Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: Energy and Environment Letter of Intent

Oct 14, 2024 | Funding Internal, Funding Opportunity, Info for Faculty, Research

The Office of Foundation Relations (OFR) serves as the central point of contact for foundations interested in supporting Penn State.

For a complete list of current and anticipated foundation funding opportunities, please visit psu.infoready4.com/#cfr

We are pleased to announce the launch of Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: Energy and Environment Letter of Intent. Click on the link below to view more information. Thank you!

  • Internal Submission Deadline: Friday, November 15, 2024
  • Funding Organization’s Deadline: Wednesday, December 11, 2024
  • Cycle: 1 or 2 years
  • Discipline/Subject Area: Research related to societal transition toward low-carbon energy systems in the United States by investigating economic, environmental, technological, and distributional issues
  • Funding Available: 1200000
  • RFP link: sloan.org/programs/research/energy-and-environment#apply

Description:

*The Office of Foundation Relations is the designated institutional contact responsible for managing the Penn State relationship with, and tracking applications to this organization. If you plan on applying, please contact Karen Kemirembe, Ph.D. Assistant Director of Foundation Relations at kuk195@psu.edu*

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Energy and Environment program looks to achieve its mission and shape the direction of energy systems decarbonization research by examining a wide range of questions through collaborative and interdisciplinary scholarship across the social and natural sciences.

Program Goal

To inform the societal transition toward low-carbon energy systems in the United States by investigating economic, environmental, technological, and distributional issues. Successful letters will be Interdisciplinary, Integrative, and Collaborative; include Leadership by Early- and Mid-Career Researchers and the Training of Students; Link Research to Practice; are Timely, Catalytic, and Gap-Filling and Facilitate Partnerships with Other Funders. Past awardees can be viewed at the bottom of this page:  sloan.org/programs/research/energy-and-environment#apply

Letters must address some or all of the following:

  • Generate Novel Research: The primary focus of this program is to build an impartial science, technology, engineering, economics, and social science knowledge base as a public good.
  • Train the Next Generation of Scholars and Practitioners: The program looks to train the next generation of scholars and practitioners capable of analyzing and addressing a wide range of research questions relevant to decarbonizing the energy system.
  • Build Multidisciplinary Networks: The program aims to foster new collaborations and strengthen existing research networks to enhance the effectiveness of research, training, and knowledge dissemination.
  • Disseminating Information for Decision-making: The program helps grantees share impartial research findings to inform the development of policies and practices that can help accelerate the societal transition toward low-carbon energy systems.

Relevant Topics:

  • Energy Markets and Policy Analysis
  • Net Zero Innovation and Negative Emissions Technologies
  • Transportation and Mobility
  • Energy and Distributional Equity
  • Industrial Decarbonization
  • Energy Systems and Climate Adaptation

Eligibility

Many of the grants awarded by the program advance projects led by early- and mid-career researchers, strengthen the link between research and practice, seed new efforts and extend work in new directions, and facilitate partnerships with other funders. The program’s predominant geographic focus is the United States.

Amount and duration

Funding and period of performance varies but recent grants range from $500K-$1.2M.

How to apply

*Notify your research office of your intent to apply and contact Karen Kemirembe, Ph.D. Assistant Director of Foundation Relations (kuk195@psu.edu). The internal deadline is for sending a letter of intent draft for review before submission. NOTE: The deadline is rolling, the stated date is for collecting and reviewing letters for the Fall semester.*

Due to the significant funding available from both public and private sources for energy and environmental research, the Sloan Foundation is very selective in the grants it makes in this area. Interested scholars should send a letter of inquiry of no more than two pages to energy@sloan.org.