Decision, Risk and Management Sciences - Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants | 23 618

Opportunity Information: Apply for 23 618

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is offering Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (DDRIGs) through its Decision, Risk and Management Sciences Program (DRMS). This opportunity supports dissertation-stage research that aims to improve how decisions are made and how decision processes work across different levels of society, including individuals, teams, organizations, and public institutions. The core focus is on building scientific understanding of decision making and producing findings that can make decision making more effective in real-world contexts.

DRMS is specifically oriented toward research that is grounded in the theories and methods of the social and behavioral sciences. In practice, that means proposals should be built on established conceptual frameworks (or clearly articulated new theoretical extensions) and use rigorous empirical approaches that generate insights beyond a single case. NSF is looking for research that advances fundamental knowledge while also addressing meaningful societal challenges and producing strong broader impacts, such as improving risk communication, strengthening organizational decisions, or informing public policy choices.

The program invites DDRIG proposals in several related topic areas. These include judgment and decision making (how people form beliefs, interpret information, and choose among options), decision analysis and decision aids (tools and structured methods that help people or organizations make better choices), risk analysis, risk perception, and risk communication (how risks are assessed, understood, and conveyed), societal and public-policy decision making (collective decisions and policy choices under uncertainty or competing values), and management science and organizational design (how organizations are structured and managed to support better decisions and performance). The common thread across these areas is an emphasis on decision processes that can be studied scientifically and generalized across settings.

A key boundary for this specific DDRIG competition is that projects must be empirical and theory-driven rather than purely abstract. Proposals that are only theoretical or focused only on developing algorithms without a clear social or behavioral science grounding are not considered a good fit. The expectation is that dissertation projects will connect theory to evidence, producing results that can inform broader understanding of decision and risk behavior rather than solving a narrowly technical optimization problem in isolation.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number 23-618) offered by NSF under CFDA 47.075, categorized as science and technology and other research and development. The opportunity was created on August 25, 2023, with an original closing date of January 18, 2024, and NSF anticipates making about 30 awards. The listed award ceiling is shown as 0 in the summary data, which typically signals that applicants should rely on the official solicitation for detailed budgeting expectations and limits rather than assuming a fixed maximum from the overview record. Eligibility is labeled as "Others," with clarification provided in the solicitation under the additional eligibility information, which is typical for dissertation improvement grants where eligibility often depends on doctoral candidacy status, institutional sponsorship, and other program-specific conditions.

Overall, this DDRIG opportunity is designed for doctoral researchers whose dissertation work can strengthen the scientific understanding of decision making and risk while producing findings that are methodologically rigorous, theoretically grounded, and useful beyond a single study context.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Decision, Risk and Management Sciences - Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.075.
• This funding opportunity was created on Aug 25, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 18, 2024. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 30 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for 23 618

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