The Labor Research and Action Network (LRAN) brings together workers’ rights advocates, academics, and students with the shared goal of building workplace and economic power for workers in the United States. One of the organization’s key objectives is to help develop the next generation of labor researchers to collaborate in identifying and solving obstacles as we build a better, more inclusive labor movement.

LRAN is pleased to announce a competition for seed grants ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 for those who are engaged in research as activists, policymakers, and academics. Consistent with LRAN's mission, we strongly encourage collaborative efforts and activist scholarship directly related to workers and workers' rights organizations. Applications that utilize funds to support labor and community organizations, or to compensate grassroots and student researchers for unpaid labor, will be prioritized.

We strongly encourage applicants who are not affiliated with an academic institution, especially those from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, to apply. Students in all academic disciplines, as well as labor researchers and organizers working part-time or full-time in labor and community organizations, are also encouraged to apply. We will prioritize applications from non-tenured faculty and tenure-track professors with fewer than five years of experience as professors. Prospective applicants with questions about the grant program or the application process should not hesitate to contact us via the information listed below.

Applicants should submit a single PDF that includes the following information:

1- A brief project proposal (no more than five pages, double-spaced). For academic applicants, please include information about whether IRB approval is required and, if necessary, the current status of their IRB process application. All applicants must address the following:

A)  Identify the problem you are trying to address.

B)  Indicate your specific research question.

C)  Explain how this research addresses contemporary challenges faced by the labor movement.

D)  Explain what data you are collecting, how you plan to collect it, and what process or method you will use for your analysis.

2- A detailed budget that explains how the funds will be used. Please note that LRAN grant money may not be used for overhead, tuition, or fees at the applicant’s university. Funds will be disbursed as reimbursement for budgeted research expenses.

3- For labor practitioners unaffiliated with academic institutions, a letter recommending the proposal from a colleague or collaborator. For graduate students, a letter is required, signed by the student’s academic advisor and attached to the proposal. For early-career academic researchers who are untenured or have five years or less of professorial experience, a letter of recommendation for the proposal from a senior professor or senior labor practitioner is required.

4- Contact information (phone and preferred email)

5- If the proposed project collaborates with a union or other worker organization, please add the name, email, and phone number of the applicant’s contact at the host organization.

For a sample of a successful application, refer to this link. Send your proposals in a single PDF to lrangrants@jwj.org with “LRAN New Scholars Research Grant” in the subject line. Also, ask your reference to email the letter of recommendation to this email with your name in the subject line. Grantees will receive a travel stipend of up to $800 to present their research at the 2026 LRAN Conference, to be held at Clark Atlanta University on May 12-13. The application deadline is October 31st at 5 p.m. ET, with winners announced by December 5th, 2025.

For more information on LRAN, see https://www.lranetwork.org/