Opportunity

Columbia Global Innovation Awards

Type

Tags

Global Centers World Projects Faculty Researcher

Note: The application period for the 2026 Columbia Global Innovation Awards has closed. Learn more about this year's awarded projects.

Could your research transform our understanding into how the development of AI is affecting society? Is it still an early-stage idea waiting for initial exploration and research? Is it ready to be translated into programs or practice that can make an impact?

The 2026 Columbia Global Innovation Awards offer a dynamic, three-tiered pathway for turning bold ideas about AI and Society into real-world impact. Whether based in New York City or carried out in conjunction with one of Columbia's Global Centers around the world, each tier catalyzes a different phase of development, from initial insight to systemic change.

The 2026 awards are dedicated to research around the theme of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Society. As AI’s influence cuts across disciplines, from economics and public policy to the humanities and the arts, innovative research on this topic requires the breadth of scholarship: empirical and humanistic, theoretical and applied, local and global.

We encourage interdisciplinary projects that bridge disciplines and contribute to shaping the future of AI in society, including work that engages with governance/democracy, security/conflict, economics, health, and education.

The Columbia Global Innovation Awards will subsume the President’s Global Innovation Fund and CWP Social Impact Awards, which will be discontinued in 2026.

Award Tiers

AWARDED (July 2026)

Tier 1: Concept and Convening Awards support early-stage ideas and can be used for idea/project exploration and initial research, convenings, workshops or partnership development, and/or early-stage project activities.

Awards: $10,000 - $25,000 (per award) for 12-18 months.
Start date: August 2026

Selected Tier 2 and 3 proposals have been invited to submit full applications. (October 2026)

Tier 2: Innovation and Proof of Concept Awards support collaborations between multidisciplinary teams of Columbia University faculty and researchers and external partners that bridge insight and application by enabling translation of scholarship into new educational, comparative, or applied forms.

Awards: $150,000 (per award) for up to three years.
Anticipated start date: October 2026
Submission: Applications must include a concept note with summary budget. Following an initial review, invited applicants must submit a full proposal, budget, and workplan.

Tier 3: Impact and Scale Awards support larger, more developed projects with awards designed to scale or adapt proven approaches, strengthen evidence base for broader adoption, embed solutions within institutional or policy frameworks, or advance the sustained implementation of piloted work through integration with partners and stakeholders. Priority will be given to projects that build on established work and are positioned to expand, replicate or influence policy, practice, tools or systems.

Awards: $300,000 (per award) for up to three years.
Anticipated start date: October 2026.
Submission: Applications must include a concept note with summary budget. Following an initial review, invited applicants must submit a full proposal, budget, and workplan.

Requirements

Proposal lead(s) must be full-time faculty or researcher(s) at Columbia University.
At least one proposal lead must be eligible to serve as a Principal Investigator, per Columbia University guidelines.
Proposals must include collaboration across disciplines, schools, institutes, or centers.
Proposals must be focused on work in New York City or in conjunction with one of the Columbia Global Centers.
For international proposals: Prior to submission of the proposal, applicants are required to have, at minimum, one consultation with the director of the relevant Global Center(s) to discuss the proposed project, including its feasibility, potential partnerships, and the role of the Global Center(s).
Tier 2 and 3 proposals must also:
- Have at least one additional full-time Columbia University faculty or researcher from a distinct university unit as part of the project leadership.
- Include at least one external partner outside Columbia University
- Include ways to engage with Columbia University undergraduate, graduate students and/or postdocs.

Columbia Global Innovation Awards

Award Tiers

AWARDED (July 2026)

Selected Tier 2 and 3 proposals have been invited to submit full applications. (October 2026)

Requirements

Applications

FAQs: Eligibility

FAQs: Budget and Allowable Costs

FAQs: Project Design and Partnerships

Columbia Global

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Columbia Global

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Award Tiers

AWARDED (July 2026)

Selected Tier 2 and 3 proposals have been invited to submit full applications. (October 2026)

Requirements

Applications

FAQs: Eligibility

Are faculty from all Columbia University schools invited to apply?

Does the second Columbia University project lead for the Tier 2 and Tier 3 proposals need to be full time?

Are associate research scientists eligible to apply?

If I need a PI waiver, do I need the waiver in place prior to submitting an application?

Can I submit a proposal that includes project leadership from the same department, but different divisions or centers?

Can a Global Center director be a project lead on the project?

If the project is international but not located in one of the global centers, is it eligible? Does the research or project have to be only in one of those countries or could a neighboring country be eligible for a proposal?

Do you need two PIs from Columbia who are not in the same discipline, or can it be one PI from Columbia and a co-PI from another institution?

Are we eligible to apply for Tier 2 or 3 if you have a previous award from Columbia Global?

For Tiers 2 and 3, would two faculty members from the same school, but with different disciplines meet the requirement for interdisciplinarity?

If the first person is eligible for PI and the second is not PI eligible, does the project qualify?

Do all people involved need to have a PI waiver?

Can a Teacher’s College EdD student apply?

Can Ph.D. a candidate submit the eligibility waiver and be considered for the award?

Can a postdoc be a PI or project lead on the project?

FAQs: Budget and Allowable Costs

Can funds be used to cover a percentage of Columbia faculty salaries?

Do we need to consider costs for Global Centers in our project budgets?

Is there a limit to how much of the award can be used for sub-awards to external entities?

What is the allowable indirect cost recovery that we can charge on the budget?

Can I cover tuition for graduate students in the budget?

Is the budget allowed to cover external partners?

How detailed does the budget need to be? Are indirect costs included?

For Tier 1, would it be possible to allocate for a student intern in the budget?

For Tier 1, would it be possible to allocate funds in the budget for traveling to conferences to present research findings from the project?

Is there an administrative cost that needs to be considered in the budget?

How should the Global Center expenses be reflected in the budget?

FAQs: Project Design and Partnerships

Can we use Columbia Global Innovation Award funding for an existing project?

For Tier 2 and 3 proposals, are there any restrictions to proposing the next phase of an existing project?

Is there a preference for projects in specific geographic locations?

Can we propose collaboration with two separate Global Centers?

Does Columbia Global Innovation Awards support academic research?

Do external partners need to be included in all aspects of the project?

Can the same project be proposed for Tier 1 and 2, adapted to level of detail for the tier?

What are the requirements for collaboration with private organizations and inclusion of indirect costs?

Do you want the work and partners to be established already?

Do we need to have already-secured support/partnership/conversations from directors at global centers before submitting proposals for Tier 1? Who would be the best fit people to reach out to (Beijing Center)?

Are there limits on the number of external collaborators?

Can Columbia Global Centers fill the requirement for the external partner for Tier 2 and 3 projects?

Could this proposal include more than one Global Center?

For a Tier 1 project, can student collaborators be added to the project after the proposal is accepted?

Columbia Global

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Columbia Global

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