National / International — Simons Foundation SFARI 2026 New Ideas Autism Research Grants (Up to $600,000; Rolling LOIs)

FundingUp to $300,000 USD per applicant per year for as many as 2 years (up to $600,000 USD per award total), inclusive of 20 percent indirect costs. Smaller or shorter projects welcome. No aggregate overall program pool announced in the controlling call.

DeadlineOPEN, ROLLING letters of intent accepted since April 29, 2026; no fixed LOI deadline or exact closing hour published. Invited full applications are due within 4 weeks of invitation.

Last verified2026-11-06

Required next actionReview official 2026 call and How to Apply at https://www.simonsfoundation.org/funding/new-ideas-request-for-applications-2026/ and https://www.simonsfoundation.org/funding/new-ideas-request-for-applications-2026/how-to-apply/ . Submit initial LOI in Simons Award Manager (SAM) with 2-page narrative, up to 3 figures separately, biosketches, budget justification, ORCID, abstract, and applicable cohort-use plans. Institutional sign-off not required at LOI; invited full applicants have 4 weeks.

Broad Eligibility

Faculty or equivalent PhD/MD investigators and key collaborators at colleges, universities, medical schools or other research facilities. Eligible submitting institutions include public/private colleges, universities, hospitals, laboratories and qualifying public agencies. Simons/Flatiron employees ineligible as PI; institutions in China/Hong Kong and specified related subcontracts prohibited. Genuine new basic autism/NDD research, not extension of ongoing work.

Atlas Analysis

2026-11-06 official Simons Foundation SFARI New Ideas 2026 RFA and How to Apply reviewed. Legitimate competitive institutional research financial assistance. Up to $300,000 per year for 2 years = up to $600,000 total individual applicant award inclusive of 20% indirect; not an overall program pool. LOI rolling since 2026-04-29; full proposal only upon invitation with 4-week window. Applicant and key collaborators must hold PhD/MD equivalent and faculty/equivalent position; relevant institutions; no China/Hong Kong; one application per calendar year including collaborators; no previously rejected project resubmissions. Preliminary data not mandatory but feasibility required; no mandatory match specified in official call. SAM LOI narrative, biosketches, budget justification, applicant profile/ORCID and other form fields. Checked both WordPress post titles and official source URL across published and pending: no existing New Ideas 2026 record before create. Official sources https://www.simonsfoundation.org/funding/new-ideas-request-for-applications-2026/ and https://www.simonsfoundation.org/funding/new-ideas-request-for-applications-2026/how-to-apply/ .

Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI): New Ideas Awards, 2026

Status: Open on a rolling basis. Letters of intent have been accepted since April 29, 2026. No fixed LOI deadline has been announced. Full proposals are invitation-only, normally due within four weeks after an invitation.

Applicant award: Up to $300,000 per year for as many as two years, for a maximum of $600,000 per grant, including 20% institutional indirect costs. Smaller and shorter projects are eligible; there is no published total program pool to substitute for the applicant award limit.

Eligibility: Principal investigators and key collaborators must have a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree and a faculty or equivalent appointment. Public and private universities, colleges, hospitals, research laboratories, and qualifying government research entities may apply. Funding to institutions in China or Hong Kong, and specified subcontracts and consultants, is prohibited. Simons Foundation/Flatiron Institute employees are not eligible as principal investigators.

Purpose: Support genuinely novel, feasible basic research on autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders. Extensions of ongoing work are not appropriate. Prior autism research experience and preliminary data are not required, but the relevance and feasibility of the proposed research must be clear.

Restrictions: One application to this program per calendar year, including collaborators; past unsuccessful SFARI proposals cannot simply be resubmitted. A universal matching requirement was not stated in the funder’s published call. Annual budgets are reviewed for suitability.

How to apply: Create an Autism Research – New Ideas letter of intent in Simons Award Manager. Prepare the LOI narrative using the provided template, applicant and collaborator biosketches, budget justification, ORCID/profile information, abstract and any applicable cohort data plans. Institutional sign-off is not needed at the LOI stage. Only invited applicants proceed to full applications.

Official sources: Controlling 2026 funding call; Official application instructions. Source verified November 6, 2026.

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Source verificationReferenced source · www.simonsfoundation.orgAtlas last verified this record 2026-11-06. Always use the funder's current application materials, amendments and portal instructions as the controlling source.View source and application materials ↗