Everyone has an opinion about whether artificial intelligence will destroy jobs or create them. What the debate actually lacks is long-term, rigorous research — real data on how AI adoption changes employment, productivity, and economic opportunity over time. The Institute for Humane Studies (IHS), based at George Mason University, wants to fund exactly that kind of work. Its AI and the Workforce Faculty Research Grant Program is a request for proposals aimed at academic scholars, with awards of up to $20,000 — and larger awards on the table for exceptional projects.
In short: The IHS AI Workforce Faculty Research Grant Program 2027 offers up to $20,000 (more for exceptional projects) to academic scholars researching how AI influences employment, productivity, occupational change, economic opportunity, and innovation over time. Applications are open now and close December 15, 2026, with decisions announced January 15, 2027.
Quick Overview
- Host Country: USA
- Host Institution: Institute for Humane Studies (IHS), George Mason University, Arlington, Virginia
- Degree Level: Faculty / academic scholars (post-PhD researchers)
- Program Duration: Research grant supporting your project and deliverables
- Funding Type: Research grant — up to $20,000 (larger awards considered for exceptional projects)
- Deadline: December 15, 2026 (decisions announced January 15, 2027)
Benefits of the IHS AI Workforce Faculty Research Grant
This is targeted research funding — the kind of grant that covers the unglamorous but essential costs of producing serious scholarship. Here's what the money can do for your project:
- Up to $20,000 per awarded scholar — And IHS explicitly says larger awards may be considered for exceptional projects, so ambitious proposals aren't capped by the headline number.
- Travel and research activities — Travel for conference presentations and archival research, plus research collaboration costs such as hiring a research assistant.
- Data and research materials — Purchase of datasets and LLM subscriptions for specialized research sources (a genuinely modern line item for AI research).
- Publishing and dissemination — Journal submission fees, book publication expenses such as copyediting or indexing, and the preparation of research manuscripts.
- Flexible deliverables — Your research can result in peer-reviewed publications, policy white papers, or shareable research databases — whatever format best serves the work.
One important honesty note: this grant covers research costs, not your living expenses. Living expenses, hardware purchases, retroactive expenses, conference travel without a scheduled presentation, and institutional overhead or indirect costs are all excluded. If you're unsure whether a specific expense qualifies, IHS points applicants to its Funding FAQ or invites you to contact them directly.
Eligibility Criteria for the IHS AI Workforce Faculty Research Grant
- Academic scholars — The call is directed at academic scholars (faculty members, postdoctoral researchers, and other established researchers) whose work fits the theme. It's designed for people with institutional research capacity, not undergraduates.
- Right research question — Your research must pertain to how AI influences employment, productivity, occupational change, economic opportunity, and innovation over time. The narrower the fit with this theme, the stronger your proposal.
- Interdisciplinary proposals welcome — IHS says it's especially interested in proposals that bridge disciplines. An economist working with a computer scientist, or a sociologist partnering with a policy scholar, is exactly the kind of thing they're looking for.
- Deliverable-oriented — You should be able to articulate what the research will produce: peer-reviewed publications, policy white papers, or shareable research databases.
- IHS values alignment — It helps to know who you're applying to. IHS supports the teaching and research of classical liberal ideas — individual liberty, economic freedom, free speech, and open inquiry. Your proposal doesn't have to be political, but understanding IHS's mission will help you frame it well.
How to Apply for the IHS AI Workforce Faculty Research Grant
1. Read the official RFP page. Start at the Institute for Humane Studies' AI and the Workforce page and review the funding scope, eligible expenses, and timeline before writing anything. 2. Develop your research proposal. Define your question about AI's effect on work, your methodology, your timeline, and your deliverables. Proposals that bridge disciplines get special attention. 3. Build your budget. Itemize your expected costs — travel, data, RA support, publication fees — staying within (or, for exceptional projects, justifying beyond) the $20,000 figure. Remember the exclusion list: no living expenses, no hardware, no overhead. 4. Gather supporting materials. Prepare your CV, and make sure your proposal clearly states what the final deliverable will be (a paper, a white paper, a dataset). 5. Submit through the online application form. Use the "Apply Now" form linked from the official IHS page. Submit well before December 15 to avoid last-day technical problems. 6. Wait for the decision. IHS announces decisions on January 15, 2027.
Required Documents
The official IHS page presents this as a streamlined RFP rather than a heavy bureaucratic application. Based on the published call, prepare:
- A clear research proposal addressing AI's influence on work (employment, productivity, occupational change, economic opportunity, or innovation)
- A detailed budget covering eligible expenses only
- Your academic CV
- A description of your planned research deliverables (publications, white papers, or databases)
Check the official page for any additional requirements the application form asks for — RFPs sometimes add short-answer questions about your timeline or dissemination plan.
IHS AI Workforce Faculty Research Grant 2027 Deadline
The application deadline is December 15, 2026. Decisions will be announced on January 15, 2027 — an unusually fast turnaround for a research grant, which makes it practical to plan your 2027 research calendar around it.
The official page does not state a timezone for the deadline, so don't cut it fine on the last evening. Submit at least a day early. If you miss December 15, the call is closed for this cycle — though IHS runs multiple grant programs year-round, so it's worth watching their grants page for the next round.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who exactly is eligible — do I need to be a professor?
IHS invites applications from "academic scholars," which in practice means faculty members and postdoctoral researchers. If you're a PhD candidate, you'd likely be better served by IHS's Expense Support Grant Program, which explicitly supports doctoral students — the official page lists that too.
Is this a US-only grant? Can scholars outside the US apply?
The official RFP page doesn't restrict eligibility to US-based scholars. IHS is based at George Mason University in Virginia, but the call is framed around the research question, not the applicant's passport. If you're an academic scholar outside the US whose work fits the theme, there's nothing on the official page ruling you out.
What does "larger awards may be considered for exceptional projects" mean?
It means the $20,000 figure is a standard award, not a hard ceiling. If your project genuinely needs more — say, a multi-country dataset or a team of research assistants — you can propose and justify a bigger budget. Just make the case in the proposal.
Can I use the grant to buy a new laptop or pay my rent?
No. Living expenses and hardware purchases are explicitly excluded, as are retroactive expenses (costs you already incurred), conference travel without a scheduled presentation, and institutional overhead or indirect costs. This is research-cost funding, full stop.
What counts as a good deliverable?
IHS names three: peer-reviewed publications, policy white papers, and shareable research databases. A dataset that other researchers can download and use is especially valuable here, since the whole point of the RFP is to generate more long-term data on AI and work.
Do I need to be an economist or AI researcher?
Not necessarily. IHS is especially interested in proposals that bridge disciplines. Whether you come from economics, sociology, computer science, political science, history, or public policy, what matters is that your research addresses AI's effects on employment and work with rigor.
How competitive is this grant?
IHS doesn't publish acceptance rates for this RFP. It's a targeted call with a defined theme, so the applicant pool is smaller than for general research grants — but the proposals will be read by people who know the field. A sharp, clearly-budgeted, deliverable-focused proposal is your best edge.
Can I apply if I already have other funding for the same project?
The official page doesn't forbid combining funding sources, but the exclusion of retroactive expenses means the grant can only cover costs incurred during the grant period. Be transparent about other funding in your budget.
When would I receive the money?
The timeline says decisions are announced January 15, 2027, so award disbursement would follow in early 2027. Plan your research spending — dataset purchases, RA hiring, conference travel — around that schedule.
Where do I actually submit the application?
Through the "Apply Now" online form linked from the official IHS AI and the Workforce page (hosted on their application portal). Always apply through the official page — never through a third-party site that asks for payment. The application is free.
Final Words
If you're an academic scholar sitting on a research question about AI and work — the kind of question that needs real data and real time — this is a well-designed, fast-turnaround grant from a respected funder. The December 15 deadline is close enough to act on and far enough to write a strong proposal. Just remember: the best RFP applications read like the project is already half-thought-through. Lead with a crisp research question, a realistic budget, and a concrete deliverable.
