- Ask mentors and colleagues about funding sources relevant to your research.
- Narrow your request down from general suggestions such as “NIH” or “USDA” to departments (e.g., National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases [NIDDK]; National Institute of Food and Agriculture [NIFA]).
- Ask people to think beyond the obvious funding agencies.
- Look for funding sources cited in journal articles relevant to your field of research.
- Pay particular attention to articles published within the last two years to identify contemporaneous funding agencies.
- Consider using a search tool such as Web of Science (library.illinois.edu). Funding sources are sometimes listed in the abstract information.
- Use that information to track back to an agency and related contact information.
- Use search engines to identify current/past grants relevant to your research. Contacts may be listed in the solicitation.
- Search engines
- Federal agency resources*
- Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
- Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (DoD CDMRP)
- Department of Education
- Department of Energy (DOE)
- Department of Interior (DOI)
- Department of Transportation
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA)
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) (funding opportunities)
- NIFA Request for Applications list
- National Science Foundation (NSF)
- USDA NIFA Data Gateway (awarded grants)
*Agencies not included in this list generally post opportunities through Grants.gov.