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Research Funding

Cisco Research engages with academia to share knowledge and experience from the ground and we collaborate with research labs across many domains to pave the way for our future innovations. We are funding both sponsored research agreements and research gifts. With sponsored research agreements, we work directly with universities to come to an agreement on a contracted research project that aligns with our areas of interest. For research gifts, universities and non-profits are eligible to apply to one of our open Request for Proposals for gift funding.

Sponsored Research

Cisco Research is committed to establishing long term partnerships with universities to foster research and innovation through our Open RFPs. Below is a list of universities we currently partner with for sponsored research projects. We are continuously reviewing and open to expanding with new partners.

  • Princeton University

  • Georgia Institute of Technology

  • University of Texas, Austin

  • University of Washington

  • University of California, Los Angeles

  • University of Michigan

  • North Carolina State University

  • Purdue University

  • The Ohio State University

  • UCL

  • University of Minnesota

  • University of California San Diego

  • University of Edinburgh

  • Carnegie Mellon University

Purdue University’s robust and growing partnership with the Cisco Research Team and its culture of connection has enabled exceptional research talent to drive technology innovation. From cybersecurity to edge computing, the streamlined Purdue-Cisco engagement continues to accelerate digital transformation and grow shared research priorities.
Mung Chiang, Purdue University President
The University of Minnesota has partnered with Cisco since 2021, when we signed a master research agreement. Cisco has reviewed more than 100 proposals using a rapid multi-phase decision-making process. The process makes it easy for faculty to submit proposals and get feedback.
University of Minnesota Corporate Engagement Center
Engaging with CISCO Research has enabled the University of Washington’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering to advance a broad set of research priorities, including high-impact projects in systems and networking, databases, and telemedicine and health. The benefits of our collaboration go beyond funding, offering our researchers the opportunity to participate in regular discussions with CISCO experts to ensure our work has industry relevance and is applicable to real-world problems.
Magdalena Balazinska, Director of the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering
The collaboration between Cisco Research and our faculty at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering is driving innovative research designed to enhance machine learning and artificial intelligence for the good of humanity. This effort exemplifies how industry and academia can work together to positively impact society and deliver real-world results.
Todd Millstein, Chair of the UCLA Computer Science Department

Research Gifts

Cisco Research connects with engineers and researchers from academia and world-class research labs. Through research gifts we enable exploration of issues and topics relevant to our core and adjacent business. We are constantly expanding into new areas of research to maximize business, technology and societal impact. Explore our Open RFPs to learn more about current top of mind items that Cisco Research is currently accepting research proposals on. Learning more below about the research gift requirements and application process.

We use the CyberGrants tool to gather data and track our sponsored engagements. If you are planning to apply for a gift or sponsorship, you will need to create a CyberGrants account.

Who May Apply?

The Applicant and Principal Investigator listed on a proposal must each be a full-time faculty or research staff member at a university or other research institution. Students, adjunct faculty, or part-time faculty/staff may participate in the research and be listed on the proposal but may not be a Principal Investigator. To be eligible to receive an award, an institution subject to U.S. tax law must qualify as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Non-U.S. institutions must provide proof of non-profit equivalency. If a PI is approved for funding, Cisco Research will only fund a PI one proposal at a time and you will not be eligible to resubmit another proposal request until your funding has ended and your impact report is completed.

Intellectual Property

DO NOT submit any confidential or proprietary information to Cisco unless you have executed the appropriate Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Cisco uses information and materials you provide to conduct an internal review and evaluation. Cisco has no obligation with respect to that information and material.


General Terms and Conditions for Research Gifts

Standard Term of the Gift is one year from approval date.


Cisco extends Gift Funds to Donee solely for the purpose of pursuing scientific research in the area proposed by the PI.


An impact report will be requested upon completion of the project. The PI will receive an email requesting a report to be completed online. The report gathers information about published papers and presentations, financial summary of expense, overview of research results.


Cisco has no expectation of obtaining or retaining any business or securing any improper competitive advantages as a consequence of providing this Gift to Donee.


Donee, through its employees and representatives, has not provided, nor represented that it would provide, to Cisco, any business or other competitive advantage to Cisco on account of such Gift.