The Dirksen Congressional Center

Congressional Research Grants

The Dirksen Congressional Center invites applications for grants to fund research on congressional leadership and the U.S. Congress. Since 1978, the Congressional Research Grants program has invested more than $1,250,000 to support over 500 projects. The Center accepts applications at any time and makes awards throughout the year. The Center's primary interest is to fund the study of leadership in Congress, both House and Senate. Topics could include external factors shaping the exercise of congressional leadership, institutional conditions affecting it, resources and techniques used by leaders, or prospects for change or continuity in leadership patterns. The Center also invites proposals about congressional procedures, such as committee operation or mechanisms for institutional change, and Congress and the electoral process. Proposals linking Congress and congressional leadership with the creation, implementation, and oversight of public policy are encouraged, with Congress as the central research interest. The research must be original, culminating in new findings or new interpretation, and intended for publication or application in teaching or policy-making settings.