Targeted Grants to Institutes – 2027 Request for Applications: How to Apply

All Funding 

Targeted Grants to Institutes – 2027 Request for Applications

Under Review
Coming Up
Notification By: — January 31, 2027
Program Area
Mathematics & Physical Sciences
Award Program
Targeted Grants to Institutes
Type
Institution Award
All Funding 

  1. Application Deadline: 12 p.m. (noon) Eastern time,

    September 30, 2026

  2. Notification By:

    January 31, 2027

  3. Award Start Date:

    June 1, 2027 through September 1, 2027

Contacts

Program or Administrative Questions:
[email protected]

Technical Questions:
[email protected]

Office Hours:
Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Eastern time, except designated holidays

Office Closures:
November 25–27, 2026, December 24, 2026–January 1, 2027

Full Proposal Submission

Deadline for Application Submission: September 30, 2026, 12 p.m. (noon) Eastern time. Late applications will not be accepted.

Create an Application: Applications must be submitted via the Simons Award Manager (SAM), https://sam.simonsfoundation.org/. Please click on the Funding Opportunities icon. Applications should be started and submitted under the applicant’s own account in the Simons Award Manager (SAM). For the Targeted Grants to Institutes application, please click on Create Application and then on Begin Application.

Important Note: If the applicant has a SAM account associated with one institution but is applying on behalf of another institution with whom they also have an association, please contact [email protected] for assistance updating the applicant’s SAM profile to create the correct institutional association on the application.

Proposal attachments should be single spaced and in a common typeface and font size no smaller than 10 points. Margins must be at least half an inch in all directions.

Once your application has been submitted, the Simons Foundation staff will be in touch if we require any additional information or revisions to your application.

Please note that in the event of budgetary or other considerations, The Simons Foundation, Inc. (“the Foundation” or “SF”) reserves the right to refer an application to The Simons Foundation International, Ltd. (“SFI”) for consideration and funding. SFI and SF have entered into an agreement pursuant to which SF provides program operations and grant administration services, including payment processing, to SFI. SFI grant recipients are subject to SF policies and procedures.

Record Summary
  1. The applicant’s name and institution will appear in this section. The institution will default to the user’s primary affiliation in their SAM profile. Please ensure the listed institution is the one to which funds must be administered if selected for funding. If the institution or applicant must be changed, please refer to the SAM Frequently Asked Questions for assistance.
Proposal Tab:
    1. Application Details:
      1. Enter the title of the application and include the name of the initiative(s) for which the institute is requesting funding (e.g., Visiting Researchers Program at the Institute for Advanced Math). It is not necessary to include the name of the institute in the title. That will be reflected in either or both the Name of Institute field (below) or the applicant institution.
      2. Enter the award start and end dates. Awards can begin no earlier than June 1, 2027, and must begin no later than September 1, 2027. These dates will automatically populate in the budget.
    2. Proposal:
      1. Name of Institute/Center: Please enter the name of the institute or center that is requesting funding. This can be different from the institutional entity associated with the application (e.g., the application institution is the name of the university, and the institute requesting funding within the university is called “Institute for Advanced Math”).
      2. Country: Enter the country in which institute or center is located. This can be different from the country associated with the institutional entity on the application.
      3. Proposal Narrative (six-page limit, plus up to two pages for references and figures, which can be embedded within the text): Upload a summary of the support requested, including the specific scientific goals, background relevant to the application and significance of the proposed support. Up to two letters of support from collaborating institutions can be appended which does not count towards the 8-page narrative limit.
      4. Key Personnel Biosketches: Upload a PDF of the biosketch for each individual noted as Project Personnel in the Contacts & Personnel tab outlined below. Biosketches must be in SciENcv, NIH, or NSF-style format or a two- to three-page CV. Please name each PDF as Last Name_First Name_Biosketch.
      5. Current and Pending Support (for the institute only): Upload a list of all financial resources that are available in direct support of the institute’s research endeavors. Formatting is at the institute’s discretion but should include at least the sources and dates of support, brief summary of support and total funding provided. This program does not require support for individual key personnel.
    3. Indicate the extent to which, if any, generative AI technology was used and how it was used to develop your proposal.
    4. Indicate whether the applicant 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.
Contacts & Personnel Tab
    1. Please refer to the instructions provided in SAM to add required Institution Administrative Contacts. At least one Signing Official and one Financial Officer must be added to this section. The applicant cannot act as the signing official and/or financial officer.
    2. Under Project Personnel, indicate scientific personnel who will be directly involved in the activities that support is being requested for, as it is known at the proposal stage. To explain the specific involvement of each personnel included, please select Other in the role drop-down in the Add More Details box, then clarify their role in the General Note field.
    3. While not typical for this program, subcontracts can be added by selecting Yes to the “Will there be a subcontract?” question and adding personnel as appropriate.
Budget Tab
    1. Click the Edit/Modify button to add a detailed, three-year budget in USD.
    2. Provide justification for each budget line item entered, including all Personnel Costs requested.
    3. Please note that the 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.
    4. Within each budget period, you have the ability to copy the budget and justification from the previous period and then make edits as needed. Note that 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 only add the previous year’s content, potentially duplicating the budget in the next year. Duplicated entries can only be deleted individually by line item.
    5. Important: 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).
Check Application Progress
  1.  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.
Send for Sign-off & Submit
  1. When the application is complete, please click on the Send for Sign-off button to send to the application’s designated Signing Official for signature. The Signing Official will receive an email from [email protected] notifying them that an application requires their signature. The Signing Official must provide an electronic signature in the Submission tab of the proposal. Once their signature is entered and saved, 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 and Awards table. The applicant, Signing Official and Financial Officer will receive an email from [email protected] when the application is signed and submitted. Please note that you will not be able to submit an application if the deadline has passed.

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Apply by January 21, 2027

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