Science of Organizations
NSF funds basic organizational science research that develops theory, tests frameworks, and creates new measures or methods to generate generalizable knowledge about how organizations form, operate, change, and become effective.
⚑ Basic research only; projects centered on implementing or evaluating a specific training/effectiveness/change program are not appropriate. · Broader impacts are required under NSF merit review. · Industry-site or industry-university collaboration projects may also fit GOALI instead of, or in addition to, SoO.
This is adjacent at best: it is basic organizational research, but the team’s core program is public opinion, risk perception, hazard communication, energy/nuclear attitudes, and education policy evaluation rather than organizational theory or management. They could contribute methods or survey/experiment design, but there is no clear PI-level match to anyone’s established line.
JUDGED AGAINST THE ROSTER'S PUBLICATION DOSSIER · GPT-5.4-MINI · 2026-07-07
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 80 strong | technical depth: substantial; funds basic research |
| IPPRA | 65 good | peripheral portfolio topic: public_health; signature methods: surveys longitudinal, policy analysis; social/behavioral work is central; funds basic research; capped at 65 (limited social-science role) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 10 none | deep-tech content; no commercialization signal |
Description
Organizations -- private and public, established and entrepreneurial, designed and emergent, formal and informal, profit and nonprofit -- are critical to the well-being of nations and their citizens. They are of crucial importance for producing goods and services, creating value, providing jobs, and achieving social goals. The Science of Organizations (SoO) program funds basic research that yields a scientific evidence base for improving the design and emergence, development and deployment, and management and ultimate effectiveness of organizations of all kinds.
SoO funds research that advances our fundamental understanding of how organizations develop, form and operate. Successful SoO research proposals use scientific methods to develop and refine theories, to empirically test theories and frameworks, and to develop new measures and methods. Funded research is aimed at yielding generalizable insights that are of value to the business practitioner, policy-maker and research communities.
SoO welcomes any and all rigorous, scientific approaches that illuminate aspects of organizations as systems of coordination, management and governance.
In considering whether a particular project might be a candidate for consideration by SoO, please note:
Intellectual perspectives may involve (but are not limited to) organizational theory, behavior, sociology or economics, business policy and strategy, communication sciences, entrepreneurship, human resource management, information sciences, managerial and organizational cognition, operations management, public administration, social or industrial psychology, and technology and innovation management.
Phenomena studied may include (but are not limited to) structures, routines, effectiveness, competitiveness, innovation, dynamics, change and evolution.
Levels of analysis may include (but are not limited to) organizational, cross-organizational collaborations or relationships, and institutional and can address individuals, groups or teams.
Research methods may be qualitative and quantitative and may include (but are not limited to) archival analyses, surveys, simulation studies, experiments, comparative case studies, and network analyses. Consistent with NSF merit review criteria, each SoO proposal should discuss both the intellectual merit and the potential broader impacts of the proposed research. SoO values basic research that has the potential to provide broader societal benefits. However, the majority of space in any proposal will need to be dedicated to the explication of theory, methods, and specific contribution to the evidence base about organizational effectiveness.
Projects that aim to implement and subsequently evaluate particular organizational training, effectiveness or change programs, rather than to advance fundamental, generalizable knowledge, are not appropriate for SoO. Researchers who seek to conduct SoO-appropriate research in an industrial site and/or via an industry-university collaboration are invited to also look at the Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaisons with Industry (GOALI) program web site .
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: U.S. National Science Foundation <grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · National Science Foundation conventions SEE AN NSF EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — National Science Foundation's document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.