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Protocol Labs Research Grants

đź’ˇ Please note that the research grants programme is indefinitely paused, and we are not accepting new applications at this time. This repository remains accessible for historical reasons.

Overview

The Protocol Labs Research Grant Program aims to both support collaborative work on problems defined by the broader research community and drive progress on clearly scoped research projects critical to our work at Protocol Labs. We encourage proposals aligned with PL's mission to drive breakthroughs in computing to push humanity forward, and we welcome unique perspectives and diverse backgrounds.

Funding instruments

Protocol Labs Research funds three broad categories of awards:

  1. Topic-specific Requests for Proposals (RFPs), designed to fund goal-driven research in response to specific open problems defined by Protocol Labs (PL). RFPs are posted intermittently based on need and readiness of our research labs to support these collaborations.
  2. Open research awards, intended to support researchers pursuing topics of interest to Protocol Labs. These include:
    • Doctoral Fellowships
    • Postdoctoral Fellowships
    • Faculty Summer Research Grants
    • Faculty Research Sabbatical Awards
  3. A wildcard Request for Proposals, RFP-X, by which we fund research proposed by applicants where funding from one of our other funding structures does not readily apply. Note that we have a strong preference for funding via the open grants framework, and RFP-X applications that could be handled within the existing framework will be rejected without review.

Evaluation of applications for the open awards will occur in quarterly rounds. Decisions will normally be made and communicated to applicants within seven weeks of these submission deadlines. Evaluation for RFPs takes place according to the timeline in the call. RFP-X applications are evaluated year-round but usually have longer decision times.

If you have any questions, please email us at research-grants@protocol.ai.

Requests for Proposals (RFPs)

Requests for Proposals are a fairly common method for funding individuals and groups to solve problems, and have the goal of funding researchers to develop or find novel results on specific topics. RFPs are posted as issues in this repo, and a summary of current and past RFPs may be found below:

Active

Inactive

Open Research Grants

The Open Research Grants program has been paused, and applications are not being accepted / reviewed at this time.

Protocol Labs Doctoral Fellowship

The Doctoral Fellowship is intended to support the development of an early-stage researcher conducting research in one of PL's fields of interest. This award is available to doctoral candidates who have completed their Master's degree or have otherwise satisfied the requirements for candidacy.

The PL Research Doctoral Fellowship consists of a fixed award of $60,000, intended to cover tuition and subsistence costs for a period of one year. Doctoral Fellowships can be renewed for a second year, by mutual agreement between PL and the grantee.

This application may be submitted by the doctoral candidate, their PI, or an administrative staff member from the host institution. The submitter will serve as the primary point of contact for all communications regarding this application.

Protocol Labs Postdoctoral Fellowship

The Postdoctoral Fellowship is intended to support a postdoctoral researcher's contributions to PL-related research. The fellowship may be applied for on behalf of a postdoc to be named later, or directly by the intended recipient.

The PL Research Postdoctoral fellowship consists of a fixed award of $100,000, intended to cover salary and contributions for a period of one year. Postdoctoral Fellowships can be renewed for a second year, by mutual agreement between PL and the grantee.

This application may be submitted by the Postdoctoral candidate, their PI, or an administrative staff member from the host institution. The submitter will serve as the primary point of contact for all communications regarding this application.

Protocol Labs Research Sabbatical

The Research Sabbatical Award is intended to support faculty conducting research in PL's fields of interest during a 6-12 month sabbatical period, with a particular emphasis on supporting collaborative work with a PL researcher.

The PL Research Sabbatical consists of a fixed award of $80,000, intended to serve as an approximate 50% replacement for a year’s teaching load.

This application may be submitted by the applicant or an administrative staff member. The submitter will serve as the primary point of contact for all communications regarding this application.

Protocol Labs Summer Research Grant

The Summer Research Grant is intended to support faculty using the summer term to conduct research in one of PL's fields of interest, with a particular emphasis on carrying out collaborative work with a PL researcher.

The PL Summer Research Grant consists of a fixed award of $40,000, intended to cover approximately 3/9ths of the researchers’ salary.

This application may be submitted by the applicant or an administrative staff member. The submitter will serve as the primary point of contact for all communications regarding this application.

RFP-X

RFP-X provides an application path for research projects not otherwise covered (e.g. multi-PI collaborative projects). It is not meant as a way to sidestep the cut-off dates or the fixed amounts of the open grants. We expect RFP-X applications to request customary rates up to the open grant amounts. Applications seen to be abusing RFP-X will be rejected without review. Note that the success rate for RFP-X applications is significantly lower; consider this the path of last resort.

Additional considerations

Application process

Review process

Award amounts

Publications

As a general rule, we do not provide funding for publications and conference travel in addition to that budgeted at the time of application. However, publications co-authored with a Protocol Labs researcher are eligible for additional funding under our Co-authored Publication Support Policy, provided basic open-access requirements are met.

Intellectual property (IP)

Protocol Labs does not require any IP transfer as a condition of our funding. However, we require a commitment to release the funded work under appropriate open licenses and unencumbered by IP claims. We strongly recommend the use of the Permissive License Stack.

FAQ

A list of frequently asked questions is available in FAQ.md