Why now
When geopolitical conflict and trade disruption upend the relationships societies rely on, when technological change outpaces the rules meant to govern it, and when fiscal strain, demographic pressure, and declining public trust put institutions under stress, some societies adapt. Others rigidify, centralize, and become less capable of responding.
That difference is not random. Resilience depends on how rules, norms, and incentives are designed, and on whether people can adapt and coordinate when conditions change.
Across economics, governance, and civil society, institutional stress often produces calls for more control and tighter coordination. The rapid rise of artificial intelligence is accelerating these pressures while creating new ones, reshaping how people coordinate, how information flows, and how decisions are made. We seek to examine these dynamics carefully and explore arrangements that help societies adapt without giving up liberty, pluralism, or the ability to learn.
We suspect important work on these questions is already underway by thinkers we have not yet met. This call for proposals is how we hope to find them — and support them.
We are also trying to answer a broader inquiry: Which questions matter most for sustaining open, resilient societies, and where is the most serious work being done? Your work will help us figure that out.
What we are funding
Mercatus is inviting proposals for focused analytical projects on institutional adaptation under stress. We want work that engages institutional mechanisms directly: how particular arrangements enable or constrain people in coordinating, adapting, and responding when conditions change.
Areas we find especially promising include what makes certain governance arrangements resilient under stress and what causes others to entrench and fail; how AI is challenging existing governance frameworks and changing the conditions under which institutions adapt; how decentralized and polycentric systems perform relative to centralized alternatives; how market processes, price signals, and voluntary exchange function as adaptive infrastructure; and how voluntary associations, educational institutions, and civic culture absorb disruption and sustain open, adaptive citizenship.
Selected applicants will receive a $3,000–$6,000 grant to develop their project over summer and fall 2026. The grant is a starting point. Strong work will lead to deeper collaboration within Mercatus's intellectual community.
Who should apply
This call is for people who are early- to mid-career or at a meaningful professional inflection point and working in academia, policy, law, journalism, civil society, technology, the humanities, or any field where institutional design matters. We are looking for people who think in terms of mechanisms, who have a genuine line of inquiry, and who can translate complex analysis across disciplinary boundaries.
How to apply
Applications are open now and due April 30, 2026.
If this call for proposals describes your work, we want to hear from you. If you know someone whose work belongs in this conversation, please share this with them.
Learn more and apply: https://www.mercatus.org/resilient-societies.