FIRE launches expanded 2023 Free Inquiry Grant program, offering $200,000 to support research on free speech

FIRE is proud to announce that we are accepting proposals for the second cycle of our Free Inquiry Grant program, supporting research that advances the understanding of free speech and academic freedom. 

We are excited to announce that we have expanded the program to $200,000, with a maximum grant size of $65,000.

Faculty, Ph.D. students, and postdocs at accredited universities, as well as researchers at governmental and independent scholarly institutions like laboratories and think tanks, are eligible to apply. We accept proposals in a wide range of fields of study, including education, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology.

Detailed eligibility information is available on the call for proposals page.

Free Speech Grants from FIRE

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To help fulfill that aspect of our mission, we periodically offer grants to support free speech research projects.

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FIRE is conducting this free speech grant program in partnership with its faculty network.

Last year, more than 100 members of the FIRE Faculty Network volunteered to review applications for relevance and to ensure grant-receiving projects meet the standards for methodological rigor in the applicant’s field.

“When we announced the Free Inquiry Grant program last year, we were surprised to hear from faculty about the relative lack of funding opportunities for academic research into free speech. We were extremely gratified by the interest in the first year of the program and are so happy to be expanding our support substantially for this critical research,” said FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff.

Applications are now open, and submissions for the 2023 grant program will be accepted until the deadline of Oct. 1, 2023. 

Questions that are not answered in the call for proposals can be directed to FIRE Research Manager Ryne Weiss at ryne.weiss@thefire.org.