Global Engagement Faculty Resources

UNC Global Faculty and Staff Funding Sources

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers an array of competitive and noncompetitive funding opportunities for faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students. To expand the University’s global work and facilitate the academic and professional growth of its students and faculty, UNC funds curriculum development, field research, study abroad, international internships, conference participation, foreign language training, and more.

Did you know? UNC Global has a list of funding tools on its website.

NIH Fogarty International

The Fogarty International Center is dedicated to advancing the mission of the National Institutes of Health by supporting and facilitating global health research conducted by U.S. and international investigators, building partnerships between health research institutions in the U.S. and abroad, and training the next generation of scientists to address global health needs. About one-third of Fogarty’s grants focus on scientific discovery, and two-thirds support research training.

Did you know? The NIH Fogarty International website offers a variety of ways to filter and search through its grant database by country or program/therapeutic area (instructions). The website also allows you to search for non-NIH-funded opportunities for graduate students and postdocs.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the world with a focus on improving global health in areas including, but not limited to, HIV/AIDS, vaccine/drug discovery (through the Grand Challenges Program), maternal and child health, malaria, and pneumonia.

Did you know? The link above will direct you to the current grant proposals and letter of inquiry opportunities. The site also has a page of awarded grants, where you can view recently funded opportunities by therapeutic area. The foundation does not grant funding to individuals.

Grand Challenges in Global Health Program

Grand Challenges in Global Health is a family of grant programs focused on one unifying purpose: to overcome persistent bottlenecks in creating new tools that can radically improve health in the developing world. Grand Challenges in Global Health focuses on sixteen major global health challenges with the aim of engaging creative minds across scientific disciplines — including those who have not traditionally taken part in health research — to work on solutions that could lead to breakthrough advances for those in the developing world.

Did you know? In 2008 the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched Grand Challenges Explorations, a $100 million program to encourage bold and unconventional solutions. Grand Challenges Explorations is an agile, accelerated grant initiative that requires only a two-page application and no preliminary data. Anyone with a bold idea that shows great promise can apply. Initial grants of $100,000 are awarded twice a year, and successful projects have the opportunity to receive a follow-on grant of up to $1 million.

United States Agency for International Development

USAID promotes broad-scale human progress while expanding stable, free societies, creating markets and trade partners for the United States, and fostering good will abroad. The agency works in more than one hundred countries in a variety of areas, including global health, economic prosperity, democracy and good governance, human rights, food security and agriculture, environmental sustainability, education, prevention of and recovery from conflicts, and post-disaster humanitarian assistance.

Did you know? USAID welcomes unsolicited proposals and grant applications. The agency also welcomes collaborative partnerships in which risks, responsibilities, and rewards are shared. See the link above for all potential funding opportunities. You can find the solicited grants offered by USAID on grants.gov.

Grants.gov

Grants.gov is your place to find and apply for federal grants. The United States Department of Health and Human Services is the managing partner for Grants.gov.

Did you know? Most of the grants through USAID are actually found through grants.gov. The link above will direct you to all the currently available USAID solicited grants through grants.gov.

Fulbright Scholar Program

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to “increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.” The Fulbright Program has provided almost 300,000 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential—with the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. There are several different types of Fulbright programs that vary in both expertise and duration of appointment.

Did you know? Fulbright Scholar grants are administered by the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars. The Center for Global Initiatives serves as the campus representative, but all application materials are accepted directly by CIES. The Center for Global Initiatives can assist UNC scholars by answering questions about the program and connecting them to the correct staff at the CIES. Contact Fulbright campus representative, Tripp Tuttle, at tripp.tuttle@unc.edu.

List of Non-NIH Travel Funding Opportunities

Compiled by the NIH.

Short-Term Travel Grants Program

The Short-Term Travel Grants Program supports postdoctoral scholars and professionals who conduct independent or collaborative research in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. It supports policy-relevant and open-source research on current regional issues that are important to the United States. The program has a flexible format and quick turnaround time. Eligible countries of research include: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

Carolina Center for Public Service Funding Opportunities

The Carolina Center for Public Service offers programs that support service and engagement, helping students, faculty, and staff find ways to explore service opportunities, learn new skills, and link their academic endeavors to making a difference in North Carolina and beyond. Through engaged scholarship and service, the center works to create collaborative and interdisciplinary solutions to local and global challenges. Funding opportunities for public service, volunteering, and service learning are available for faculty members who wish to incorporate these aspects into their curriculum.