Research Grant Opportunities

At the Henry M. Thomas III Center at Springfield, we pride ourselves on connecting researchers and communities with the resources to accomplish their goals. Securing the necessary funding to conceptualize, develop, and execute your ideas is key to success in research. Grant opportunities for researchers are available through UMass Amherst and a number of external organizations that are dedicated to supporting scholars participating in community engagement, public engagement and outreach, engaged consulting and advisory work, and industry engagement. 

Grant Opportunities

The following funding sources offer grants for community engaged research.

Internal Grant Opportunities 

UMass funding opportunities may be available through these programs.

• The Office of Research and Engagement
• Public Service Endowment Grants
• Strategic Partnerships to Advance Research and Creative activity (SPARC)
• The MSP Research Support Fund
• The International Programs Office
• Faculty Research Grant/Healey Endowment
• The Armstrong Fund for Science
• Mutual Mentoring Grant Program

External Grant Opportunities

External funding opportunities may be available through:

• The National Science Foundation
• W.K. Kellogg Foundation
• Mellon Foundation
• The Spencer Foundation

Community-Engaged Language

Using the right language to define how your research interacts with the community can be the difference between a successful grant application and a disappointment. The following terms and definitions can help refine your grant writing approach:

• Community Engagement is the creation and exchange of knowledge and resources performed in partnership with community collaborators. The relationship is mutually beneficial for both the university and the partners, and the exchange of knowledge and resources is reciprocal, or flows bidirectionally. This may include research or activities, program evaluations or interventions conceived, developed, and performed in partnership with the community; developing service-learning coursework with community partners; or developing recruitment or mentoring programs in concert with the community. 
• Public Engagement and Outreach comprises a range of work by faculty, staff, and students that reach off-campus constituents directly or indirectly to educate, inform, and contribute to the public good. This includes lectures for public audiences; clinical services in the community; on-campus resources open to the public; extension and online education; and public research dissemination. 
• Engaged Consulting and Advisory Work comprise forms of service that are engaged with the public, community organizations, or businesses and industry. Examples include serving as a research advisor, advisory board member, or expert witness.
• Industry Engagement is work conducted with industry or businesses that benefits public constituents.