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GrantForward: Your New Funding Opportunity Tool

GrantForward is now LIVE at Columbia University!

All Columbia University researchers, administrators, students, and staff have access to GrantForward, the University’s funding opportunity discovery platform designed to streamline the identification and tracking of external funding opportunities.

What Is GrantForward?

GrantForward is a web-based tool that supports the discovery, tracking, and sharing of funding opportunities across all disciplines. It uses researcher profiles and keyword-based matching to deliver tailored funding recommendations.

Key features include:
  • Personalized funding opportunity recommendations
  • Researcher profile–driven matching
  • Saved searches and automated alerts
  • Tools for tracking and sharing funding opportunities
  • Broad coverage of federal, foundation, and private sponsors

How to Log In to GrantForward

  1. Navigate to the website: Go to grantforward.com and click on the Log In button.
  2. Enter your email: Type in your institutional email address (e.g., your Columbia email).
  3. Detect SSO: The platform will automatically detect your affiliation and a Single Sign-On link will appear.
  4. Redirect to Institution: Click the provided SSO link to be taken to your familiar university authentication page.
  5. Authenticate: Log in using your standard institutional credentials as you normally would for other university services.
  6. Access Platform: After successful authentication, you will be automatically redirected back to GrantForward with full member access.

GrantForward Support  

Trainings

Columbia Support Sessions: A series of virtual trainings tailored to Columbia administrators and researchers, along with drop-in office hours for questions, have been scheduled. Please sign up or drop in for a session!

The GrantForward YouTube channel serves as a central hub for administrator- and researcher-focused training sessions.

Training Guides: The primary recommended resource for new users, providing a systematic overview of the platform: Welcome/Researcher Guide and Administrator Guide. 

GrantForward will be hosting a series of training sessions for Columbia users. Please sign in at the time of the training with your Columbia email address to attend!

Questions

For technical questions or platform assistance, contact Lucy at GrantForward directly at [email protected].

For general or university-specific inquiries, contact the Office of Research Initiatives and Development at [email protected].

The Support Tab: Beyond the Welcome Guide, the platform's built-in Support section includes a searchable Q&A, use case documents, and step-by-step guides for hands-on learning. 

Personalized Support Sessions: For researchers with complex search needs, GrantForward offers one-on-one support sessions (typically 30–60 minutes) to develop targeted grant lists and refined search queries. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Go to grantforward.com and enter your Columbia email address. The system will detect your institutional affiliation and display a Single Sign-On link. Click the link to be redirected to Columbia’s login page; after authenticating with your standard credentials, you will return to the platform with full member access.

GrantForward uses AI to generate a “keyword cloud” from your scholarly work. You can support this process by providing a link to a publication webpage (e.g., Google Scholar, ORCID, PubMed) or by uploading a CV. The AI extracts research interests from these sources and revisits linked pages every few months to keep your profile current. 

If a narrow search returns no results, it may be due to differing terminology used by sponsors. Use the Advanced Keyword Search to include alternative or broader terms in the “Any” box (e.g., search “Sustainable Fuel” if “Renewable Jet Fuel” yields no results). You can then refine the results using filters such as applicant location or grant type.

GrantForward provides several tools to streamline communication with your research team:

  • Create and Share Grant Lists: Organize opportunities into Grant Lists (e.g., “Collaboration with Prof. Smith”) and share via a dynamic URL. Updates to the list appear in real-time for your team without sending a new link.
  • Export Reports: Export curated lists as PDF or Excel files for offline sharing.
  • Direct In-Platform Sharing: Each grant’s detail page suggests potential collaborators with matching research interests. You can share the grant directly with them to explore joint opportunities.
  • Administrator Dissemination: Institutional grant offices can share search templates or curated lists with specific academic units (e.g., Dept of Biology, which then appear on users’ home tabs.

For technical questions or assistance with the GrantForward platform, you can reach out to Lucy from GrantForward at [email protected]. For general inquiries or internal support, please contact The Office of Research Initiatives and Development at [email protected].