Research Grants
The Bloomberg Center for Cities supports faculty-led work on urban problem-solving and city leadership. Its mission is to advance the field of study and practice through research, teaching, and engagement with practice. Areas of particular interest include mayoral leadership strategies, conditions enabling high-performing staff and teams, organizational capabilities for innovation, evidence-based policy solutions and the capacity needed to implement them, the uses of data and AI to strengthen decision-making, and effective approaches to cross-sector collaboration. (See more information about the Center’s thematic research agenda below.)
Research Grants provide seed funding for rigorous research addressing key challenges city leaders face in tackling urban problems and driving performance in local government. Projects must demonstrate a clear problem statement, methodological rigor, and potential for both scholarly and practical impact. These grants aim to catalyze projects that can attract additional funding, build interdisciplinary collaborations, and produce open-access, shareable outputs such as datasets, tools, and policy-relevant publications. The maximum award is $40,000.
Grant Details
Funds may be used for eligible expenses that directly support the project. All expenditures must be reasonable, necessary, and clearly tied to project objectives. Grants cannot cover unrelated operational expenses, capital purchases, or costs incurred before approval.
Any applicable indirect fees charged by your school or department should be included in the budget. Budgets should include a line where such indirect costs required by the grantee’s home department/school are made explicit.
Eligibility
Anyone with a Harvard faculty appointment may apply.
Evaluation Criteria & Review Process
Proposals are reviewed and scored by the Bloomberg Center for Cities Faculty Funding Review Committee. Committee members are not eligible for funding. The faculty review committee will take into account whether proposals:
- Clearly connect to the Center’s mission of improving urban problem-solving and city leadership.
- Present clear, compelling goals and innovative approaches to inquiry.
- Include efforts to disseminate findings in scholarly and practitioner communities where possible and relevant.
- Leverage collaborations across schools, disciplines, and research traditions.
- Provide meaningful opportunities for Harvard student participation.
- Include detailed, justified budgets aligned with these grant guidelines.
- Build on existing scholarship and have the potential to make a significant contribution.
Reporting Requirements
Grant recipients will be required to submit midyear and annual reports via a short form summarizing expenditures, activities, outputs, and outcomes. They must also highlight connections to the Center’s mission, key collaborations, and future plans. Recipients must provide a brief summary and, if possible, three high-resolution photos (300 dpi) for the Center’s communications. Late or missing reports may affect eligibility for future funding.
Applications
Applicants are responsible for ensuring their home department/school reviews the Template Funding Agreement terms and conditions and follows institutional grant application guidelines. Significant changes to the agreement cannot be accommodated.
Timeline | Fall 2025
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| October 21, 2025 | RFP Opens |
| November 20, 2025 | Proposal submission deadline |
| By early January | Funding decisions announced |
The Bloomberg Center’s Thematic Research Agenda
Mayoral Leadership: What leadership behaviors and capabilities are associated with measurable effectiveness of mayors? What distinguishes new mayors who achieve high-impact results from those who do not? Which specific leadership behaviors and capabilities are critical to accelerating progress on priority issues?
High-Performing Teams and Staff: What leadership behaviors and organizational conditions are associated with high-performing and highly motivated staff and leadership teams in city government? What helps city hall staff thrive despite pressures of the job, uncertainty in the environment, or challenges associated with long-term change? What factors predict strong staff engagement and retention?
Organizational Capabilities: What organizational capabilities most enable city governments to address complex public challenges in innovative ways? What strategic approaches are most effective in building and sustaining these capabilities over time? Under what conditions are these capabilities most likely to persist and scale? What strategies build and sustain innovation and continuous improvement across political cycles?
Policy Solutions: What are the most promising evidence-based solutions to specific urban challenges that are high priority for mayors? Under what conditions can these evidence-based solutions match local conditions and local resident preferences? What leadership, management, and organizational capabilities are associated with the successful implementation of these solutions in different local contexts?
Data and AI: What uses of data, evidence, and emerging technologies, including AI, measurably improve decision-making, performance, and outcomes in city government? Which of these are more likely to improve results in the short term versus longer term? What governance models, organizational tools, and implementation practices are strong predictors of successful and sustained use of data, evidence, and emerging technologies?
Collaborative Governance: What models of collaboration allow city governments to effectively work with residents, nonprofits, private-sector actors, higher levels of government, and other cities to solve shared challenges? How can city governments effectively mobilize external expertise and resources and coordinate action across sectors? What organizational factors and leadership approaches are associated with collaborative efforts that lead to durable outcomes?
