Who funds drought research?

We count 200 funded drought projects, active between 2020 and 2032, from 8 funders. The most came from EU · MSCA (39 projects), USDA (31 projects) and EU · ERC (28 projects). The median award is $677K, across the 195 of 200 projects that list an amount.

Funded projects

200

Funders

8

Median award

$677K

Open calls now

2

Top funders of drought research

Projects whose title or summary mentions drought. Median award: of the projects that list an amount, in US dollars; “—” when fewer than 3 do.

Open drought funding calls

2 open calls mention drought today.

• Native American Affairs: Fiscal Year 2025 Colorado River Basin Tribal Drought Resiliency Program
  Bureau of Reclamation$50,000 – $1,000,000Deadline: November 20, 2026 ·
• NERC urgency funding
  Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)Up to £100,000Deadline: Not listed
  Real odds: About 1 in 4 funded (23% · Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), all funding decisions, 2024-25)

Real odds

• About 1 in 4 funded · 23% · Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), all funding decisions, 2024-25 · UKRI investment and outputs data, table 2.1

Published success rates for the programs behind the open calls above: the share of applications the funder funded, program-wide, not for this topic.

Funded drought projects

A sample, latest start first, at most three per program.

• CAREER: DroughtRx - forecasting drought at decision-relevant scales for agricultural resilience
  NSF · GEO · $938,299 · ends 2031
• LTREB Renewal: Legacy effects of compounding disturbances in the Amazon
  NSF · BIO · $599,447 · ends 2031
• U.S. Climate Variability and Predictability Project Office
  NSF · GEO · $1,250,000 · ends 2031
• CAREER: Understanding Soil Moisture Variability
  NSF · GEO · $1,182,557 · ends 2031
• Climate and Health Science and Policy Consortium for West Africa
  Wellcome · £20,806,491 · ends 2031
• CAREER: Transport of air pollutants between mid-latitudes and the polar regions: an 800-year perspective from a Russian Arctic ice-core record.
  NSF · Office of the Director · $780,358 · ends 2030
• Growing spring wheat in alaska is challenging
  USDA · $795,158 · ends 2030
• Drought is one of the primary constraints on wheat productivity in the u.s
  USDA · $1,421,000 · ends 2030
• Soil salinity and drought are increasing challenges for turfgrass and forage production, particularly where high-quality irrigation water…
  USDA · $650,000 · ends 2030
• CAREER: Cultivating Sustainable Agriculture and Education through Transitions
  NSF · ENG · $549,852 · ends 2030

How we count

Funded projects come from public award records (NIH RePORTER, NSF, EU CORDIS, UKRI Gateway to Research, Wellcome, the Gates Foundation, DOE, NASA and USDA NIFA) whose title or summary matches “drought”. NIH lists each budget year separately; one project counts once. Amounts are as the funder lists them; medians use only projects that list one, in US dollars. Open calls and forecasts are from our listings of October 28, 2026. A project can mention a topic without being mainly about it, so treat the counts as a guide to who funds the area.