The University of Washington has a vision to model democracy in action by cultivating collaborative decision-making, respectful dialogue, civic engagement and belonging. In support of that vision, this Initiative is pleased to offer a Catalyst Fund that awards small grants to support UW graduate and postdoctoral researchers who are seeking to generate new knowledge that strengthens civic health, democracy and the structures that support it.
Projects proposed for funding to this grants program must align with one or more of the Initiative’s pillars:
- Fostering future change makers
- Renovating and strengthening public institutions
- Clearing the paths to civic participation
Awards of up to $2,000 each are available to help to support expenses associated with research for dissertations, thesis field work or their own topic of research completed under the supervision of a faculty advisor, mentor or principal investigator. The period of performance for this work is one year.
This application is open to graduate students, professional students and postdoctoral scholars from all three University of Washington campuses (Bothell, Seattle, Tacoma).
An applicant must be nominated by a faculty member, advisor or program staff member to apply for any of these awards. Once nominated, applicants will receive an email with a link to their portion of the application. Students and scholars are encouraged to invite their faculty mentors to consider a nomination.
If awarded, applicants will be invited to showcase their work- and learnings-to-date at a mid-year gathering of awardees. A final report detailing project accomplishments and final budget reconciliation will be due within 60 calendar days following the end of the funding period.
The timeline for this funding opportunity is:
- Application Due: Friday, February 6, 2026 (11:59 p.m. Pacific)
- Award Notification Made: early March, 2026
- Period of Performance: May 1, 2026 – April 30, 2027
Awards of up to $2,000 in total expenses per project are available. Funds will be disbursed to the department of the UW investigator for day-to-day administration over the course of the 12-month funding period.
Examples of appropriate expenses include data access, participant incentives, statistical consultation, research-related travel and other study-related costs.
Inappropriate expenses including stipends, tuition, textbooks, receptions (e.g., alcohol, catering) and indirect/overhead costs.
All allowable expenses must adhere to applicable University of Washington policies. Please contact your department’s finance lead with questions regarding such expenses.
An Office of Sponsored Programs review is not required for this internal application. However, studies involving human subjects must submit an Institutional Review Board application to UW’s Human Subjects Division before starting the project. That request does not need to be completed prior to applying for this funding opportunity.
Applications will be reviewed by members of the Civic Health Initiative to select successful applicants. Selection criteria include:
- Quality of the application, including how it aligns with one or more of the Initiative’s three pillars
- Importance of the research to the applicant’s long-term goals
- Demonstrated need for funding
Applicants can visit the Initiative’s News section to read abstracts from previously funded faculty- and PI-eligible research scientist-led projects to gain insight into the range of project ideas the Initiative aims to support.
Faculty members seeking to nominate a student or postdoctoral scholar will access a nomination form via the following link. The form will request some biographical details for the nominator and the nominee, plus a brief description by the nominator of how this award would benefit the student’s studies and/or research. The nominee will receive an auto-generated submission form via email once the faculty member submits their nomination.
Nominate a graduate student or postdoctoral scholar
Students who are nominated will complete a submission template that requests some biographical information, details regarding their research project, a high-level budget and written justification and a description of how the award would further their long-term study and/or research goals in the areas of democracy, civic health and civic engagement.
Review by the Office of Sponsored Programs is not needed for this application.
Please contact us with any questions regarding this research award or the application process.