Headache & Migraine Competitive Grant Program

The Headache & Migraine Competitive Grant Program: Quality Improvement Solutions for the Diagnosis and Management of Migraine and Headache Disorders stands at the forefront of advancing headache medicine by funding groundbreaking quality improvement initiatives. This highly competitive grant, offered through the collaboration between the American Headache Society and Pfizer, supports projects that have the potential to reshape the field by creating widely applicable tools and driving measurable improvements in patient care.

Applicant Eligibility Criteria:

• Must be a member of the American Headache Society. Learn about AHS membership and join here.
• The following may apply: medical, dental, nursing, allied health, and/or pharmacy professional schools; healthcare institutions (both large and small); government agencies; and other entities with a mission related to healthcare improvement.
• Only organizations are eligible to receive grants, not individuals or medical practice groups (i.e., an independent group of physicians not affiliated with a hospital, academic institution, or professional society).
• Collaborations within institutions (e.g., between departments and/or inter-professional), as well as between different institutions / organizations / associations, are encouraged. Please note all partners must have a relevant role and the requesting organization must have a key role in the project.
• The applicant must be the Project Lead/Principal Investigator (PI) or an authorized designee of such individual (e.g., Project Lead/PI’s grant/research coordinator).
• The Project Lead/PI must be an employee or contractor of the requesting organization.
• Requesting organization must be legally able to receive award funding directly from Pfizer Inc.. We strongly recommend that applicants confirm this with their organization or institution prior to submitting an application. Grants awarded to organizations that are subsequently found to be unable to accept funding directly from Pfizer Inc. may be subject to rescission.

Specific Areas of Interest for this RFP:

It is not our intent to support clinical research projects. Projects evaluating the efficacy of therapeutic or diagnostic agents will not be considered. 

• It is our intent to support quality improvement projects that focus on improving the lives of people impacted by migraine and other headache disorders.
• Projects are expected to have measurable outcomes and lead to information or tools that can be shared and used widely. 
• Multi-disciplinary collaborations are encouraged when appropriate, but all partners must have a relevant role.
• There is interest in receiving applications that include projects that utilize system-based changes. Although educational efforts for grantees and patients may be entirely appropriate components in responses to this RFP, projects that include an overt description of system changes will be given high priority. 

Key Dates: 

• Request for Proposals posted: December 3, 2025
• Letter of Intent deadline: February 25, 2026
• Anticipated invitation to submit full proposal: May 13, 2026
• Invited full proposal deadline: July 8, 2026
• Anticipated award notification date: September 30, 2026
• Anticipated award start date: December 1, 2026

Expected Approximate Monetary Range and Project Length:

Individual projects requesting up to $250,000 total over two (2) years will be considered. Proposals with smaller budgets are also encouraged. 

Review and Approval Process:  

• There will be a two-step review process. The first step will be a LOI submission to provide a brief synopsis of the proposed project. The LOI must not exceed two (2) pages when formatted in a Word document using standard margins (1”), Times New Roman font, and no smaller than 11-point font size. 
• Applicants are encouraged to prepare their LOI in Word (or similar) following these formatting requirements, ensure it fits within the two-page limit, and then copy/paste the content into the LOI submission fields. LOIs exceeding the two-page limit – when formatted according to the above specifications, will be deemed non-compliant and will not be considered for review. 
• Based upon the LOI review, some applicants will be selected for submission of a full proposal. 
• A specific grant program RFP uses an AHS expert review panel (ERP) to make final grant decisions. 
• The panel is comprised of professionals from the medical community with advanced degrees and expertise in particular clinical areas, or specific needs of a geographic region/learner group, or expertise in research, continuing professional development or quality improvement.  

Click here to download the full Headache & Migraine Competitive Grant Program Request for Proposals (PDF) learn more about this opportunity and how to submit.