CSSN Seed Funding Available - RFP Live on Website
Roberts, J. Timmons
CSSN Request for Proposals: Spring 2026
Request for Proposals for Social Science Research into Climate Obstruction
Application Deadline: 1 June 2026
Period of Work: 10 July 2026 – 9 January 2028
The Climate Social Science Network, headquartered at Brown University, announces seed grants fostering research and other activities to enhance our understanding of the cultural, institutional, and political dimensions of climate change politics. To support those seeking to act on the issue, our focus is on understanding the actors and networks blocking action on climate change, their strategies, tactics and discursive strategies. This eighth call for proposed research is limited to two research areas, with earmarked funding in each category: 1) Obstruction in the agriculture sector; and 2) opening new areas of knowledge in climate obstruction. The period of the work will be from 10 July 2026 to 9 January 2028. Applicants should state at the top which area of research their proposal addresses, and explain its contribution.
AGRICULTURE-RELATED OBSTRUCTION
Addressing fossil fuel emissions is urgently needed, but this alone is not sufficient to avoid disastrous warming. Even if fossil fuel emissions were immediately eliminated, food system emissions are on track to make it impossible to meet the Paris Climate Agreement’s goals and science-based targets. To better understand climate obstruction by the agriculture industry, we seek to fund scholars who want to produce empirically rigorous, peer-reviewed research on the agriculture industry’s efforts to block climate policy and its implementation. Applicants should refer to the chapter on “The Animal Agriculture Industry’s Role in Obstructing Climate Action” by Lauber et al. in Roberts et al.’s Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment (Oxford University Press, 2025).
Proposals should identify:
1) Which entity (or entities), such as one (or more) of the largest agricultural companies, or related trade associations, law firms, PR firms, media, governments, or universities, will be the focus?
2) Which key forms of influence or obstruction, such as lobbying, shaping public understanding, or greenwashing of products, will be analyzed?
3) What are the methods?
4) The timeline for the completion of the work.
5) Plans for publication and dissemination of the work.
Climate obstruction and greenwashing by non-US Western carbon-intensive agricultural firms (e.g., Arla in Denmark, FrieslandCampina in the Netherlands) are priority areas of interest, as are projects that prioritize the Global South (e.g., Brazil, Indonesia, Africa), as are climate-related greenwashing by agrochemical, seed and fertilizer companies. Projects that examine key synergies between oil and gas producers and agriculture (i.e., infrastructure for biofuels) will also be prioritized.
OBSTRUCTION RESEARCH WITH IMPACT
We will support a limited number of proposals for research demonstrating causality/impact of denialist/delay/deceptive practices on consumer or policymaker behavior, legal theory involving obstruction, new methods to detect obstruction, a new sector or impactful firm involved in obstruction, or documenting a new tactic that has not been previously analyzed. See our previous grants listed here—we are looking for projects that develop new areas of understanding or build on previous studies. See especially CSSN’s Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment, Climate Obstruction Across Europe, and other studies linked in CSSN’s feed.
Guidelines
Funding typically ranges from $10,000 to $25,000. Proposals must have scientifically sound research plans that are explicitly rooted in relevant social science theory, methods, and literature. Proposals will be evaluated using criteria of intellectual merit and their potential contribution to informing pragmatic and timely actions to address climate change. For this call, proposed research focused on the last decade will be viewed more favorably than historical work. Individuals who have received previous CSSN grants are welcome to apply but preference will be given to those whose previous work is complete, and which have resulted in peer-reviewed publications.
Submit a maximum three-page single-spaced research proposal (plus appendices); each proposal must contain the following:
Title, which should emphasize the sector and/or kinds of organizations of interest.
Participating researchers, affiliations, nations, and email addresses.
Abstract describing the overall project, time frame and budgetary requirements. This should be no longer than 250 words.
A 150 word abstract that could be used publicly if the grant is awarded.
Research Objectives, including the specific topic areas that the proposal addresses. Include a specific hypothesis that will be tested in the research.
Intellectual Merit of the Proposed Research, including how this research expands the peer reviewed literature in the specified scholarly area, and whether it identifies new actors engaged in climate obstruction and the tactics they employ.
Broader Political Importance, including value of the research in addressing climate change.
Plan for engaging with organizations involved in climate policymaking, such as NGOs, policymakers, journalists, and litigators/investigators.
A detailed proposed Budget and Budget Justification
Schedule, including intermediate outputs and planned peer reviewed publications.
Important Notes
Research projects involving human subjects (defined here: https://www.brown.edu/research/irb-review) will usually require approval at your home institution and vetted by Brown University’s institutional review board. This is all feasible, and is getting more streamlined, but may require a couple months, which should be built into the project schedule.
Indirect costs are prohibited; the approved indirect cost rate for this (RFP) is 0%.
This call for proposals is open to all members of the Climate Social Science Network. If you are not a member, contact us.
The application must be received by June 1, 2026. Apply online:
Grant awardees will be required to report on their project’s outcomes at CSSN’s annual conferences in the Spring, and in a brief final report. Articles in peer-reviewed journals are expected of all projects.
Direct questions to: August DeVore Welles, Program Manager of CSSN, <august...@brown.edu>
Fill in the form here: https://forms.gle/CRUDChDjnnNTTvEY6