The NEA Research Labs program is a funding opportunity under the NEA’s Research Awards initiative. The program funds long-term research agendas (referred to herein as NEA Research Labs, or Labs) that include multiple empirical studies and the dissemination of various products or services for promoting public knowledge about the arts and their contributions to American life. Each Lab must include an interdisciplinary team of researchers. Products or services developed under the award are expected to be of value to arts researchers, arts practitioners, and professionals in sectors such as healthcare, education, and business or management. Funded projects should have national, regional, or field-wide significance. Projects supported through this program include those in the areas of : (1) Arts and Health, (2) Arts and the Economy, or (3) Arts and Education. These awards require a 1:1 cost share.

Required Partnership with an Arts Organization or Working Artist(s): The program requires a confirmed partnership at the time of application between the lead applicant organization and at least one “arts partner” external to the applicant organization, defined as either (a) an arts organization or (b) working artist(s). The arts partner is expected to contribute substantially to the NEA Research Lab. Applicants are also strongly encouraged to partner with other organizations with expertise in the proposed research topic area.

NEA Research Lab Project Activities: NEA Research Labs recipients will be required to complete several project activities as outlined below. Each Lab will design and execute the following:

Research Lab Agenda, Keystone Study, and Related Activities
• Choose one of the following research focus areas: (1) Arts and Health, (2) Arts and the Economy, or (3) Arts and Education
• Choose a team representing at least two research disciplines and whose members will be highly collaborative. We encourage teams that include personnel at various stages in their careers. Training and mentorships may be offered as part of the Lab’s activities.
• Conduct at least one keystone study during the initial award’s period of performance. Additional studies may be proposed as part of the initial award’s period of performance or as part of the multi-year Research Lab agenda.
• Propose a plan for sustaining the multi-year Research Lab agenda beyond the initial award’s period of performance. This may include plans to continue the Lab’s proposed activities and/or new activities in an identical or similar research topic area.

Required Products and Services
• Create and maintain a public website about the Lab.
• Produce at least 1 research report for each award period of performance documenting methods and findings of each research study.
• Prepare and deliver at least 2 presentations/year -1 to a community of researchers and the other to a community of arts practitioners.
• Applicants are encouraged to generate research products (e.g., datasets, questionnaires, web apps, etc.) that can be accessed by practitioners or researchers who might be interested in developing a program, model, or tool similar to the one used by the Lab.

Deadlines:

• Internal concept paper: 02/16/2026, 11:59 pm
• Part 1: Grants.gov Submission Deadline: 03/23/2026, 11:59 PM ET
• Part 2: NEA Applicant Portal Submission Deadline: 04/02/2026, 11:59 PM ET
  
  

Link to FOA Here

PI Eligibility: Individuals with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as a Principal Investigator (PI) are invited to work with their organizations to develop an application. Individuals from underrepresented groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply.  

Institutional Limit: UD may submit only one application to the FY 2027 Research Labs funding opportunity.  

Application Information: Interested applicants must submit a CV for the lead PI and a summary of their proposed Research Lab project (< 3 pages). Applications not adhering to this requirement will be returned without review.

Review Criteria: White papers will be evaluated using the artistic excellence and artistic merit criteria in the Research Labs solicitation (criteria start on page 16 of the Research Labs FY27 Program Guidelines).