LDI Small Grants Program: 2026 Request for Proposals
Penn LDI seeks pilot research proposals on health care delivery, health policy, and population health. The program favors pilot projects that build collaborations, bring new perspectives, or could lead to external funding or a new research program.
LDI Small Grants Program: 2026 Request for Proposals
The Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI) at the University of Pennsylvania invites its Fellows to submit pilot research proposals for the 2026 Small Grants Program. The solicitation supports work on health care delivery, health policy, and population health. Its purpose is to help investigators develop new ideas, collaborations, perspectives, and future research activity, including projects that may lead to external funding or a new research program.
This opportunity is restricted by institutional affiliation: an LDI Senior Fellow or Associate Fellow must serve as principal investigator (PI). Award limits differ by PI category. The application deadline is November 23, 2026, and selected projects must be completed by December 31, 2027. The details below distinguish requirements stated in the solicitation from preparation suggestions and items the published page leaves unspecified.
At a glance
| Item | 2026 program details |
|---|---|
| Sponsor | Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania |
| Funding purpose | Pilot research in health care delivery, health policy, and population health |
| Maximum request | Up to $20,000 for an LDI Senior Fellow PI; up to $5,000 for an LDI Associate Fellow PI |
| Eligible PI | An LDI Senior Fellow or Associate Fellow; Fellows from any school, rank, training program, profession, or discipline may apply |
| Associate Fellow condition | Include a detailed mentorship plan when serving as PI |
| Ineligible projects | Projects that have already received funding |
| Application route | Submit the online application form to LDI |
| Application deadline | Monday, November 23, 2026 |
| Decision announcement | By Friday, December 18, 2026 |
| Project completion | By December 31, 2027 |
| Official information | 2026 Request for Proposals |
What the grant supports
LDI describes the awards as pilot research support, rather than a general-purpose research award. Proposed work should address health care delivery, health policy, or population health and use a pilot project to stimulate ideas, collaborations, or further research activity. The program specifically favors proposals that build collaborations, introduce new perspectives, or have potential to develop into external funding or a new research program.
The maximum request depends on the PI’s LDI Fellow category: up to $20,000 for Senior Fellow PIs and up to $5,000 for Associate Fellow PIs. These are ceilings, not promises of an award at the maximum. The brief does not give award counts, typical award sizes, or acceptance odds, so applicants should not treat the cap as an expected budget or infer competitiveness from it.
Permitted budget uses include salaries and benefits for Associate Fellows and project staff, consultant fees, data management, supplies, and other direct expenses. Applicants can use these examples to identify costs tied to the proposed pilot. The source does not provide a full budget template, cost rules, indirect-cost treatment, or an exhaustive list of allowable and disallowed expenses. Confirm those details through the online application or directly with LDI before finalizing a budget.
Who should apply and eligibility
All LDI Fellows are eligible and encouraged to apply, regardless of school, rank, or training program. LDI also says applicants may come from any profession or discipline. The key PI requirement is specific: an LDI Senior Fellow or Associate Fellow must be the proposal’s principal investigator. Penn faculty who do not have an LDI affiliation may join as co-investigators, but they cannot satisfy the stated LDI PI requirement on their own.
Associate Fellows may lead a proposal as PI, but they must include a detailed mentorship plan. The solicitation does not specify the plan’s format, length, required mentor credentials, or required commitments. Associate Fellow applicants should check the application instructions for any prescribed structure and ensure their plan explains the mentorship arrangement in enough detail to meet the published requirement. If the form does not clarify what “detailed” means, ask LDI rather than guessing at a required format.
Projects that have already received funding cannot receive support through this solicitation. The brief does not elaborate on whether this exclusion applies to an entire research program, a specific project component, or a related pilot with different aims. Where prior support overlaps with the proposed activities, describe the distinction carefully and seek an eligibility determination from LDI before submitting.
How to Apply
The published route is to submit the online application form to LDI. The solicitation specifically instructs applicants not to send the proposal to Penn’s Office of Research Services (ORS) before submitting it to LDI. Follow the sequence on the official application page: begin with LDI’s online form and do not substitute an ORS submission for the required LDI application.
The available brief does not enumerate the application form fields or required attachments. It therefore cannot confirm whether the online submission asks for a particular narrative structure, budget format, biosketch, institutional approval, or other document. Open the live application instructions before drafting and use those instructions as the source of truth for required materials. Do not assume that common grant documents are required simply because they are common elsewhere.
A practical sequence is:
- Confirm that the intended PI is an LDI Senior Fellow or Associate Fellow and identify the correct award cap.
- Check that the project fits the pilot purpose and one or more of the listed research areas, and that it is not already funded.
- Review the online application form and record each requested field, attachment, and submission instruction. For an Associate Fellow PI, check how the detailed mentorship plan should be submitted.
- Develop the project and budget within the applicable cap. Tie each requested direct expense to the proposed pilot and verify any unclear budget rules with LDI.
- Submit through the online LDI form by November 23, 2026. Do not send the proposal first to ORS.
- If selected, complete the project by December 31, 2027, and provide the regulatory confirmation described by LDI when required.
The solicitation says an approved PI will eventually need an ORS letter confirming regulatory standards, but that letter is not required before applying to LDI. It does not describe which approvals or standards apply to each type of project or when the letter must be submitted. Applicants should distinguish this later requirement from application attachments, and ask LDI or the appropriate Penn office for timing and applicability if those points affect the proposal.
How proposals are assessed
LDI says its selection process considers project impact, investigator qualifications and team, methodological rigor, alignment with LDI themes, and the potential to generate external funding or a new PI research program. These are the stated evaluation dimensions. They indicate that a proposal should explain both what the pilot will do and why the team and approach can produce useful evidence or a next research step.
Timeline and deadlines
Applications are due Monday, November 23, 2026. LDI says award decisions will be announced by Friday, December 18, 2026. Applicants should plan backward from the deadline to allow time to confirm their LDI status, prepare the proposal and budget, resolve eligibility questions, and complete the online submission. That planning buffer is advice; the solicitation does not set interim milestones.
Selected projects must be completed by December 31, 2027. The page does not state when the funding period begins, so it is not possible to infer an exact project start date or duration from the deadline and completion date alone. Applicants should avoid committing to a start date based on assumption and should confirm the expected funding start and any detailed project-period terms with LDI.
The ORS regulatory standards letter is a later obligation for approved PIs, but it is not required before submitting the LDI application. The supplied information does not state when that letter becomes due. Confirm its timing and applicability if awarded, and do not mistake it for a pre-submission requirement.
Preparation and common mistakes
Frequently asked questions
Can a Penn faculty member without an LDI affiliation be the PI?
The stated PI must be an LDI Senior Fellow or Associate Fellow. Penn faculty without LDI affiliations may participate as co-investigators, according to the solicitation.
How much may I request?
The maximum is $20,000 for an LDI Senior Fellow PI and $5,000 for an LDI Associate Fellow PI. These are maximum requests, not guaranteed award amounts.
What must an Associate Fellow PI include?
An Associate Fellow serving as PI must include a detailed mentorship plan. The supplied information does not specify its format or required contents, so check the application form or ask LDI for instructions.
Is the ORS letter needed to apply?
No. LDI says approved PIs will eventually need an ORS letter confirming regulatory standards, but it is not required before the application is submitted to LDI. The timing of the later letter is not stated in the available information.
What supporting documents are required?
The supplied brief does not list application fields or required attachments. Review the live online form and its instructions; verify any unclear requirements with LDI rather than assuming a standard grant package.
When does the grant period begin?
The published facts here do not state a start date. The confirmed project completion date is December 31, 2027. Ask LDI about the expected funding start and project period.
Official source
Review the Leonard Davis Institute 2026 Small Grants Program Request for Proposals for the current application form and program instructions. Use the online form to confirm required fields, attachments, and any updated submission details before applying.