NEA Research Labs

NEA Research Labs

Please see the full solicitation for complete details, including separate program and application guidelines. Below is a summary assembled by the Research & Innovation Office (RIO). Note the matching requirement detailed in the Award Information section below. 

Program Summary

The NEA Research Labs program funds long-term research agendas 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:

1. 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
2. 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.
3. 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.

Applicants seeking funding solely for discrete research studies and the promotion of their results should instead apply to the Research Grants in the Arts program.

Deadlines

• CU Internal Deadline: 11:59pm MST February 23, 2026
• Sponsor Application Deadline: 9:59pm MST March 23, 2026

Internal Application Requirements (all in PDF format)

• Project Description (3 pages maximum): The following components must be included: a) SELECTED RESEARCH QUESTIONS: List at least two specific research questions guiding the project; b) IMPACT STATEMENT: 1-2 sentences explaining direct public benefits from the research; c) RESEARCH AGENDA AND SIGNIFICANCE: Describe the overall Lab vision, research agenda, arts-related contributions; include short/long-term objectives, study descriptions for initial period; describe interdisciplinary team fit, literature basis; justify activities beyond restating NEA interest in such activities; note potential post-award continuation; d) DESCRIPTION OF THE KEYSTONE STUDY: Detail plan for one core, “keystone” study completed in initial period; justify research design, data sources, analytical approach to each question; and e) WORKS CITED OR REFERENCES: List literature references here (no attachments).  
• Data Access & Management Plan (no images, 1 page maximum): Include information on a) DATA ACCESS: Confirm rights to data/collection; provide evidence (e.g., public domain); outline steps for pre-existing data access; for primary collection: describe IRB approval plans/status (submit confirmation if awarded), ethics training for key personnel (certificates required if awarded); b) DATA MANAGEMENT: Specify raw data/meta-data types (e.g., collection results, instruments); standards for format/content (document gaps/solutions); sharing policies with researchers/public, timeline, aggregation levels, responsible use provisions; archiving plans, resources/facilities (including third-party repositories), access continuity; address leadership changes; justify if no detailed plan needed.
• PI Curriculum Vitae
• Budget Overview (1 page maximum): A basic budget outlining project costs is sufficient; detailed OCG budgets are not required. Applicants must include the source of cost-share/matching funds in this budget overview and provide the name(s) from whom they have received commitments of matching support.
• Cost-Share Certification: Applicants must certify that they have confirmed cost-share commitments as part of the internal process and provide the name(s) of those who have committed in the budget overview. See RIO guidance for additional details.

To access the online application, visit: https://cuboulderovcr.secure-platform.com/a/solicitations/7142/home

Eligibility

Applicants must have a five-year history of arts programming prior to the application deadline.

Limited Submission Guidelines

Organizations can submit one application to the FY27 Research Labs funding opportunity.

Award Information

• Grants range from $100,000 to $300,000.
• Award Duration: Up to 3 years
• Anticipated Number of Awards: 4
• All grants require a nonfederal cost share or match of at least 1 to 1. These cost share funds may be all cash or a combination of cash and in-kind contributions, and can include federally-negotiated indirect costs.

Review Criteria

Applications will be reviewed based on the criteria below, with equal weight assigned to artistic excellence and artistic merit.

Artistic Excellence

• Clarity of the research agenda and project activities, including commitment to both short- and long-term project objectives. This includes the appropriateness of the project for this funding opportunity, the coherence of the proposed project activities and their correspondence to the Lab’s research agenda, and evidence that the research agenda is informed by extant literature, as appropriate. This also includes plans for sustaining the research agenda beyond the initial award’s period of performance.
• Clarity of the proposed keystone research study, including the conceptual framework, research design, and analytical methods to be used, and the relationship of these elements to the proposed research questions. This includes, if relevant, the keystone study’s Institutional Review Board plans and/or status.
• Research qualifications of the key project personnel and organizations involved, including the proposed technical working group. This includes the degree to which the mission and/or experience of the Lab team and the nature of the interdisciplinary collaboration advance the goals of the NEA Research Labs program and the proposed research agenda. As appropriate, this includes discussion of planned or actual ethics training on human subjects research protections for relevant personnel, as well as planned training or mentorship activities for early-career personnel. This also includes the appropriateness of the artistic and/or research disciplines represented on the project team.
• Ability to carry out the project on time and within budget, including the reasonableness of the budget.

Artistic Merit

• Plan to develop a website and products and/or services that will engage the scientific and artistic communities and the greater public with the Lab’s work throughout the period of performance. This includes plans to produce and release reports, articles, tools, programs or services and/or to host convenings. This also includes creative communication and distribution strategies to make the research findings and products data accessible to the public and to other researchers and practitioners. Finally, this element includes, where applicable, the potential for raw- and/or meta-data to be shared with other researchers and the public, including through such platforms as open-access journals and public data repositories.
• 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.