Community of Science (COS)

To assist you in your efforts in identifying funding opportunities that match, or closely match, your area of research interest, ORSP provides access to the COS electronic database, as well as direct links to the external sponsors and foundations.

COS Funding Opportunities is the most comprehensive resource of funding information available on the Web and publishes more than 15,000 sources of funding from around the world. It is updated daily with announcements for grants, fellowships, and awards in all disciplines including the physical sciences, social sciences, life sciences, health, arts and humanities.

The Pivot difference - fast, robust and reliable

  • Pivot focuses on what matters most to Research Development Professionals, Research Administrators, and their institutions: the ability to identify and connect funding opportunities to researchers at their institution.
  • Pivot combines the most comprehensive, editorially maintained database of funding opportunities worth an estimated $44 billion with our unique database of 3 million pre-populated scholar profiles, drawing from Community of Scholars and Community of Science profiles.
  • Pivot has a proprietary algorithm that compiles pre-populated researcher profiles unique to your organization (and others) and matches them to current funding opportunities.
  • Search just one database for funding in any discipline and country, rather than multiple sources or scattershot across the internet.
  • Updated regularly to add new information associated with a scholar's profile and drop off expired opportunities.

Pivot is an unmatched tool that:

  • Provides access to the most comprehensive source of funding opportunities globally
  • Identifies researcher expertise from within or outside of your organization
  • Users can search for a funding opportunity and instantly view matching faculty from inside or outside their institution. Conversely, a search for a scholar will link to matching funding opportunities
  • Allows the focus to be on winning the necessary awards and grants
  • Enables you to add internal deadlines to critical funding opportunities and sends weekly updates on saved searches
  • Users can receive alerts whenever new matching opportunities are posted that match their saved searches
  • Create groups for sharing funding opportunities on an ongoing basis
  • Enhances communication, monitoring, and tracking amongst individual faculty, teams, or researchers and the Research Development office

The is a personalized electronic notification service that sends subscribers a weekly e-mail with a customized list of funding opportunities based on the individuals user’s previously specified criteria.

Please contact Kate McCormick in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs with any questions or to schedule a training session. Users can create their own accounts, and our office staff are more than happy to assist you with this process.

COS Instructional Tutorials

Pivot Quick Start Guide [PDF]

Identifying Other Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities, recent grant awards, announcements, and news from local, state, federal and private sources. The Update is free and available on this website or by email. Additional local Boston funding opportunities can be found here.

GrantsNET

GrantsNET is a one-stop resource to find funds for research and training in the sciences created through a joint venture of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

National Research Council Fellowship Office

The Fellowships Office administers pre-doctoral, post-doctoral, and senior fellowship awards on behalf of government and private sponsors; these fellowship awards play an important role in the career development of doctoral and post-doctoral researchers and scholars for the academic, federal, and private sector workforce both in the U.S. and internationally.

Name Abbreviation  Description
National Science Foundation NSF

The NSF is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…" With an annual budget of about $6.9 billion (FY 2010), they are the funding source for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities.
National Institute of Health NIH

Founded in 1887, the goal of NIH research is to acquire new knowledge to help prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat disease and disability, from the rarest genetic disorder to the common cold. The NIH mission is to uncover new knowledge that will lead to better health for everyone. NIH works toward that mission by: conducting research in its own laboratories; supporting the research of non-Federal scientists in universities, medical schools, hospitals, and research institutions throughout the country and abroad; helping in the training of research investigators; and fostering communication of medical and health sciences information.
Department of Health and Human Services DHHS

The U.S. DHHS represents almost a quarter of all federal outlays, and it administers more grant dollars than all other federal agencies combined. It is the managing partner for Grants.gov, a source to FIND and APPLY for federal grants.
National Endowment for the Arts NEA

The NEA is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases.
National Endowment for the Humanities NEH

NEH is an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.
Office of Justice Programs OJP

The OJP provides innovative leadership to federal, state, local, and tribal justice systems, by disseminating state-of-the art knowledge and practices across America, and providing grants for the implementation of these crime fighting strategies. OJP works in partnership with the justice community to identify the most pressing crime-related challenges confronting the justice system and to provide information, training, coordination, and innovative strategies and approaches for addressing these challenges.
National Institute of Justice NIJ

NIJ is the research, development and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. NIJ’s overarching research goals are to improve the justice system and prevent crime through research, development and evaluation.
Department of Education ED

Created in 1980, ED’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. ED's 4,200 employees and $63.7 billion budget are dedicated to: Establishing policies on federal financial aid for education, and distributing as well as monitoring those funds; Collecting data on America's schools and disseminating research; Focusing national attention on key educational issues; and Prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education.
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration SAMHSA

The SAMHSA's mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America's communities. To accomplish its work, SAMHSA administers a combination of competitive, formula, and block grant programs and data collection activities.
US Department of Agriculture USDA

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is an agency within the USDA. Through grants offered by NIFA, the USDA enables researchers throughout the United States to solve problems critical to our farmers, consumers, and communities. NIFA is the USDA's major extramural research agency, funding individuals: institutions: and public, private, and non-profit organizations.
US Department of Energy DOE

Much of the work of the Department of Energy's Office of Science (SC) is supported through grants and contractual vehicles. This work is processed through the Office of Science, Office of Grants and Contracts Support (GCS) which serves as the principal acquisition, financial assistance (grants and cooperative agreements) and contract/grant management advisor to the Director of Science.
Office of Naval Research ONR

As an executive branch agency within the Department of Defense, ONR supports the President's budget. ONR provides technical advice to the Chief of Naval Operations and the Secretary of the Navy. ONR also provides resources for the public sector, commercial contractors, nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities to obtain research funding.
National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST

As an agency of the Department of Commerce, NIST works with the private sector, other government agencies, and universities to develop and apply the technology, measurements and standards needed for new and improved products and services. NIST funds industrial and academic research in a variety of ways. Grants/awards supporting research at industry, academic, and other institutions are available on a competitive basis through several different Institute offices.