FIRE Expands Free Inquiry Grant to support Research on Free Speech

Since its founding more than two decades ago as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, FIRE has become the nation’s leading defender of fundamental rights on college campuses through their unique mix of programming, including student and faculty outreach, public education campaigns, individual case advocacy, and policy reform efforts.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization, seeks research proposals related to freedom of expression and academic freedom.

Funding Information

• A total pool of $250,000 will be available in 2024, with a maximum amount of $50,000 per grant and no minimum amount.

Eligible Fields

• They currently have the capacity to evaluate grant applications related to freedom of expression and academic freedom in the following fields: economics, education, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology.
• They are open to proposals in other fields and, should they receive them, will seek evaluators for that field. If they are unable to find evaluators in said field, you will unfortunately not be eligible to receive a grant. Projects with an output consisting of a discrete piece of art — such as a film, painting, or poem — will not be eligible for funding through this grant program.

Eligible Funding

• Research expenses, paid access to polling and datasets, interviews and data collection, software, travel for the purpose of interviewing subjects, travel for the purpose of accessing archival materials, wages for research assistants paid hourly to work on grant project, journal submission fees and/or publication fees.

Ineligible Funding

• Ineligible uses of grant funds: Retroactive funding of expenses prior to grant disbursement, computer hardware expenses, living expenses, salary supplementation. Conference travel registration and travel is ineligible.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must currently be one of the following:
  • Faculty — tenured, tenure-track, adjunct or otherwise — at an accredited institution of higher education.
  • A Ph.D. student at an accredited institution of higher education.
  • A postdoctoral researcher at an accredited institution of higher education.
  • A researcher or fellow at a governmental or independent scholarly institution such as a laboratory or think tank.
• All grant recipients must sign a Grant Agreement as a condition of receiving grant funds. Previous applicants are eligible to apply. Non-governmental grant recipients must be able to receive money through a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

International Eligibility Criteria

• They accept grant applications from outside of the United States. However, FIRE does not distribute grant funds to individuals or organizations in countries subject to sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of Treasury (OFAC) or that are listed on the Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons List maintained by OFAC. Grants made to international entities must be able to be received by a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

For more information, visit FIRE.