Funding opportunity announcement: Research Enhancement Grant

Proposal deadlines

Last Friday in March by 5 p.m., Pacific Time, submitted via InfoReady Review.

Program description

Research Enhancement Grants (REG) support research activities that are necessary to revise a previously submitted grant proposal in preparation for resubmission to an external sponsor. Activities may include preliminary data collection, background research, stakeholder outreach, or anything identified by the review panel as critical to a successful resubmission. Research & Innovation seeks REG applications from faculty members who plan to resubmit a proposal that was submitted to, but not funded by, a federal agency or other sponsor. Resubmission does not have to be to the same program or agency as the original if the applicant determines that the revised project would be more competitive in another program or agency.

Leadership contacts

Administrative contacts

Award information

Anticipated funding amount: Up to $20,000. See budgetary information for details.

Cost share is allowed but not required.

Eligibility information

Applicants must hold at least a 50% academic faculty appointment at the University of Nevada, Reno and have a current role statement that includes research or professional development responsibilities.

Proposal preparation and submission instructions

The application must consist of:

  • Standard cover page as outlined in the proposal cover page format section
  • The entire original submission (including personnel documents, budget and narrative)
  • Review comments and panel summary from the original submission
  • Proposal, up to three pages, that includes:
    • The sponsor name, funding opportunity announcement (FOA) number and InfoEd file number of the previously submitted proposal
    • A brief summary of the reviewers’ comments and a brief response to them.
    • Your plan for modifying your research proposal in response to the resubmitted proposal reviewers’ comments and panel summary.
    • An explanation of how the funds requested from Research & Innovation will enable specific research activities necessary to address reviewers’ comments.
    • An explanation of how the activities made possible by the request will enhance the competitiveness of the resubmitted proposal and lead to a successful submission to the sponsor.
    • Timeline for completion of the project.
  • Budget and justification as detailed below.

Applications must be submitted through InfoReady Review.

Applications must be received by 5 p.m. by the due date in the deadlines section.

Submission questions should be emailed to researchdevelopment@unr.edu.

Budgetary information

In a table format, provide a budget request that itemizes costs in each category relevant to your request. The budget must include the total of the requested amount and any voluntary cost share.

In addition, a budget narrative must be included to describe each component of the budget and explain how each item is required to achieve the aims of the project.

Cost share: If the project includes voluntary cost share, include a letter detailing where the cost share will come from (e.g., Start Up or department funds), signed by the individual with authority to commit those funds.

Equipment is not an allowable expense unless it is supported by cost share from the department or college.

Unallowable expenses:

  • Course buyouts
  • Summer salary
  • Hosting
  • Equipment – unless it is supported by cost share

Review and selection process

Applications for the Research Enhancement Grant will be reviewed by an external review service and evaluated on the criteria below. The external review service contracts with subject-matter experts to provide comments on the relative merit of each proposal. The Associate Vice President for Research and the Vice President for Research and Innovation review the comments and ranking recommendations from the external review service before making the final determination.

Review criteria

Applications for Research Enhancement Grants will be reviewed using the following criteria:

  • Intellectual merit
  • Clarity and presentation
  • Feasibility
  • Benefits to the researcher/faculty member
  • Potential for future external funding
  • Potential for further interdisciplinary research, creative or scholarly activities

Grant administration information

Notification of the grant award

Notifications of funding will be made by email from the Associate Vice President for Research. Notification of funding will be made to the faculty applicant, their chair, and to the relevant department administrator. Award notifications will be made to the applicants within two weeks after receipt of the review committee’s recommendation.

Award conditions

The purpose of this funding is to support activities that will lead to successful award of external funding for research. It is expected that this funding will support future preparation and submission of proposals for external research funding.

Funding is for a 12-month performance period for the fiscal year indicated in the notice of award. Awarded funds are retained by Research & Innovation and not transferred to another cost center.

A worktag will be assigned after notification of funding. All submitted expenses must comply with University and NSHE policies and be related to the work described in the approved application.

Reporting requirements

Awardees are required to respond to an annual survey requesting details on the outcome of their award.

Deliverables

Awardees must submit their revised proposal to an external review agency prior to resubmission to the sponsor.

The proposal must be resubmitted to the same or a different agency within 12 months of the end of the project period. The PI must notify Research & Proposal Development Services at researchdevelopment@unr.edu upon completion of this requirement. The Associate Vice President for Research will submit a letter to the PI’s dean and department chair once this notification has been received.

If Research & Innovation holds a showcase poster session, the awardee must present their relevant work.

 

Proposal cover page format

Date submitted:
Name of internal grant: [ex. Research Enhancement Grant]
PI (include department/college):
Co-PIs (include department/college):
Collaborators (include department/college):
Project title:
Project performance period: [from July 1 through June 30 of upcoming fiscal year]
Total project costs requested:
Amount and source of cost share (if included):

Brief summary of proposed research:
Provide a four to five sentence summary of the proposed research project.

Relevance to the pursuit of external funding:
Convey the importance of this funding request to your longer-term plan to obtain external research funding.