Decision, Risk and Management Sciences - Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants

The National Science Foundation, through its Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences and the Division of Social and Economic Sciences, administers the Decision, Risk and Management Sciences Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants program. Commonly referred to as DRMS-DDRIG, this funding opportunity is designed to advance scientific understanding in decision-making processes across individuals, groups, organizations, and broader society. The program prioritizes research grounded in social and behavioral science theories and methods, with an emphasis on contributions that are generalizable, theoretically robust, and socially impactful. Areas of support include judgment and decision making, decision analysis and aids, risk analysis, perception and communication, public policy decision making, and management science with organizational design. The program specifically supports doctoral dissertation research improvement grants, providing targeted resources to doctoral students who are conducting dissertation research in relevant fields. All projects must be theoretically grounded and broadly applicable. Purely theoretical or algorithmic studies are not appropriate under this solicitation. The goal is to foster projects that enhance knowledge in ways that also yield tangible societal benefits, such as improving public decision-making or advancing organizational management science. DRMS requires that curated data be submitted to a publicly accessible repository within two years of the conclusion of final data collection, thereby ensuring public access and broader scientific value. Funding is provided through standard grants, with annual program totals ranging between $450,000 and $675,000, depending on congressional appropriations and availability of funds. Each individual project may request a maximum of $30,000 in direct and indirect costs, with a project duration not exceeding 12 months. Funds may be used to cover allowable research expenses under NSF guidelines, including travel for the doctoral student to attend professional meetings and costs associated with publishing articles derived from the dissertation research. However, funds may not be used for stipends or salaries for either the doctoral student or their advisor, tuition expenses, journal subscriptions, dissertation preparation costs, or advisor travel to professional meetings. Cost sharing is not allowed under this program. Eligibility is limited to Ph.D.-granting institutions of higher education accredited in the United States and acting on behalf of their faculty members. Applications must be submitted through organizational channels by the doctoral student’s advisor, who serves as the principal investigator. The doctoral student is required to be listed as co-principal investigator, ensuring recognition of their role in the research process. Additional faculty members may be added as co-principal investigators when appropriate. Doctoral students are expected to be at a stage in their academic progress that enables them to work with their advisor in preparing and submitting the proposal. There are no restrictions on the number of proposals an institution, advisor, or faculty member may submit. The submission process follows NSF’s Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide and allows applications via Research.gov or Grants.gov. Proposals do not require a letter of intent or preliminary submission. Applications must be clearly titled beginning with the phrase “Doctoral Dissertation Research:” followed by a concise, descriptive, and jargon-free summary of the research project. Applicants are encouraged to review all requirements carefully, as the solicitation may include specifications that supersede those in the standard NSF policies. All proposals are subject to NSF’s rigorous merit review process, which evaluates applications based on intellectual merit and broader impacts. Deadlines occur twice annually, with proposals due on January 18 and August 18. For the current solicitation cycle, proposals are due on January 18, 2024, and August 19, 2024, with subsequent cycles following on the same dates annually thereafter. Applicants should ensure timely submission and be aware that submission prior to a deadline does not exempt them from compliance with solicitation requirements. Notification of awards or declinations generally occurs within six months of submission. Awards are administered by NSF’s Division of Grants and Agreements and are subject to NSF award conditions and reporting requirements, including annual reports and a final project outcomes report. Applicants and advisors are encouraged to contact program directors to confirm the fit of their proposed work within DRMS’s scope prior to submission. The program directors currently listed for this solicitation are Claudia Gonzalez-Vallejo, Program Director, available at clagonza@nsf.gov, phone (703) 292-4710, and Robert E. O’Connor, Program Director, available at roconnor@nsf.gov, phone (703) 292-7263. For technical assistance with Research.gov, applicants may contact the Research.gov Help Desk at rgov@nsf.gov or 1-800-381-1532. For Grants.gov issues, applicants should use support@grants.gov or 1-800-518-4726. The NSF Information Center is available at (703) 292-5111 for general questions.