Sloan Digital Technology Program

Sloan Digital Technology

Funds exploration of emerging technologies, collaborative science, and shared research platforms for digital innovation.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Digital Technology program funds research and development at the intersection of technology and science through three sub-areas: Exploratory Grantmaking in Technology, which aims to quickly surface, develop, and evaluate emerging technologies with scientific potential; Open Source in Science, which supports institutional capacity building and open-source hardware innovations that advance scientific research; and Scientific Collaboration, which funds digital tools and resources that enable researchers to work together more effectively. The program is active and accepts Letters of Inquiry on a rolling basis throughout the year. Award amounts for this program were not published on the program landing page at the time of research, and the individual sub-program pages for Exploratory and Open Source returned 404 errors, so specific award floors and ceilings are not confirmed.

Eligible applicants include U.S. and international nonprofits, universities, and research organizations working in technology-science intersections. For-profit institutions and individuals are not eligible. Applications follow the Foundation's standard two-page LOI process: applicants email a brief Letter of Inquiry to the Digital Technology program team, describing the project's nature and purpose, the work plan, the requested budget, the project duration, and the names and affiliations of key personnel. The Foundation responds within approximately eight weeks; invited applicants then submit a formal proposal for peer review. Major grants above $250,000 require quarterly board approval.

Organizations best positioned for this program are those whose work creates durable infrastructure or capabilities that multiple scientific communities can use — for example, open-source research platforms, scientific data-sharing tools, or systematic assessments of emerging computational technologies. Because sub-program detail pages were unavailable, applicants should review the Digital Technology program page at sloan.org directly and consider reaching out to program staff to confirm current priorities and award norms before submitting an LOI.