J-WAFS Water and Food Grand Challenge Grant

The last J-WAFS Grand Challenge call closed in December of 2023. The next request for statements is TBD at this time. 

This J-WAFS funding opportunity is for MIT researchers to address a significant “Grand Challenge” in water and/or food systems. Going beyond our seed grants, this opportunity seeks to fund a larger, integrated project that addresses a significant challenge in the area of water and/or food for human need, specifically in the context of climate change. This funding opportunity targets grand challenges in water and food that can leverage multiple existing areas of expertise, programs, and Institute resources. We wish to identify challenges that can benefit from actionable, solutions-oriented research.

Cross-disciplinary approaches are highly encouraged. Projects involving collaboration with non-MIT researchers or external stakeholders are encouraged, but please note that the J-WAFS funding itself will be limited to supporting MIT research.  We recognize that there is potential overlap with topics and teams emerging from the MIT Climate Grand Challenge.  While we avoid funding research explicitly identified by any of the flagship projects that emerged from that process, we are open to complementary or synergistic topics.  

Teams must be led by a Principal Investigator who meets one of these two eligibility criteria:

• MIT professor 
• Member of the MIT research staff with principal investigator privileges (generally senior or principal research scientist, or senior or principal engineer)

Each call typically results in one 2-3 year project with a total budget up to $1,500,000 (overhead free).  

This funding opportunity has a multi-step process, starting with workshops to explore potential research topics and help teams form.  Brief statements of interest describing an impact area, research topic, and approach are then due.  Based on these, J-WAFS invites selected teams to submit concept papers.  Following an external review process, two to three final proposals are usually invited.  

The most recent J-WAFS Grand Challenge call was announced in September of 2023 with the following deadlines: 

September 2023:    Funding opportunity announced
Oct.-Nov. 2023:    Workshops  
Friday, Dec. 8, 2023:     Two-page statements of interest due
Late Dec. 2023:    Invitations to submit concept papers issued      
Mid-February 2024:     Team concept papers due 
Late March 2024:     Invitations to submit full proposals issued
Late June 2024:    Proposals due
Late Fall 2024/Early Winter 2025:    Final funding decisions announced
Late spring/Early summer 2025:     Research starts

• Download the September 2023 Funding Opportunity Announcement

Please periodically check back on this page for the next call for Grand Challenge statements.