% of base salary may be included for all personnel, with the exception of the director’s additional stipend.
  • Indirect costs (IDCs): Indirect costs to the primary institution are limited to 20% of direct costs with the following exceptions: equipment, tuition and any portion of each subcontract in excess of $25,000 USD. The primary institution may take indirect costs on the first $25,000 USD modified total direct costs of each subcontract. Indirect costs paid to a subcontractor may not exceed 20% of the modified total direct costs paid to the subcontractor.
  • Equipment: The Simons Foundation will own equipment purchased with foundation grant funds with a unit cost of $50,000 USD or more. At the end of the grant funding period or in the case of grant termination for any reason, the foundation reserves the right to retain ownership or cede ownership to the PI’s institution. Equipment with a unit cost of less than $50,000 USD shall be the property of the institution.
  • Budget Maximum: Each CoE will be funded at up to $200,000 USD per year for three [3] years, for a total award of up to $600,000 USD, including indirect costs. As with all Simons Foundation funded projects, it is at the foundation’s discretion to modify final budgets as needed

Follow instructions for providing other support information for all key personnel on the project. If using a PDF upload, use the NSH, NIH or SciENcv format.

Indicate if the application has organizational assurances, including IRB and/or IACUC. If so, click the Add/Modify Assurances button to add the assurance type, status, approval date, expiration date and protocol number. There is a ‘pending’ option for assurances that are in process, and to-be-determined dates can be left blank.

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, click on the Send for sign-off button to send to your signing official for signature. The Signing Official added to the Contacts & Personnel section of the application will see the application in the Applications to Review section when they log in to SAM and will be responsible for signing and submitting the application to the Simons Foundation.

A confirmation page will appear on the Signing Official’s page once the application is successfully submitted. Please note that you will not be able to submit an application if the deadline has passed.