Academic Venture Fund 2026 Request for Proposals
Overview
The Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability invites proposals for the Academic Venture Fund (AVF) program. This fund stimulates innovative and interdisciplinary sustainability research and programmatic development at Cornell. The AVF is intended to support research that would not be funded by traditional granting organizations because the proposed activity is interdisciplinary, still early in development, highly innovative, or some combination of these factors.
All proposals must show a clear means of effecting real-world impact, such as impact on policies, practices, products, and/or opinions. We prioritize projects with the potential for sustained adoption and implementation. We also prioritize proposals that demonstrate a clear and convincing potential to secure external follow-on funding. We encourage proposals that include Cornell undergraduates as members of the research team. Successful proposals will advance sustainability locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally.
Timeline
- December 15, 2025: AVF Request for Proposals opens
- January 12, 2026, 1-2 p.m. ET: AVF Information Session #1 (Register)
- January 26, 2026, 5 p.m. ET: Optional Letters of Intent due (LOI) due (Submit)
- February 5, 2026, 11 a.m. – Noon ET: AVF Information Session #2 (Register)
- March 9, 2026, 5 p.m., ET: Full Proposals due (Apply)
- Mid-May 2026: Applicants notified
- July 1, 2026: Projects can start
Eligibility
Cornell Atkinson funds are subject to the same restrictions as any other university research funding. Applications are open to any Cornell University-eligible Principal Investigator. PIs may have a primary appointment in any Cornell college or school, and must currently be a Cornell Atkinson Faculty Fellow (apply online).
The Academic Venture Fund prioritizes interdisciplinary, multiple-investigator research projects addressing complex real-world problems that require a range of perspectives and expertise to solve. We encourage teams of faculty investigators from different Cornell departments and colleges to apply, but collaborators within a single department can be considered if they have sufficient breadth of expertise and perspective. We will consider single-investigator proposals if there is a clear and compelling justification that explains why a multiple-investigator approach is not appropriate.
Funding
Maximum budget amount is $150,000. Cornell Atkinson anticipates funding up to six awards.
Priority Themes
Projects outside the specified priority areas may also receive funding through this RFP if they demonstrate substantial organizational commitment, have a strong and capable team, and present a work plan that aligns with a robust theory of change.
Letter of Intent Guidelines
Letters of Intent (LOI) are recommended in advance of submitting a proposal. LOI reviews are intended to result in stronger proposals rather than to exclude any projects from advancing to the proposal stage. Cornell Atkinson Faculty Directors will review and provide feedback on all letters submitted. Please use this online LOI form to submit your letter before January 26, 2026, 5:00 p.m. ET.
LOI sections include:
- Lead collaborator names and bios
- Project title
- Priority area alignment
- Problem statement: Describe the central challenge you aim to address through this project
- Short project description: Describe the project aims, rationale, activities, and pathway to impact
How to Apply
Please use this online form to submit your proposal before March 9, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET. Late and/or incomplete proposals will not be reviewed.
Proposal Narrative (required):
Applicants must address the following within a 5-page limit (excludes citations, budget and budget justification). Please upload a PDF (11-point font, 1-inch margins, single-spaced) with the below information. Save proposal packet as “2026-AVF-proposal-YourLastName.PDF”.
- Project Abstract (maximum 250 words)
- Summarize your proposed project, methods, and anticipated impact clearly and concisely.
- Background
- Summarize your research topic and its importance. Explain what led you to this topic, including your prior experience (research or other) and the timeliness and importance of the project. Also include the overarching challenge and research questions that you will address, and a summary of methods to be used.
- Intellectual Merit
- Discuss how the proposal advances understanding and fits into the current body of knowledge around sustainability issues (consider academic and non-academic knowledge, for example, knowledge gaps of an NGO or other non-academic partner). Describe how this research is innovative – in its research questions, methods/approach/data collection/ways of knowing, team formation, and/or other aspects.
- Impact
- Summarize how the proposed research has the potential to impact real-world changes and solutions, leading to greater sustainability. Explain how the project will change or influence behavior, practice, procedures, or policy to help implement sustainable solutions the world needs. Consider temporal (short, intermediate, and long-term) and spatial (local, regional, national, global) impacts. Include the intended concrete steps on the path to impact.
- We are especially interested in how your external partners and other collaborators might ensure research findings lead to real-world impact. For example, how will external partners help get findings into the hands of policymakers? Or how might community partners help ensure adoption of recommendations?
- Follow-on Funding
- Describe the potential for external follow-on funding and the possible sources of this funding. Outline how the AVF seed funding will increase the likelihood of securing such funding.
- Collaborations
- Describe how your project will help establish or strengthen new, important, lasting collaborations within Cornell and/or with external organizations, communities, or individuals. Describe actual or prospective external partners that can apply, scale, diversify perspectives, or otherwise further the research discoveries of the project, as well as their level of engagement. If local collaborators are included in the research proposal, such as local individuals and/or communities, describe who will be involved in the project, as well as your plan for effectively engaging these collaborators.
- Interdisciplinary Research
- Describe how the research will reach across disciplines and/or campus units, including a plan that describes how new, substantive connections will be established to form the interdisciplinary team. If the research does not include multiple or interdisciplinary investigators, clearly explain and justify why this approach is not needed.
- Metrics
- Include clear and appropriate measures of success and explicit milestones with a realistic timeline that can be used to evaluate the team’s progress in advancing sustainability. Include your plan/timeline for involving postdocs, graduate students, or undergraduate students in the research.
- Citations (not part of 5-page limit)
- Curricula Vitae (not part of 5-page limit)
- Include a brief CV for the lead PI and each co-PI. CVs for senior investigators are optional. Strict two-page maximum per investigator. Excess CV pages will be deleted from the final review package.
Budget and Justification (required)
Use this budget template | Save budget as “2026-AVF-budget-YourLastName.XLSX”.
Use this budget justification template | Include budget template at the end of your proposal PDF packet
- The Excel budget should be submitted as a separate file when you submit your proposal.
- The budget justification should be included at the end of your proposal. The budget justification does not count against your proposal page count.
- Please follow the budget and justification templates carefully and provide the requested level of detail.
- Indicative budget guidance (not an exhaustive list – please contact us with specific questions):
- The maximum AVF budget request is $150,000.
- Funds may be used to cover: Partial support for research associates, postdocs, and technical staff; support for graduate and undergraduate students; travel, supplies, equipment, and up to $3,000 in publication fees.
- Funding cannot be used to support tenure-track faculty salaries.
- For Cornell PIs: Please note that Cornell Atkinson requires a cost share for tuition in line with sponsored research awards such as NSF. If graduate student tuition is built into the budget, the total tuition cost incurred must be cost-shared equally by Cornell Atkinson and your department or unit.
- Funds may not be used to cover faculty salary (including summer salary), laptops (unless they are dedicated to project work only), or staff bonuses.
- This is not an exhaustive list – please contact us with specific questions.
Review Criteria
Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Intellectual Merit: Will the proposal advance understanding – filling gaps in academic and/or non-academic knowledge – regarding important sustainability issues? Is the research innovative?
- Impact: Does the proposed research project have the potential to impact real-world changes and/or solutions leading to greater sustainability? Are the critical steps on the path to impact clearly articulated and convincing?
- Follow-on Funding: Does the proposal clearly describe the potential for follow-on funding? Does the proposal describe how the AVF funding will increase the likelihood of securing such funding?
- Collaborations: Does the proposal establish or convincingly outline new, important, lasting collaborations within Cornell and/or with external organizations, communities, or individuals? Are the roles of listed participants clearly explained?
- Interdisciplinary Reach: Does the research team reach across disciplines and/or campus units? If not, does the proposal clearly explain and justify why this approach is not needed?
- Metrics: Does the proposal include clear and appropriate measures of success and explicit milestones with a realistic timeline?
Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated using the above criteria. Reviewers will have a broad range of expertise and background, and will not necessarily be subject matter experts. Proposals should be written accordingly.
Awardee Responsibilities
- Participate in future Cornell Atkinson proposal review panels.
- Communicate any follow-on funding received related to this or any Cornell Atkinson-supported project.
- Periodically meet with the Cornell Atkinson leadership to discuss project progress, including with regard to research, funding applications submitted, project outputs and outcomes, partnership development, and project milestones met.
- Submit reports describing progress towards each metric of success identified in the proposal.
- Respond to requests for information (including through surveys or presentations) about the longer-term impacts of the grant after the funding ends.
- Return unspent funds remaining at the end of the project to Cornell Atkinson.
- Acknowledge Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability in all presentations, reports, and publications stemming at least in part from this funding. Guidance for acknowledging your affiliation with Cornell Atkinson can be found on our website and will be included in your Memorandum of Understanding.
More Information
If you have questions about this Request for Proposals, please contact Cynthia Mathys, Senior Program and Portfolio Manager, cjm296@cornell.edu.
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