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Office of the Vice President for Research

URA Proposal and Application Process

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Proposals and submissions for the University Research Award program are invited once a year, during the fall semester with a winter deadline, for projects starting no earlier than the following July 1.

On this page, you’ll learn more about what successful RFPs should include, proposal overviews, and the application process.

Proposal overview

Scope

Projects may cover any disciplinary areas represented within the University.

Review Criteria

Proposals will be rated by a review committee appointed by the Vice President for Research using the following criteria:

  1. The project’s intellectual merit (i.e., the potential to advance knowledge).
  2. Is the project well-designed and feasible, given the resources already available and the budget and time requested?
  3. Does the project clearly show how outcomes lead to external funding?
Term

Projects should normally be completed within a year, but when necessary may seek support over a two-year period.

Award Amounts

Applications may request up to $37,500 as a match to funds committed by the applicant’s home school (or applicants’ home schools) for a maximum request of $75,000.

The school(s) responsible for the match is/are part of the initial review process. Approval at that level implies a commitment to provide the matching funds if the proposal is awarded.

Currently, matching is only provided by Arts, Sciences & Engineering, the School of Medicine and Dentistry, and the School of Nursing.

Eligibility

Proposals should originate from one or more faculty members who are eligible to be Principal Investigators on grants (reference the Principal Investigator Eligibility Policy)

An application may be submitted by a University faculty member (as the first-named Lead Investigator) for a collaboration with faculty outside of the University of Rochester, as long as matching funds can be guaranteed from the US institution(s) in which non-University faculty member(s) hold their primary appointment(s). International collaborations also may be entertained with the same criteria, some of which may be in-kind support, if demonstrated before the submission review.

Post-Award Follow-Up

Recipients are expected to submit a proposal for external funding within 18 months of the end of the project period, and to report that submission to the Office of the VP of Research. Within three months of the end of the project period, recipients are required to complete a final progress report to help in the evaluation of  the effectiveness of this program. Recipients are also expected to participate in peer review of future University Research Award proposals.

Application process

  1. Download and complete the full proposal application with instructions.

A full proposal application must include:

  • A completed coversheet.
  • A brief overview (an abstract), no more than 350 words, written for the educated non-specialist.
  • An itemized budget, with justification. Funds may be requested for graduate or undergraduate student stipends, for salary for assistants, for postdoctoral scholars, and/or technical staff. Summer salary support for faculty on 9 month appointments may be requested to the extent that it replaces salary that would be foregone (e.g., from summer teaching).
  • Information about other support available to, or sought by, the applicant. This should identify amounts, sources, and periods of support, and should briefly describe the purpose of the support.
  • A curriculum vitae (or biosketch) for each investigator working on the project.
  • A description of the proposal (project narrative) that explains what you intend to do, why it would be important to scholars and/or society generally, and how the research will attract external financial support.
  • If the research involves human subjects, animals, biohazards, or otherwise raises regulatory issues, the application should identify those concerns and provide documentation that they will be addressed. If Institutional Review Board, University Committee on Animal Resources, and/or Environmental Health and Safety approval is required, it may be sought after the project has been approved but must be in place before the project can start.

2. Fill out the online application form, uploading the full proposal where instructed.

3. Submit the online application form and full proposal by the deadline listed below. Changes may be made to proposals and the online application form until the submission deadline.

Submission Deadline

All applications are due 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 31, 2024.

Review and Award statement

Proposals will be evaluated by a review committee, consisting of a representative group of faculty from all University schools who cross major subject areas. The review committee will advise the Vice President for Research who makes final award decisions and will request brief letter(s) of support from the school dean(s) confirming matching funds by the school(s). Selected applicants will be announced in mid-May. Recipients of this award are required to complete a final progress report and will be expected to participate in peer review of future University Research Award proposals.

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