About the CPE Faculty Grants

The Center’s Faculty Grants are for one year, and are intended to generate new knowledge and networks, facilitate the exchange of discoveries, accelerate the identification of key challenges, and expand the methods scholars use. The Center is interested in supporting work by early-career faculty, and projects involving collaboration across schools and departments. 

Topics

This round of grants will support work that aligns with the Center’s five Idea Labs or the cross-cutting theme of Political Economy and Democracy.

• Work and Labor focuses on the empirical study of labor and labor markets, including collective worker action and the future of domestic and international labor movements. 
• Firms and Industrial Policy seeks to strengthen the knowledge base for smart industrial policy through explorations of firm behavior, drivers of innovation and technology adoption, conceptual issues in the design of industrial policies, and practical issues faced in implementation.
• Money and Finance explores the relation of money and finance both in theoretical terms and in institutional configurations, including the design of financial intermediaries and their relation to central banks and financial market regulators.
• Political Economy of Climate focuses on fostering synergies around climate fairness and environmental justice, international collaboration or lack thereof, interests shaping the effectiveness of energy transition, and political constraints on environmental (especially climate) policies.
• International Political Economy analyzes the intersection of international economics and international politics, including the politics of international money, finance, trade, and migration, and the interaction of international economics and geopolitics.
• Political Economy and Democracy examines challenges emanating from the relationship between economic structures and democratic politics, such as economic and political inequalities and polarization and challenges to democratic institutions and processes.In evaluating proposals, Center faculty reviewers will prioritize collaborative and multidisciplinary initiatives with the potential to break new ground in understanding the intersections of economics and political and social processes in the US and elsewhere and advancing theoretical, conceptual, and methodological innovation. 

Awards ranging from $10,000 to $60,000 will be offered.

Eligibility

Columbia University faculty from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. Principal Investigators must be full-time faculty members at Columbia University or its affiliates. Faculty may serve as Principal Investigator on only one proposal. Collaborators may include other faculty members, research scientists, and external partners such as organizations and individuals from the nonprofit, higher education, public, or private sector.

Allowable Grant Expenses

Grants will support research and convening activities. The funds will cover a wide range of expenses. For example, they might be utilized to: 

• Purchase data or computing resources
• Hire student research assistants and consultants
• Cover honoraria and logistical costs for workshops and conferences
• Cover domestic and/or international travel
• Purchase supplies and equipment
• Enable subcontracts with external organizations for research activities

Key Dates

The Center for Political Economy Faculty Grant Opportunity will close on Monday, March 23, 2026 at 5:00pm ET. Center Faculty Grants will support research and convening activities over a 12-month period from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.

Proposal Requirements

A completed application includes the following: 

• Project proposal (see application for additional details);
• Budget narrative and budget template (i.e., a summary table with a clear description of how the grant funds would be spent on participant payment, fees, travel costs, etc.); and
• Contact information and curricula vitae for project team members.

Please contact politicaleconomy@columbia.edu with any questions.