SEED FUNDING

Announcement: September 14, 2026

Brief Proposals Due: October 1, 2026
Letters of Award: October 8 – 12, 2026

Funding Period: November 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027

The Development of Investigators Supporting Community Outreach and Value of Engagement in Research (DISCOVER) initiative is a Center of Excellence in Investigator Development and Community Engagement funded by NIH/NIMHD (P50MD019487). Based at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC), DISCOVER is dedicated to training and supporting early-career investigators to conduct community-engaged, multilevel health research. Our ultimate goal is to reduce health outcome differentials in cancer, stroke, or maternal health among populations in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area. 

Purpose of the Award

To further this mission, we are excited to announce the DISCOVER Seed Funding opportunity for short-term seed projects that can be completed between 11/1/26 and 2/28/27. These rapid-cycle seed grants are specifically designed to provide early-career investigators with funds to develop and formalize community and investigator collaborations, acquire or analyze pilot data, or extend prior community-engaged projects in order to strengthen competitive near-term grant applications, whether through the upcoming DISCOVER Pilot Grant Awards (this cycle or future cycles) or other external funding sources. Prior DISCOVER awardees are eligible to apply for DISCOVER Seed Funding.

Funding, Eligibility, and Allowable Uses of Funds

Applicants may request seed funding for up to $15,000 ( < $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000) to be utilized to strengthen future community-centered research proposals addressing health disparities. 

Eligibility: Applicants must be early career investigators defined as postdoctoral fellows, Instructors, or Assistant Professors with faculty appointment at Georgetown University in the School of Medicine, Berkeley School of Nursing, or the School of Health. Early stage investigators with faculty appointments who are employed by our hospital partners (e.g., MedStar) are eligible to apply. If you have questions about your eligibility, please email discover@georgetown.edu

The end goal of seed funds is to result in stronger future proposals that focus on addressing health disparities in cancer, stroke, or maternal health in the Washington DC metro area. Appropriate uses include, but are not limited to:

• Collecting initial data or pulling/analyzing existing data to strengthen a future proposal.

• Community outreach and engagement efforts.

• Building and solidifying relationships with community partners and organizations.

• Developing new cross-disciplinary collaborations.

• Extending prior projects through additional data collection or collaboration building with community projects. 

• Disseminating results from prior community engaged research that will contribute to strengthening future grant proposals. 

Expected Outcomes & Award Considerations

The primary outcome of this seed grant is to increase the investigator's competitiveness to secure future funding either through DISCOVER or other funding sources. Successful completion of the seed phase should result in actionable data (i.e., preliminary data that is critically needed for an upcoming funding opportunity), formalized community partnerships (that will be leveraged in an upcoming grant application), or refined methodologies that will demonstrate feasibility in direct support of a full research proposal.

Key Dates & Timeline

• Call for Proposals Announcement: September 14, 2026

• Seed Fund Proposal Submission Deadline: October 1, 2026

• Letters of Award Distributed: October 8 – 12, 2026

• Funding Period: November 1, 2026 - February 28, 2027

NOTE: Receiving DISCOVER Seed Funding is non-binding and does not obligate the awardee to apply for the DISCOVER Pilot Grant. Furthermore, submission of this seed application is not mutually exclusive with submitting a  Letter of Intent (LOI) for the main DISCOVER Pilot Grant Award. Separate LOIs must be submitted for individuals interested in applying for DISCOVER grant funding for the February 1, 2027 full proposal submission deadline.  The DISCOVER Pilot Grant LOI is due by 5 pm on October 15, 2026. The seed award timeline is intentionally designed to allow investigators to incorporate seed funding plans into their DISCOVER LOI if they choose to submit one.