Federalism, Law, and American Governance
The FLAG Initiative is soliciting applications to support academic research on federalism and related questions of constitutional structure, intergovernmental relations, and American governance.
Program purpose
The FLAG Research Grant Program supports promising scholarly projects in federalism, constitutional structure, intergovernmental relations, American institutions, and related questions of law and governance. We construe federalism broadly. While work on constitutional structure is welcome, the program is not limited to constitutional interpretation.
We especially encourage projects with vertical federalism (relationships among federal, state, and local governments) or horizontal federalism (relationships among states) at their core. Theoretical, empirical, doctrinal, and policy oriented approaches are all eligible, provided that intergovernmental or interstate relations are central to the project. For example, a study of how differences in state occupational-licensing rules affect workers’ ability to move and practice across state lines would fall squarely within the program’s scope. Priority will be given to projects aimed at producing publishable scholarship (e.g., law review or peer-reviewed journal articles, scholarly book chapters, or comparable academic outputs).
Eligibility
The program is open to full-time University of Utah faculty members (including tenure-line and career-line faculty), postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students. Collaborative proposals are welcome, but all applicants must individually meet the requirements. An individual may submit up to two proposals per cycle but may hold only one active FLAG award at a time.
Award amount, term, and permissible uses
Awards will provide up to $5,000 over a one-year project period to support direct research expenses and scholarly production. Funds may be used for research expenses, including data acquisition, research materials, survey costs, transcription, archival access, software or dataset fees, participant incentives, research assistance through the university, and other project-specific research costs.
Funds may not be used for salary support, course releases, general office equipment, or conference participation/travel for project investigators. Research-related travel, such as archival research or field interviews, may be considered if specifically justified in the budget. No university, college, or departmental indirect costs may be charged to this award.
Application materials
Applications must include:
- Abstract (100 words maximum): research question, methods, and publication plan
- Research proposal (2 pages maximum): project description and objectives; specific research questions; justification/significance; a clear, concise methodology; and a project timeline
- Curriculum vitae of the investigator(s)
- Budget outline: itemized description of the specific research-related expenditures the grant will support
Review criteria and priorities
Proposals will be evaluated by the faculty review committee based on:
- Significance of the research question for federalism scholarship
- Soundness and feasibility of the research design
- Scholarly merit and originality
- Likelihood of successful completion within the proposed timeline and budget
The program will consider both seed funding for early-stage projects and support for larger, well-developed research agendas.
How to Apply
All application materials must be submitted through the FLAG Application. Each document must be uploaded as a PDF. Submissions by e-mail or in hard copy will not be accepted. Applications must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time on October 1, 2026. Questions may be directed to flag@utah.edu.
Reporting and acknowledgement
Grant recipients must submit a one-page, single-spaced Final Report within three months of the project end date. If the project produces a tangible scholarly product (e.g., article, report, dataset, or other research output), recipients should provide a copy to the FLAG Initiative and acknowledge FLAG support in any resulting publications with the following statement: “This research was supported by the Federalism, Law, and American Governance Initiative at the
University of Utah.” Award recipients should be prepared to present their work at a FLAG workshop, colloquium, or public event upon request.
Deadline for submission
Applications are due December 1, 2026. Awards will be announced January 11, 2027. FLAG anticipates awarding approximately fifteen grants.