[Faculty] NEW! Call for UCR Research Seed Funding and Grant Program
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Tue Jan 27 11:21:43 PST 2026
New! UCR Research Seed Funding and Grant Program
UCR’s Office of Research and Economic Development (RED) is pleased to
announce the call for the New UCR Research Seed Funding and Grant Program
<https://research.ucr.edu/funding>. The intention of the program is to
enable UCR faculty to initiate, continue, or expand their research,
scholarly work, and creative activities, and increase their competitiveness
for extramural funding. A total of $1,150,000 will be available for this
competition for three types of awards as described below. Faculty from all
disciplines and methodological approaches from all schools, colleges,
departments, and programs are encouraged to apply. This internal
competition may be continued annually based on its outcomes, applicants’
and awardees’ feedback, and funds availability. For this initial
competition, funds will need to be spent between the award date (expected
to be June 1, 2026, or sooner) and June 30, 2027.
In recent years, we have conducted three funding competitions through the
Southern California Opportunities to Advance Sustainability, Innovation,
and Social Inclusion – Internal Funding Awards (SoCal OASIS® IFA)
initiative, totaling $4.6 million. The first competition achieved a strong
5.5× return on investment, based on external awards secured by SoCal OASIS
IFA recipients. While it is still early to estimate the outcomes of
projects funded through the other competitions, we anticipate a similar
return on investment.
Nonetheless, based on recommendations from the Chancellor’s academic and
leadership retreat on October 6, 2025, and in consultation with faculty,
deans and other campus leaders, this new solicitation includes changes
intended to expand the research areas represented in the awards and to
address campus needs at different stages of research endeavors. These
funding mechanisms support the campus’ priority of “Expanding our research
enterprise to drive discovery, innovation, and economic development across
Inland Southern California and beyond.”
AWARD CATEGORIES
There are three categories of awards. PIs and co-PIs may participate in
only one category and may submit or be listed on only one proposal within
that category during this competition. Please read carefully all the
instructions below as there are different requirements for each category.
- Pre-seed Funding Awards (total available budget $50,000): Up to 20
awards of $2,500 each. Each proposal requires the participation of
at least five
participants (one PI and four co-PIs) from at least two colleges,
schools, and/or other units (for example it could include one college or
school and another administrative unit such as University Extension,
Graduate Division, etc.). Proposals only involving various departments in
the same college or school will not qualify. The purpose of these awards is
to establish new cross-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary
collaborations. The funds are intended to help facilitate the initial
organization of a group of participants with different expertise, to tackle
a new challenge in any area of research, scholarly work, or creative
activity. For example, funds may be used to cover refreshment costs
for weekly
or monthly team gatherings. No budget justification is needed for these
awards (but see USE OF FUNDS below). Each award will be issued as a
$2,500 lump sum to the PI of the project, but with the expectation that
funds will be used in agreement with the other project participants.
Following completion of this award, teams are expected to be competitive
for a Seed Funding Award (described below) in future solicitations.
- Small Grant Awards (total budget $400,000): Proposals with one or more
PIs (in the same or different unit) requesting budgets ranging from
$5,000 to $20,000 will be awarded. The intention of these awards is to
allow the PIs to complete a project in any area of research, scholarly
work, or creative activity, for which external funds are insufficient, not
available, or unlikely to be obtained. For example, while not a
requirement, the funds could be used to support a graduate student
researcher for a quarter of time in cases where other funds have become
unavailable. In such a case, the campus will provide additional tuition and
fees for that quarter outside the award budget. Alternatively, funds can
be used to initiate or complete preliminary studies that will facilitate
submission to external funding agencies.
- Seed Funding Awards (total budget $700,000): Seven awards with at
least two or more PIs (in the same or different unit) of up to $100,000. One
award will be granted in each of the seven subcategories. Evidence of
the team formation through existing collaboration is necessary for the
proposal submission. The funds will allow PIs to jumpstart or continue
research, collect/generate preliminary data, and position their working
group competitively for large-scale, externally funded team
projects. Proposals
must clearly identify external funding opportunities that are expected to
be sought within the next 12–18 months.
The seven subcategories include the six areas of focus of the previous
SoCal OASIS IFA solicitations (see: SoCal OASIS® Areas of Focus
<https://oasis.ucr.edu/areas-focus>), namely:
- Agriculture Technology and Food Security
- Health Related Research
- Human Development
- Natural Resource Management
- Renewable Energy and Fuels
- Sustainable Transportation and Infrastructure
And the new subcategory of:
- Fundamental Research and Other Areas of High Opportunity for External
Funding not Covered by the Above.
By “Fundamental Research” we mean any research, scholarly work, or creative
activity devoted to gain a better understanding of basic concepts and
expand knowledge, not necessarily solving a specific application. The
subcategory of the proposal will need to be identified by the PI in the
applications for the Seed Funding Awards. Only one subcategory can be
selected.
ELIGIBILITY
Proposals are invited from all UCR individuals eligible to serve as a
Principal Investigator. (For additional information on PI eligibility
see Policy
#527-3 <https://redit.ucr.edu/OrApps/RED/Policies.aspx?k=6>). Additional
personnel may include postdocs, students, and staff.
USE OF FUNDS
The use of funds for this solicitation is intended to be very flexible.
Funds may be used for any activity directly related to the conduct of the
research, scholarly, creative, or outreach activity, e.g., salaries and
benefits for staff, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral
researchers, or similar position; software or supplies; small pieces of
equipment (less than $5,000); facility recharge; travel to meet with
funding agencies, attend proposer workshops, coordinate with collaborators,
and conduct field work; or other research expenses required to facilitate
preparation of external proposals. Funds cannot be used for faculty
salaries (including summer salary) or teaching buyouts, cost-share in
external funding opportunities, seminar speakers, or travel to regular
conferences. Use of funds for consultants and other participants external
to UCR will be particularly scrutinized and only a few well-justified
exceptions may be approved. All funds must be expended by the end of the
project period. To focus on projects that can make rapid progress, no
extensions of the award will be approved, and unexpended funds will be
recovered. No cost-share or matching funds from other units are required
and such contributions will not be considered in the selection process.
SELECTION CRITERIA AND REVIEW PROCESS
Proposals from previous recipients of SoCal OASIS IFA, even with successful
project outcomes, will have lower priority in this competition for the
Small Awards and the Seed Funding Awards. Proposals for the Pre-seed
Funding Awards should not support established and ongoing collaborations.
The selection criteria will include the following:
- Proposal clarity and specificity in its objectives.
- Project feasibility.
- Budget commensurable with activities proposed (no budget
considerations for the Pre-seed Funding Awards). Budgets should not
include F&A costs.
- Strength and background of the applicants.
- Outcomes of previous SoCal OASIS IFA, if any.
In addition, for the Seed Funding Awards:
- Evidence of the team formation through existing collaboration.
- Clear identification of an upcoming external funding opportunity with
a good match to the scope of the proposal.
Applications for the Pre-seed Funding Awards will be reviewed and
selections will be made by a RED committee. For the other awards, the
applications will be reviewed, and recommendations will be made, by a joint
RED and Faculty committee. Because of the large number of proposals
anticipated and the focus on disbursing funds speedily, no detailed review
feedback will be provided. However, recipients may be asked to reformulate
part of the proposal or modify their proposed budgets. Proposals not
complying with all the specific requirements will be returned without
review.
DEADLINE
The internal proposal deadline for all categories of awards is March 15,
2026 at 11:55 p.m. (Pacific time).
PROGRESS TRACKING AND REPORTING
Awardees will be required to submit a two-page final project report within
60 days of the end of the award period. The report should include the
results of the research, a financial statement, information about external
funding opportunity submission, or efforts underway to obtain external
funding if any. A template for the final project report will be provided. Lack
of timely reporting may result in exclusion from future award
opportunities. RED will use the reporting information to evaluate the
efficacy of this strategic initiative and its sustainable continuation.
APPLICATION FORMAT
Bearing in mind that not all reviewers will have an extensive knowledge of
their field of inquiry, faculty should use proposal language accessible to
reviewers with different backgrounds. All categories of proposals use the
same application format:
1. Application Form (pdf)
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1seNqYqB3m-vAGi0Zng8e1RggW4RSX17Q/view>
2. Research plan - No more than 2 pages for the Pre-seed Funding and
Small Awards, single-spaced, and no more than 4 pages for the Seed Funding
Awards. All narratives must use a 12-point font with at least one-inch
margins on all sides. Proposals not complying with these space and page
limit requirements will not be reviewed.
3. The narrative of the proposal should include a brief introduction,
objectives, specific aims, and anticipated results (if applicable).
4. List of publications or creative works cited in the narrative, if any
(no page limitations for this list).
5. Except for the Pre-seed funding awards, a budget outlining broad cost
categories and a brief justification is required (no more than 2 pages for
budget and justification).
6. CVs (no more than 2 pages for each investigator).
7. Results of prior SoCal OASIS IFA awards, if applicable (1 page max.).
8. For the Seed funding awards, external funding opportunities to be
sought in the next 12-18 months (1 page max.).
APPLICATION SUBMISSION
Applications should be submitted through the "EasyChair" system at
https://easychair.org/account2/signin?l=5031753063812740027.
Questions about the EasyChair application system should be directed to
Marisela Martínez at vcredadmin at ucr.edu.
*To support the formation of research groups for the Pre-seed Funding
Awards, Research and Economic Development (RED) will host a series of
faculty lunches ahead of the submission deadline. These gatherings will
focus on topics of broad campus interest, including water availability,
healthy aging, heat waves and wildfire resistance, and efficient energy
production. More details about these lunches will be shared soon.Faculty
who wish to suggest additional topics are encouraged to contact Associate
Vice Chancellor Djurdjica Coss at djurdjica.coss at medsch.ucr.edu
<djurdjica.coss at medsch.ucr.edu>. *
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