Impact Lab Start-Up Funding

The Harvard Impact Labs Start-Up Funding opportunity, administered through the university-wide initiative based at the Harvard Kennedy School, is designed to support Harvard faculty in launching an Impact Lab or a new line of work at an existing lab. This initiative provides up to $500,000 over a two-year period on a competitive basis. The funding is directed at advancing solutions to urgent social problems through close collaboration between scholars and government, nonprofit, or private-sector partners. Impact Labs focus on conducting rigorous, publication-worthy research aimed at real-world impact. The intention is to enhance understanding of pressing social issues while ensuring that resulting solutions are scalable and sustainable. Applications are expected to be grounded in existing relationships with non-academic organizations and must demonstrate a viable path for impact at scale. This opportunity is open to both new and established labs. New labs may use the funds to build professional teams and initiate collaborative R&D cycles, whereas established labs may pursue new directions that existing funding cannot support. The application process begins with Letters of Interest, which are due by June 3, 2025. Selected applicants will be invited in early July to submit full proposals by September 10. This multi-stage process includes feedback rounds, partner interviews, and culminates in the award phase scheduled for December. The selection process is highly competitive, with about one-third of Letters of Interest advancing and roughly half of those receiving funding. Evaluations will focus on five criteria: the problem's scale and urgency, scientific contribution, potential for impact, strength of partnerships, and the leadership team. Eligibility is limited to tenured, tenure-track, or full-time Professors of the Practice at Harvard University. Applications may be submitted individually or jointly with other faculty from Harvard or other universities, provided roles and contributions are clearly delineated. Only one proposal per PI is allowed, although faculty may serve as co-investigators on multiple projects. The research team must already have an existing relationship with a non-academic partner. A Letter of Interest must include a high-level budget summary. Full proposals, for those invited to submit them, require detailed budgets. While the maximum funding is $500,000, proposals requesting less are encouraged if appropriate. Budgets are expected to reflect investments in partnerships, implementation strategies, support infrastructure, and data management. PI time is generally considered an in-kind contribution unless otherwise required by the applicant's school, and PI summer salaries are not eligible for funding. Applicants are expected to designate a project lead and to engage regularly with the Harvard Impact Labs team. Throughout the funding period, labs will provide biannual progress updates, share tools developed, and participate in peer networking and promotional activities. Interested applicants may attend one of the scheduled information sessions, and additional questions may be directed to the program team via ImpactLabsAwards@hks.harvard.edu.