Federal Agencies

National Institute of Food and Agriculture

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is the extramural science-funding agency within USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics mission area. NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education, and extension to help solve national challenges in agriculture, food, the environment, and communities.

NIFA supports research, education, and extension activities through three primary funding mechanisms – competitive grants, formula grants, and non-competitive grants.

See all the current NIFA funding opportunities here.

See the current and upcoming job opportunities at NIFA here.

AFRI

The AFRI Coalition is a coalition of scientific societies and science advocacy organizations who support full appropriation of the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) competitive grants program over time. For Fiscal Year 2023, the AFRI Coalition supports funding of at least $700 million for AFRI.

National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created to promote the progress of science, to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare and to secure the national defense. NSF is the only federal agency whose mission includes support for all fields of fundamental science and engineering, except for medical sciences. NSF is tasked with keeping the United States at the leading edge of discovery in areas from astronomy to geology to zoology.

NSF is divided into the following seven directorates that support science and engineering research and education:

See all the current NSF funding opportunities here.

See the current and upcoming job opportunities at NSF here.

Department of Energy

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science is the nation’s largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences, the steward of 10 of the Nation’s national laboratories, and the lead federal agency supporting fundamental research for energy production and security.

DOE-Office of Science administers research through six major program offices, spanning a broad range of disciplines:

See all the current DOE-Office of Science funding opportunities here.

Within the Department of Energy, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) advances high-potential, high-impact energy technologies that are too early for private-sector investment.