The National Science Foundation (NSF) offers the Science of Organizations (SoO) grant program, which funds fundamental research to enhance the understanding of organizational design, development, and management. Organizations, whether public or private, formal or informal, profit or nonprofit, play a crucial role in societal well-being by producing goods, providing services, generating employment, and achieving social objectives. The SoO program supports research that contributes to the evidence base for improving organizational effectiveness, using rigorous scientific methods.

The primary objective of the SoO program is to advance fundamental theories and empirical frameworks that help explain how organizations develop, form, and function. Research proposals funded by SoO should utilize scientific methodologies to test and refine theories, introduce new measurement techniques, and generate generalizable knowledge relevant to business practitioners, policymakers, and academic communities. The program prioritizes studies that offer insights into organizations as systems of coordination, management, and governance.

Eligible research topics span a wide range of disciplines, including but not limited to organizational theory, sociology, economics, business policy, strategy, human resource management, information sciences, public administration, industrial psychology, and innovation management. Proposed studies may examine various organizational phenomena such as structures, routines, competitiveness, innovation, change, and evolution. Research approaches may include archival analysis, surveys, simulations, experiments, comparative case studies, and network analyses.

To ensure compliance with NSF standards, all proposals must adhere to the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) or the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide, depending on the submission method. Each proposal must clearly discuss intellectual merit and broader societal impacts, though the majority of the content should focus on theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions to organizational research. Importantly, projects aimed primarily at implementing and evaluating specific organizational training or change programs are not suitable for SoO funding.

The program has an annual target deadline for full proposals, with the next due date set for September 3, 2025, and subsequent deadlines on the same date each year thereafter. Proposals may be submitted through Research.gov or Grants.gov following the applicable guidelines. Researchers interested in industry-related studies are encouraged to explore the Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaisons with Industry (GOALI) program.

For further details, applicants may contact Program Director Songqi Liu via email at soliu@nsf.gov or by phone at (703) 292-2542. The NSF headquarters is located at 2415 Eisenhower Ave, Alexandria, VA 22314. Additional information, including previously funded projects and program updates, can be accessed through the NSF website.