This is the Fall 2025 application portal for submitting proposals to the Exploratory Seminar program and the Accelerator Workshop program. This portal accepts proposals intended for either of these two pathways for Harvard Radcliffe Institute's private research programs.   

The Radcliffe Exploratory Seminar Program provides funding to scholars, practitioners, and artists for collaboration in the interdisciplinary exploration of early-stage ideas. Our program encourages intellectual risk-taking as participants gather in an intensive seminar setting to explore new fields of inquiry. Exploratory Seminars challenge their participants to reimagine the boundaries of knowledge through multidisciplinary discussions. This program accepts applications from current or former Radcliffe Fellows as well as from (tenured or tenure-track) ladder faculty from any Harvard school; Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine faculty appointed at the rank of instructor and Harvard Law School clinical (full) professors are also welcome to apply; co-applicants may apply with lead applicants who meet eligibility requirements.

The Radcliffe Accelerator Workshop Program provides funding to scholars, practitioners, and artists to propel collaborative, multidisciplinary research projects toward a specific outcome: a publication, a grant application, a degree curriculum, an exhibition, a performance, or a set of policy recommendations, to name only a few possibilities. With an eye toward accelerating the spread of innovative ideas and knowledge into the academic or public realm, our workshop program brings participants together to further develop and refine their work as they prepare for its eventual dissemination. This program accepts applications from (tenured or tenure-track) ladder faculty from any Harvard school; Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine faculty appointed at the rank of instructor and Harvard Law School clinical (full) professors are also welcome to apply; co-applicants may apply with lead applicants who meet eligibility requirements.

As private (non-publicized) research incubators, Exploratory Seminars as well as Accelerator Workshops:

• Support one- to two-day, invitation-only, in-person convenings
• Are hosted on the Harvard Radcliffe Institute campus, subject to Institute policies and programmatic guidelines
• Accommodate 12-16 total participants (including leaders and co-leaders), subject to budgetary limitations
• Stem from peer-reviewed applications

We welcome proposals from a broad range of fields and perspectives that:

• Explore the viability of innovative research ideas in any discipline or via multiple disciplines
• Invite the perspectives of diverse arrays of participants and stakeholders
• Integrate senior and junior scholars from institutions in the greater Boston area, across the United States, or around the world, including institutions and professions historically underrepresented in academic gatherings
• Demonstrate risk-taking and creativity

The following areas—while not exclusive—are of special interest:

• Radcliffe supports engaged scholarship. We welcome proposals that connect research to public policy, pressing social issues, and/or the active engagement of audiences beyond academia.
• We welcome proposals relevant to the Institute’s focus areas on Climate Change and Climate Justice and on Academic Freedom and Connecting across Difference.
• Reflecting Radcliffe’s unique history and institutional legacy, we welcome proposals that focus on women, gender, and society and/or draw on the Schlesinger Library’s collections.

Proposal submission information:

• Proposals are due by 11:59 PM ET on Friday, October 10, 2025, for convenings to be held between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027. 
• Applicants must indicate the specific pathway--Exploratory Seminar or Accelerator Workshop, but not both--along which a given proposal is to be considered. A lead applicant may submit up to two substantively distinct proposals, but we will not grant more than one award to any lead applicant.

For more information:

• Please visit our two program sites—Exploratory Seminars and Accelerator Workshops—including the FAQ page.
• We invite you to attend one of our virtual information sessions, where you can ask questions in real time about the program. If you are interested in attending, please sign up using this link.
• You are welcome to attend any session that fits your schedule, but some sessions will focus on different disciplinary areas for Q&A purposes.

Questions?

After reviewing the website, including the FAQs, feel free to contact Don Tontiplaphol, associate director of Academic Ventures and Engagement, at don_tontiplaphol@radcliffe.harvard.edu.

Application Outline 

1. Registration: Details (including name, contact information, title, and institutional affiliation) about the organizer (and co-organizer, if applicable) 
2. Proposal: Tentative title, executive summary (200-word limit), and narrative (1400-word limit) about the proposed convening, including the background, motivation, specific ideas to be explored, and explanation of why a Radcliffe private research program is the optimal setting  
3. Potential Invitees: List of people (top 10) who would ideally participate, with details (name, contact information, title, affiliation, city of departure, etc.) and a brief rationale for inviting each person 
4. Schedule: Outline of the tentative structure of your one- to two-day program 
5. Optional supporting documents: Any supplementary materials you deem necessary