President's Global Innovation Fund

The President’s Global Innovation Fund supports innovative projects enriched by the infrastructure, expertise and connections of the Columbia Global Centers.

Since 2013, more than 123 grants have been issued under the President's Global Innovation Fund to foster new, interdisciplinary collaborations among Columbia faculty/researchers and schools.

They have accelerated innovation through collaborative research and global knowledge exchange; and have provided rich new learning opportunities for students at all levels. Read more about the fund and its history.

Types of Awards

PGIF awards are available at two funding levels:

1. Early Concept Awards will support projects that aim to host novel convenings to advance the discourse or build productive partnerships for pursuing collaborative efforts. Available funding for early concept awards is $10,000-$25,000 (per award) over a period of 1-2 years. Up to eight awards are anticipated.
    
2. Innovation Awards will support projects that show significant promise for building toward a fundable, larger-scale initiative. Projects may include basic, applied, translational, humanities, and/or social science research. The maximum award amount is $100,000 (per award) over a period of 2-3 years. Up to four awards are anticipated.

Round 11 Theme

This year, the President’s Global Innovation Fund (PGIF) will support projects that advance understanding of the building blocks of just and collaborative societies, as well as innovative ideas to take practical action to support them. 

There is no one understanding of the concept of just and collaborative societies that is accepted across all cultures, and there are ongoing debates about how ideology and culture shape these understandings. Yet such societies are often characterized by higher degrees of social trust; resilience to violence of all kinds (including political, interpersonal, and gender-based violence); trustworthy and inclusive local and national institutions to manage emerging conflicts; opportunities for participation, dialogue, and communication; and the fair and equal treatment of citizens; among many other factors. 

For this PGIF request for applications, examples of issues of focus include, but are not limited to: 

• Youth-led and intergenerational approaches 
• Dialogue, communication, and people-to-people initiatives 
• Digital spaces, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies (including artificial intelligence) 
• Arts and culture 
• History, memory, and archives 
• Mediation and conflict resolution 
• Civic engagement and social movements (including indigenous peoples’ movements) 
• Local and global institutions and governance 
• Justice (including climate justice) 
• Media and the public sphere 
• Economics, labor, and private sector roles 
• Health and health inequities  

Eligibility Criteria

• Proposal lead(s) must be full-time faculty or researcher(s) at Columbia University.
   
• At least one proposal lead must be eligible to serve as a Principal Investigator, per Columbia University guidelines. To request a PI waiver, please refer to these Columbia Global guidelines.
   
• Proposals must include collaboration across disciplines, schools, institutes, or centers.
   
• Proposals must engage one or more Columbia Global Center. Eligible Centers are located in: Amman, Jordan; Athens, Greece; Beijing, China; Istanbul, Turkey; Mumbai, India; Nairobi, Kenya; Paris, France; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; and Tunis, Tunisia.
   
• Prior to submission of the proposal, applicants are required to consult with the Director of the relevant Global Center(s). This consultation is to discuss the proposed project, including its feasibility, potential partnerships, and the role of the Global Center(s).

Note: Proposal lead(s) are not required to have prior experience in the geographic region(s) where they propose to work.