J-WAFS Water and Food Seed Grant (Annual)

Seed Grant letters of interest are due 5:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, November 18, 2026.

J-WAFS seed grants support innovative MIT research that has the potential to have significant impact on water and food supply challenges for human need. 

J-WAFS welcomes proposals from all areas related to water and food security, safety, and sustainability for human use. Proposals that address aspects of the climate/water nexus and climate/food nexus are of high interest, but we will also fund projects addressing other water or food challenges.

Proposals should be for new, innovative projects that are distinct from ongoing or prior research in the PI’s lab. Requests for funding to supplement existing research, or course or curriculum development, will not be considered.  

Seed grant funding is available up to a maximum of $75,000 per year for one or two years (see Section 7.1 in the call for allowable expenses and related information). We are looking for innovative early-stage projects that can benefit from one to two years of funding in order to: (1) establish proof of concept or gather critical data that will position the project to qualify for other future sources of funding; or (2) have a clear and significant outcome without subsequent awards. Projects that are intended to have real-world impact (short-term or long-term) are favored. Multidisciplinary projects and projects that have well-defined regional or international outreach or collaboration are also invited, noting that subawards are not allowed. New collaborations, including team members in different MIT departments, are encouraged. Relevant interactions with industry, NGOs, or other stakeholders are also encouraged.  

J-WAFS anticipates funding up to eight seed grants this year. 

Eligibility: Proposals are sought from MIT principal investigators from all departments, labs, and centers of MIT. The principal investigator submitting the proposal must be an MIT professor or a member of the research staff with principal investigator privileges (generally senior or principal research scientist, or senior or principal engineer). PIs may participate on up to two submissions per year.  Previous and current J-WAFS PIs are eligible. 

MIT researchers submitting proposals can do so on the proposal submission site, beginning Wednesday, November 4, 2026.

*** Note that our seed grant proposal process has changed.  We now require an initial letter of interest.  Full proposals will be welcome by invitation based on review of the LOIs. ***

This year's timeline is as follows:
Thursday, October 8, 2026:  J-WAFS RFP announced
Wednesday, November 4, 2026: InfoReady online submission portal open for letters of interest
Wednesday, November 18, 2026:  Letters of interest due (by 5 pm ET)
Monday, November 30, 2026:  Invitations to submit full proposal (expected)
Tuesday, January 19, 2027:  Full proposals (including budget template) due (by 5 pm ET)
Spring, 2027:  Announcement of funded projects
Wednesday, September 1, 2027:  Start of funded projects
 
Questions? Contact:
Daniela Giardina, Executive Director, J-WAFS, dgiard@mit.edu 
Carolyn Blais Pinter, J-WAFS senior communications and program manager, at cblais@mit.edu

Projects

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