ISPS supports projects that make fundamental contributions to the scientific and public commons. We invite proposals that will create or assemble unique, high-value shared datasets for social science research. This program will provide funds to support projects which — during the research — generate, enhance, or annotate datasets that will subsequently be shared and thereby produce public goods for researchers at Yale and beyond. This RFP will also support projects that are solely aimed at producing or enhancing datasets that are likely to be of substantial value to a broad community of researchers.
Proposals must include a detailed description of the dataset, the community of researchers who might benefit from this dataset, and why the dataset is valuable to a broad set of researchers. They must outline three or four compelling social, behavioral, or economic questions that this specific dataset will unlock. Proposals must describe how the novel dataset (created or expanded) will add value beyond any single research project. They must benefit other researchers, disciplines, or external entities (public or private).
In addition, proposals should include plans for publicly sharing the dataset, including the schedule for making the dataset public, the metadata and documentation that will accompany the dataset, and any quality control measures.
For projects that expand access to data available elsewhere (through compilation or digitization, for example), it is the responsibility of the researcher to clear rights. Please refer to DISSC or Yale Library resources on copyright and permissions for digitization projects.
Resulting datasets must be thoroughly annotated and cleaned, accessible to Yale researchers (and others where possible) or easily accessible with appropriate access provisions, and available for upload to Yale-owned data repositories, such as the Yale Dataverse.
Proposals that include a small, preliminary sample of the data (or simulated data) are preferred as it will help ISPS better evaluate the proposal. A sample dataset might include a few observations and the relevant variables where feasible, or otherwise provide a sense of the fields and structure.
Examples of projects to create or expand datasets include, but are not limited to, research involving the implementation of a coding scheme to classify entities according to scientific principles, the digitization of historical handwritten responses to surveys, the implementation of novel methods to turn text to data, or the creation of valuable datasets through complicated data merges. Funds can be used to cover costs related to digitization, data entry, the purchase of original records, and ensuring standards-based quality data (e.g., high intercoder reliability).
Successful applications will meet the particular objectives of this RFP. Proposals requesting funding solely for the purpose of purchasing existing licensed data do not meet the criteria for support.
ISPS welcomes proposals with a $50,000 maximum request.
The grant is designed to cover a one or two-year project, with an expectation that the dataset will be completed and shared, and at least one publication-quality research report will emerge, within three years.
ISPS encourages early career faculty and researchers to apply for this funding, although we will give full consideration to proposals from faculty at all career stages.
Application submission deadline: October 5, 2026.
Before Applying
Scholars interested in applying for ISPS High-Value Datasets funding should review ISPS guidelines. Visit the ISPS Research Funding page to learn about eligibility, ISPS procedures, requirements, and more.
Visit the ISPS Data Archive to browse data and code associated with ISPS-supported research.
To Apply
Each proposal will be reviewed based on the soundness of the research design and the importance and innovativeness of the study given the size of the budget request. Pilot projects and projects with potential to evolve into larger collaborative studies are especially welcome. If an award is granted, some further steps, including a data archiving plan and IRB approval, must be completed before any funds are released. Further details on the project proposal and other requirements are provided on the ISPS Research Funding page. For questions about the application process please email ISPS Associate Director for Research & Strategic Initiatives, Limor Peer.