NEA Research Grants in the Arts, FY 2026 | 2025NEA01ORAGRANTS

Opportunity Information: Apply for 2025NEA01ORAGRANTS

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is offering the Research Grants in the Arts (RGA) program for FY 2026 under funding opportunity number 2025NEA01ORAGRANTS (CFDA 45.024). This is a discretionary grant opportunity focused on supporting research studies that examine the value and/or impact of the arts. Projects can look at the arts as standalone parts of the U.S. arts ecosystem or explore how the arts connect with other parts of American life, including interactions across different arts disciplines or between the arts and other sectors.

This opportunity is designed for research-oriented proposals that produce credible evidence and insights about how arts and cultural activity matter, for whom, and under what conditions. The scope is intentionally broad: applicants may focus on outcomes within the arts ecosystem itself (such as artists, organizations, audiences, participation patterns, or cultural infrastructure) or study the arts in relationship to other domains (for example, education, health, community development, civic life, workforce and local economies, public policy, or social wellbeing). The core idea is to generate findings that can inform practitioners, policymakers, funders, and communities about the role and effects of the arts.

The NEA expects to make about 15 awards through this program. The maximum award amount (award ceiling) is $100,000 per grant. The application closing date listed for this opportunity is March 24, 2025, and the opportunity record was created on January 27, 2025. As a grant (rather than a contract), the program generally supports proposed research activities and deliverables as described by the applicant, consistent with federal grant requirements and the NEA's program rules.

A wide range of applicant types are eligible. Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, and special district governments, as well as independent school districts. Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education are eligible, along with nonprofit organizations holding IRS 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions under that category). Federally recognized Native American tribal governments are also eligible to apply. This mix of eligible entities signals that the NEA is open to proposals from universities, research centers, arts service organizations, nonprofits, and public agencies, as long as the work is structured as a research study aligned with the RGA purpose.

In practical terms, a strong RGA application typically frames a clear research question related to arts value or impact, explains why the question matters, and lays out a defensible study design. Competitive proposals usually describe methods appropriate to the question (quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, evaluation-style designs, or other rigorous approaches), show that the team has the expertise and access needed to carry out the work, and specify outputs that will make the results usable beyond the immediate project team. The program is ultimately aimed at building stronger national knowledge about the arts, how arts ecosystems function, and how arts engagement intersects with broader American social and economic life.

• The National Endowment for the Arts in the arts sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NEA Research Grants in the Arts, FY 2026" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 45.024.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-01-27.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-03-24. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $100,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for 2025NEA01ORAGRANTS

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