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A capacity building grant funds the ability of an organization, institution or research system to do its work, rather than a single deliverable. In research administration the term covers two things that are easy to confuse: foundation grants that strengthen a grantee’s management, governance and systems, and federal programs such as NIH IDeA and NSF EPSCoR that build research capacity across whole states or jurisdictions. This guide covers both, ties the “four types of grants” question to Grants.gov’s own definitions, and sets out what a research office should put in an application.
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Suggested question: “What is a capacity building grant?”
What is a capacity building grant?
A capacity building grant pays for the infrastructure that lets an applicant perform and sustain its mission: people, systems, governance and facilities. The Grantsmanship Center describes these grants as being about strengthening an organization’s infrastructure, management and governance, with typical projects such as governance assessments, strategic and fund development planning, board and staff development, succession planning and technology upgrades.
At the research-system level the same idea appears in federal programs. The NIH Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program, as described on the official NIGMS page, checked 2026-10-29, “builds research capacity in states that historically have had low levels of NIH funding” and is congressionally mandated. NSF’s EPSCoR page, checked the same day, states the mission as to “enhance the research competitiveness of targeted jurisdictions”, with investments that range “from talent development to local infrastructure”.
The practical difference from an ordinary research grant is the object of the award. A project grant buys results from a defined study; a capacity grant buys the ability to run many future studies, such as a core facility, a grants-management system or a trained research-support staff (see research support services).
What is a capacity building fund?
A capacity building fund is a pool of money set aside for capacity building purposes, from which grants like those above are made. The term describes the purpose of the money, not a legal category: a fund may be run by a foundation, a funder or a government program, and each sets its own eligibility and rules. Check the specific program’s own page before relying on any description of it.
What are the four types of grants?
Grants.gov does not publish a single list called “the four types”. The common grouping used in practice is competitive (discretionary), formula, continuation and pass-through, and Grants.gov’s grant terminology page, checked on 2026-10-29, defines most of these:
- Discretionary (competitive). The agency “generally may select the recipient from among all eligible recipients”, usually as a result of competition for funds announced in a funding opportunity announcement. Grants.gov does not define “competitive grant” as a separate term. See funding opportunity announcement.
- Formula. “Allocations of federal funding to states, territories, or local units of government determined by distribution formulas.”
- Continuation. “An extension or renewal of existing program funding for one or more additional budget period(s).”
- Pass-through. Grants.gov defines the pass-through entity as “a non-Federal entity that provides a subaward to a subrecipient.”
A capacity building grant is a purpose, not a fifth type, so it can sit in any of these. A competitive foundation award for a grants system, a formula allocation to a state and a continuation of an existing infrastructure award are all capacity building. For the instrument-level distinction between grants, contracts and cooperative agreements, see grant vs contract vs cooperative agreement; the older term categorical grant covers a related idea.
Federal examples: NIH IDeA and NSF EPSCoR
These two programs show what capacity building looks like when the funder targets the research system. All facts below are as described on the official pages on 2026-10-29.
NIH IDeA
IDeA eligibility is by jurisdiction: Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming and Puerto Rico. For the detailed COBRE and INBRE mechanics see the CASRAI guides on the IDeA program, COBRE and INBRE and on NIGMS.
NSF EPSCoR
The NSF page describes EPSCoR as enhancing the research competitiveness of targeted jurisdictions and refers eligibility to a separate NSF eligibility page, so check that page for who qualifies. CASRAI’s guide to NSF EPSCoR covers the program in more detail.
How to write a capacity building grant
The following is general proposal practice, not a rule from any one funder. Always follow the funding opportunity’s own instructions first.
- Name the capacity gap. State what the institution cannot currently do (for example, support externally funded research without a dedicated pre-award function) and what evidence shows it.
- Tie each activity to the gap. Governance review, staff development, systems and facilities each need a stated link to the capability you are building.
- Define deliverables you can verify. Capacity is harder to measure than outputs, so describe milestones such as a system in use, staff trained or a policy adopted.
- Explain sustainability. Say how the capability continues after the award ends.
- Match the mechanism. Read the opportunity to see whether the award is competitive, formula-based or a continuation, and which sections are required.
Common mistakes
- Writing a needs statement that reads as an admission of mismanagement instead of a plan for improvement. The Grantsmanship Center calls this the “self-indicting proposal”.
- Describing activities (training sessions, purchases) with no stated capability they produce.
- Treating a capacity grant as operating support or as a project grant, when the funder defines the award differently.
- Assuming eligibility from a program’s name; for IDeA and EPSCoR it depends on the jurisdiction rules on the official pages.
Related programs
| Program | What the official page says |
|---|---|
| IDeA COBRE | Supports the establishment and development of innovative biomedical research centers |
| IDeA INBRE | Supports a statewide biomedical research development network in each IDeA-eligible state |
| IDeA Clinical and Translational Research Programs | Support clinical and translational research through programs that develop research infrastructure |
| IDeA Co-funding | Supports R01 and R15 applications from investigators in IDeA-eligible states |
| IDeA I-RED | Supports small business concerns in IDeA states to develop educational products |
| NSF EPSCoR | Enhances the research competitiveness of targeted jurisdictions, from talent development to local infrastructure |
Source: NIGMS IDeA page and NSF EPSCoR page, checked 2026-10-29.
FAQ
What is a capacity building grant?
It is a grant that funds an applicant’s infrastructure, systems, people and governance so it can do its work well over time, instead of funding one defined project outcome.
What is a capacity building fund?
It is a dedicated pool of money for capacity building purposes. Rules differ by operator, so read the specific program’s page.
How to write a capacity building grant?
Name the capacity gap, link each activity to it, set verifiable milestones, explain sustainability and follow the funding opportunity’s instructions.
What are the four types of grants?
The common grouping is competitive (discretionary), formula, continuation and pass-through. Grants.gov defines discretionary, formula, continuation and pass-through terms, but does not define “competitive grant” or publish a list of exactly four.
Sources
- Grants.gov, Grant Terminology: https://www.grants.gov/learn-grants/grant-terminology (checked 2026-10-29)
- NIH NIGMS, Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Program: https://www.nigms.nih.gov/Research/DRCB/IDeA/Pages/default (checked 2026-10-29)
- NSF, EPSCoR: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/epscor (checked 2026-10-29)
- The Grantsmanship Center, What Is a Capacity Building Grant?: https://www.tgci.com/blog/2016/06/what-capacity-building-grant (general description of foundation capacity grants; checked 2026-10-29)
