The Decision, Risk and Management Sciences Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (DRMS-DDRIG) program is administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the Division of Social and Economic Sciences within the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences. This grant supports scientific research aimed at enhancing the understanding and effectiveness of decision-making processes among individuals, groups, organizations, and society. It focuses on projects grounded in theories and methods from the social and behavioral sciences and emphasizes proposals that advance fundamental scientific and societal knowledge while demonstrating strong broader impacts.

The program specifically funds doctoral dissertation research improvement grants in areas such as judgment and decision-making, decision analysis and aids, risk analysis and communication, public policy decision-making, and management science and organizational design. Proposals must present research that is theory-based and generalizable; purely theoretical or algorithmic studies are not eligible for support under this program.

Funding is awarded through standard grants, with an annual anticipated funding amount ranging from $450,000 to $675,000. The typical number of awards is between 20 to 30 per fiscal year. Each award is capped at $30,000 in total costs, which include both direct and indirect expenses. The maximum duration for any funded project is 12 months. Awarded funds may support various research-related expenses, excluding stipends, salaries, tuition, dissertation preparation, or advisor travel. Eligible costs include doctoral student travel to professional meetings and publication expenses related to DDRIG research outcomes.

Eligibility is limited to Ph.D.-granting institutions of higher education located within the United States. Proposals must be submitted by the student's dissertation advisor, who serves as the principal investigator (PI), with the student named as co-principal investigator (co-PI). Additional co-PIs may be included at the discretion of the submitting institution. There are no restrictions on the number of proposals that may be submitted by an institution or by individual PIs or co-PIs.

Submissions must follow either the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) via Research.gov or the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide. Full proposals are required; no letters of intent or preliminary proposals are needed. Proposal deadlines occur biannually, with the next upcoming due dates on January 18 and August 19, 2024, and annually thereafter on January 18 and August 18. All proposals must adhere to the guidelines in the most current version of the PAPPG or applicable Grants.gov guide, depending on the submission platform.

Evaluation of proposals is conducted through NSF’s standard merit review process. Proposals are judged based on two criteria: Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts. Reviewers consider the potential to advance knowledge and benefit society, along with the originality, organization, qualifications, and resources of the proposing team. All funded projects must also submit a data management plan and ensure that curated data is publicly accessible within two years of final data collection.