Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation
CatalogAbout
The Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation is a research institute at the University of Chicago dedicated to developing bold new thinking about what makes cities successful. The Institute supports researchers seeking to solve complex challenges facing cities through impactful research, inclusive partnerships, and transformative events and educational opportunities. With the rise of global urbanization, the Institute offers grants, fellowships, research assistantships, and other unique educational and research opportunities spanning from undergraduate to faculty levels, as well as to working professionals, covering areas such as innovative urban development, metropolitan governance, housing affordability, and local journalism.
Funding Opportunities
Urban Innovation Grants for Faculty and Student Organizations for Events and Programs
The Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation provides grant support to faculty and student groups and organizations across the University of Chicago for events, conferences, and other programs that focus on cities and urbanization. The goal is to encourage and support University of Chicago student and faculty efforts that encourage bold thinking around the future of cities. Funds can be used for expenses related to events, conferences, and workshops at the university, such as booking outside speakers, refreshments, marketing, renting space for events, or organizing programs around issues impacting cities. All expenditures must be approved prior to purchase or ordering. Selected projects will be awarded on a rolling basis and must be used for the fiscal year they are awarded, beginning on July 1 and ending June 30th, or they will be forfeited. Proposals are evaluated based on being explicitly urban-focused, alignment with the Mansueto Institute's mission, and feasibility with clearly conveyed anticipated results and significance.
Urban Innovation Grants
The Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation provides grant support for junior faculty research and other work at the University of Chicago focused on critical issues and topics impacting cities. The program aims to develop bold thinking through a range of methods and approaches, shape positive outcomes in communities and urban areas, amplify the University of Chicago's urban scholarship, and promote urban research across the social sciences, environmental and health sciences, the arts and humanities, and public policy. The Institute supports faculty from across disciplines to build new, fundamental knowledge about cities and urbanization. Proposals may be regionally and topically diverse, approaching issues of urbanism through any perspective or theoretical lens. Selected projects receive a blend of direct funding and in-kind support, including access to event and co-working space at the Mansueto Institute on campus. Funds can be used for collecting and analyzing data, strengthening emerging collaborations, planning larger-scale projects, convening partners for workshops, covering conference expenses, supporting curriculum development, testing experimental methods, and exploring innovative uses of technology. Research grants are open only to junior faculty, while other grants for workshops, conferences, or invited speakers may be awarded to any faculty. Note: Faculty grants have been temporarily paused due to budget shortfall and are expected to reopen in January 2026. For small, immediate, and compelling funding needs, interested parties should contact miurban@uchicago.edu for case-by-case evaluation.
Urban Doctoral Fellowship
The Urban Doctoral Fellows Program organizes an academic year cohort of up to ten doctoral students whose research focuses on urban issues, with an emphasis on strengthening writing and developing effective evidence-based arguments. The program consists of twice-monthly lunch-time meetings to increase the clarity and substance of Urban Doctoral Fellows' research, ideas, and approaches and explore their implications from a diverse set of views. Students share and improve papers and presentations aimed at within- and cross-disciplinary audiences and learn how various disciplines engage in urban research through discussions with University of Chicago faculty and postdoctoral fellows. Meetings are facilitated by Stephen Baker, Senior Research & Evaluation Scientist at the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation. The goal of each student's full-year experience is to generate a paper and talk to be presented at a leading conference in their field, with travel and accommodation funding provided by the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation. The fellowship has been running for over 10 years and is open to students from any department or school at the University of Chicago, in any year of their PhD.
Local Data Journalism Fellowship
The Local Data Journalism Fellowship is a summer program at the University of Chicago that brings together data science students to work with journalists and faculty on ambitious investigative journalism projects for major media outlets. The fellowship focuses on critical issues impacting cities, utilizing high-caliber analytics tools and approaches. Data Science Journalism Fellows work collaboratively over eight weeks during the summer to support data-driven investigative stories proposed by data journalist fellows. Throughout the program, fellows meet regularly with journalists and faculty, beginning with a kick-off session followed by weekly in-person or online meetings. The data team works to scope projects and provide comprehensive data analytic and visualization support. By the end of the summer program, fellows will have produced completed data analyses, visualizations, and other deliverables that contribute to quality data journalism pieces designed to tell important stories and engage wide audiences.
Urban Innovation Grants for Student Organizations
The Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation provides grant support for University of Chicago student groups for events, research, or other efforts focused on critical issues and topics impacting cities. The goal is to encourage and support University of Chicago students' efforts that encourage bold thinking around the future of cities. This opportunity is open to undergraduate and graduate student groups at the University of Chicago. The Mansueto Institute provides funding for student groups and organizations across the University of Chicago for events and conferences at the university, such as bringing in outside speakers, or other efforts that focus on cities and urbanization. Research being conducted by student organizations or groups may be considered if it is directly supervised by faculty or university centers/institutes. Funds can be used for expenses related to events and conferences at the university, such as booking outside speakers, refreshments, marketing, or renting space; organizing student groups around issues impacting cities; or conducting research, provided that it is supervised by faculty or another University of Chicago academic organization.
At a Glance
- Total Funding Opportunities
- 6
- Active Now
- 5
- Source Domain
- miurban.uchicago.edu
Catalog Data
This funder profile was automatically extracted from grant listings. Information may be incomplete.
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