The Office of International Programs coordinates several grants for our faculty and staff to receive funding.

    ACES Grant Programs

    Seed Grants Program

    The International Seed Grants Program was initiated by OIP to stimulate and promote strong relationships between our faculty and international faculty. Each project was funded through the Arlys Conrad Endowment Fund.

    We are currently accepting seed grant proposals. The deadline is March 10, 2023. 

    View past seed grant program recipients

    Call for Proposals - International Seed Grants Program

    Spring 2023  

    Deadline: March 10, 2023

    Download the Call for Proposals document and Grant Application Form. 

    The Office of International Programs in the College of ACES is soliciting proposals for funding international activities undertaken by faculty and staff in the college. Applicants may request funds of up to $5,000 to create or support international research or extension activities. These funds are intended to enable faculty and staff from all units in the College of ACES to engage in international projects and to promote international engagements that will increase the impact of scholarly work in ACES.

    Funds may be used to support new programs, build an international component into existing programs, or support expansion of existing international engagements.  

    Specific activities could include:

    • Services provided abroad by approved vendors
    • Travel to our campus by an international collaborator or travel to a research site abroad, subject to travel approval 
    • Paid student internships or hourly appointments
    • Materials and supplies and other resources in support of an international research activity

    Funds may not be used:

    • For faculty or staff salary

    Applications will be reviewed by the International Programs Policy Committee, which includes faculty members from each department in ACES.

    Successful applications will:  

    • Communicate their goal and rationale to a multidisciplinary group and show potential for building sustained, impactful international engagements  
    • Be likely to lead to further international engagement and external funding for such engagement
    • Be feasible to implement given resources and conditions

    Note that:

    • Submissions from assistant and associate professors are particularly encouraged.
    • Recipients of OIP Seed Grants Program awards in the previous academic year will not be considered in this call for proposals. 
    • Professors who have retired from university employment are not eligible.

    To apply:  

    1) Complete a ‘Grant Application Form’ 

    2) Write a three-page project description (12 point font; single-spaced).  Additional content may be added in an appendix.

    3) Submit the items above as a single PDF document to the Office of International Programs via e-mail to Ms. Megan Davis, aces-oip@illinois.edu, by the deadline of 5 p.m. March 10, 2023.  

    Questions? Email aces-oip@illinois.edu

    Joint Research Program

    The International Joint Research Program is administered by OIP with the support of our Office of Research.

    View past joint research program recipients

    This program provides support to our faculty to work on projects abroad that are funded at a matching level to work on the same project. Our contribution will be made directly to the Illinois scholar and the matching support may be made to the collaborating researcher at the peer institution. Illinois researchers may request up to $20,000 to be used within 24 months. Collaborating researchers abroad must receive at least the same amount to work on the same project.

    Research Proposal Themes

    • Economic and Community Development
    • Food Security (Availability, Access, & Utilization of Food by at-risk populations)
    • Global Climate Change
    • Energy
    • Natural Resources and Sustainability
    • Nutrition and Human Health

    Pre-approved Peer Institutions

    • Belgium: Catholic University of Leuven (KUL)
    • Brazil: Federal University of Viçosa
    • China: Zhejiang University, China Agricultural University, Beijing
    • Ghana: University of Ghana at Legon
    • Mexico: National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Autonomous University of San Luis Potosi (UASLP)
    • The Philippines: University of the Philippines at Los Baños
    • Singapore: Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
    • Taiwan: National Taiwan University (NTU)
    • International: IRRI, CIMMYT, ICRISAT

    Past Grant Programs

    External Funding Opportunities

    Awards

    Sponsor: Food 4 Future
    Closing Date: 04/14/2023

    The Food Tech Innovation Awards 2023 recognize innovative business models or technology that can make a change in the food sector. The award has 5 categories: digitalization award for the food and beverage industry; best sustainability project; healthy food; the most innovative food tech startup; and the best automation and robotics solution. The FoodTech Innovation Awards are open to all companies, universities, business schools, researchers, journalists, and start-ups from all over the world. 

    Grants

    Sponsor: google
    Closing Date: N/A

    Award Details:   Past grants ranged from $500,000 to $2 Million

    Important Deadlines:    March 17, 2023, 11:59 pm PST

     

    Program Summary:

    Google.org invites applications for efforts to accelerate progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals with the help of AI.

     

    In 2015, the UN set the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ambitious targets for a better and more sustainable future by 2030. Building off previous support of AI for Social Good, Google.org has launched a call to find organizations around the world that are using artificial intelligence to create new, innovative solutions to existing problems and to accelerate progress on the SDGs. Applications must meet the following criteria:

     

    Impact: How does the application of AI accelerate progress towards the Global Goals, break through barriers, or reduce inefficiencies? Is the application grounded in research and data? Is there a clear plan to deploy an AI model, and what are the expected outcomes?

     

    Scalability and Sustainability: If successful, how can this project scale beyond the initial proposal? How will the project continue beyond Google.org's funding? Is there a clear plan to share learnings and best practices with the global community?

     

    Feasibility: Does the team have a well-developed, realistic plan for execution and the technical expertise needed to apply AI to the problem? Have they identified the right partners and domain experts?

     

    Data and Responsibility: While AI applications show great promise, these technologies raise important challenges. Is AI the appropriate tool to tackle the issue? Does this proposal apply technology innovatively and effectively? Does the use of AI align with Google's AI Principles and Responsible AI Practices?

     

    There is no fixed amount recipients may request or receive if selected, though historically, Google.org AI for Social Good funding has ranged from $500,000 to $2 million, with the median at $1.3 million. Google.org has committed a total of $25 million for this opportunity. Applying organizations must have the capacity to absorb a large amount of funding. Based on the type of project, a combination of funding, product donations, and technical expertise will be awarded.

     

    Eligibility:

    Eligible applicants include nonprofit charities, other nonprofit organizations, public or private academic or research institutions, or for-profit social enterprise companies with a project that has an explicit charitable purpose. The organization must have a registered office in the country of residence. Organizations in Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LNR), or Syria and projects in those countries are not eligible to apply. Individuals without organizational affiliation are ineligible.

     

    Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until March 17, 2023. For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Google.org website

     You can contact the Office of Foundation Relations for:

    • Illinois researchers who have experience with this foundation
    • Background information about this foundation
    • Guidance through the campus processes
    • Assistance with proposal development and/or review

    Please forward to any potentially interested staff or faculty member on campus.

    Sponsor: USAID
    Closing Date: N/A

    This BAA serves to inform the public of the opportunity for possible funding from USAID for innovative applied research to address development challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    Sponsor: U.S. Department of Education
    Closing Date: 03/27/2023

    The International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) office at the U.S. Department of Education is pleased to announce the opening of the competition for the fiscal year (FY) 2023 Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) program.

    The GPA program provides grants to institutions and private, nonprofit education entities that organize programs for K-12 teachers, college students, and faculty to engage in short- or long-term overseas projects focused on training, research, and curriculum development in modern foreign languages and area studies. GPA short-term projects include seminars, curriculum development, and group research or study. GPA long-term projects support advanced intensive overseas programs that focus on languages, the humanities, or social sciences.

    IFLE expects to make 25 new awards totaling approximately $3.7 million under the FY 23 GPA competition. 

    Sponsor: Tinker Foundation
    Closing Date: 07/26/2023

    Tinker’s program of Institutional Grants supports the theme of sustainable resource management (among others) in Latin America. Particular issues of interest include sustainable agriculture, sustainable forestry and non-timber forest products, sustainable tourism, fisheries management, and payment for environmental services. Tinker is also very interested in issues of water scarcity and quality for communities. Grants typically range from US$50 thousand to US$150 thousand. The Foundation encourages project collaboration among organizations in the USA and Latin America. Tinker invites brief letters of inquiry to the Foundation before proposals are prepared and submitted. Application deadlines for LOIs are 25 January and 26 July 2022.

    Fellowships

    Sponsor: Fulbright - Kalam
    Closing Date: 07/17/2023

    The Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowship aims to build long-term capacity in the USA and India by engaging both countries in research and education on climate change. The program offers research fellowships for PhD students in India who will affiliate with a U.S. institution for six to nine months. It also offers postdoctoral fellowships of eight to twelve months for Indian faculty and researchers who are in the early stages of their research careers in India. The fellowships provide air travel between India and the USA; a monthly stipend; accident and sickness insurance, a modest settling-in allowance; a professional allowance; and a dependent allowance (under certain circumstances).