FIRE launches 2022 Free Inquiry Grant program offering $150,000 to support research on free speech

FIRE is proud to announce that we are accepting proposals for our Free Inquiry Grant program. This program will support research that advances our understanding of free speech and academic freedom. In its first year, the program will offer $150,000 with a maximum grant size of $50,000 per grant.

Faculty, graduate students, and postdocs at accredited universities, as well as researchers at independent scholarly institutions like laboratories and think tanks, are eligible to apply. We are accepting proposals in the fields of economics, education, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology. Detailed eligibility information is available in the call for proposals.

Maximum grant size of $50,000 per grant.

This free speech grants program is in partnership with FIRE’s Faculty Network. Members of the Faculty Network in the applicant’s field of study will review applications for relevance and to ensure grant-receiving projects meet the field’s standards for methodological rigor.

“Before any problem is solved it must be understood, and that’s why we are so thrilled that we have the opportunity to enable cutting-edge research to advance the state of knowledge on free expression. It’s especially gratifying that so many friends in our faculty network have stepped up to the plate to help,” says FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff.

Applications are open now, and submissions for the 2022 grant program will be accepted until the deadline of October 1, 2022. More information about FIRE's free speech grants is available in the Call for Proposals. Questions that are not answered in the call for proposals can be directed to ryne.weiss@thefire.org.