National Endowment for the Arts FY27 Research Labs

Please see the internal call from ND Research regarding the Research Labs program supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

From the description: "The program funds long-term research agendas (referred to herein as NEA Research Labs, or Labs) that include multiple empirical studies and the dissemination of various products or services for promoting public knowledge about the arts and their contributions to American life." The three areas of focus for this year are: 1) Arts and Health, 2) Arts and the Economy, and 3) Arts and Education. See details below for more granular areas of interest under each focus area.

This is a limited submission opportunity, which means Notre Dame may only submit nominations for one potential Lab. For consideration, please upload the information requested below to this Google Form by February 2, 2026:

Name of PI
Project Title
Names of ND Collaborators
Project Summary (maximum of three (3) pages). The Project Summary should align with the Review Criteria outlined on pages 16 and 17 of the NOFO.

Website: https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/fy27-labs-program-guidelines-final.pdf
Funding Opportunity Number: 45.024
Submission Limitation per Institution: One (1)
Notre Dame Limited Submissions Listing: https://research.nd.edu/our-services/funding-opportunities/faculty/limited-submissions-program/
Internal Expression of Interest Deadline: 2026-02-02

Sponsor Application Deadlines

Applicants must first submit proposals to grants.gov by: 2026-03-23
Applicants submit their proposal to the NEA Applicant Portal between 2026/03/23 - 2026/04/02

Description

The NEA Research Labs program is a funding opportunity under the NEA’s Research Awards initiative. The program funds long-term research agendas (referred to herein as NEA Research Labs, or Labs) that include multiple empirical studies and the dissemination of various products or services for promoting public knowledge about the arts and their contributions to American life. Each Lab must include an interdisciplinary team of researchers. Products or services developed under the award are expected to be of value to arts researchers, arts practitioners, and professionals in sectors such as healthcare, education, and business or management. Funded projects should have national, regional, or field-wide significance.

Projects supported through this program include:

Arts and Health. Includes studies that will test or characterize the benefits of the arts or arts and health activities—including creative arts therapies—in terms of health and wellbeing for people or communities. The NEA has a special interest in supporting such projects in the following contexts:
- Military personnel, veterans, and their families
- Pediatric cancer care and other childhood diseases
- Opioid use prevention, treatment, and recovery
- Disaster relief and emergency response and preparedness
- Care of older adults experiencing cognitive or neurodegenerative declines
Arts and the Economy. Includes studies that will test or characterize the benefits of the arts or arts activities in terms of economic or workforce development.
- The NEA has a special interest in supporting such projects involving the arts in Artificial Intelligence (AI) competency training, in career development for people with disabilities, and/or in preparation for high-paying skilled trade jobs of the future.
Arts and Education. Includes studies that will test or characterize the benefits of the arts or arts activities in terms of school readiness, school engagement, or academic achievement among children from preschool through high school.
- The NEA has a special interest in supporting such projects for learners with autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disabilities.

Required Internal Application

Upload the following information to the Google Form -- https://forms.gle/asKoZbUQknZZZ4kr9 by the internal deadline.

Name of the Principal Investigator (PI)
Project Title
Names of ND Collaborators: For each ND Collaborator listed, include name, department or unit, and specific role for this project in three sentences (maximum).
Project Summary (maximum of three (3) pages). The Project Summary should align with the Review Criteria outlined on pages 16 and 17 of the NOFO and address the following areas:
- Artistic Excellence
  - Clarity of the research agenda and project activities
  - Clarity of the proposed keystone research study
- Artistic Merit
  - Plan to develop a website and products and/or services that will engage the scientific and artistic communities and the greater public
  - High potential of the project activities to benefit the public in one or more of the following ways:
    - Likely to yield results that are generalizable, even for discrete populations or practitioner groups.
    - Likely to spur innovation in arts-related research, policy, or practice—e.g., through the development, testing, and standardization of models, tools, or evidence-based guides.
    - Likely to extend access to the arts and their benefits to a larger proportion of the U.S. population, including those for whom there are limited opportunities.
  - Potential for the Lab’s research agenda to continue meaningfully after the conclusion of NEA-supported activities.

Questions?

Contact Notre Dame Research Limited Submissions at limited@nd.edu.