The 1U4U Collaborative Seed Grant Program supports cross-campus/cross-disciplinary research teams to solve the greatest challenges facing our local, national, and global communities. The goal of 1U4U is to incentivize researchers from different disciplines to collaborate. Exemplary proposals will focus on bringing together researchers from different fields-of-study, departments, colleges, units, and other intellectual or organizational divides to pursue groundbreaking research. The 1U4U Seed Grant Program topic will change from year-to-year and will be informed by the University of Utah research community and the One Utah Research Council. This will allow the institution to build and support teams around timely topics that highlight/promote the strengths of University of Utah researchers, address a topic that is timely and relevant to our current society, and to continue to build new interdisciplinary connections for future research work. We strongly encourage applicants to work with new faculty, faculty they have not worked with previously, etc. to help foster an environment of cross-campus collaboration and innovation in these proposals and at the University of Utah.  A key expected outcome from this program is to support investigators in collecting preliminary data in the identified topic area that will be leveraged for extramural grant applications.

For 2025-2026, the theme of the 1U4U Seed Grant Program is Mental and Behavioral Health. The program seeks to fund innovative, interdisciplinary research projects that advance understanding and improve outcomes in mental and behavioral health. This grant aims to foster collaboration across fields to develop holistic approaches that address the complex interplay of biological, psychological, economic, and social factors impacting mental and behavioral wellness. Applicants are encouraged to propose novel methodologies or pilot studies that integrate perspectives from multiple disciplines to explore new pathways for prevention, diagnosis, or treatment.

Projects that investigate how environmental, cultural, and lifestyle factors influence mental & behavioral health outcomes are particularly welcomed. The goal is to seed transformative ideas that can lead to larger, impactful studies, ultimately improving comprehensive care models, promoting resilience and recovery, and learning to thrive with a chronic mental or behavioral condition. Funding is intended to catalyze new collaborations and generate preliminary data that will position teams for future funding opportunities.

The goal of this theme is to pioneer the next generation of discoveries across a wide range of intellectual domains and areas of inquiry.

• Tenure-line and Career-line faculty with at least .50 FTE appointment are eligible to apply.
• Starting FY26, project teams must include at least one Co-PI from a department within the health sciences campus and at least one Co-PI from a department within the main campus. Projects can include other personnel. Project teams should be designed to strengthen collaboration between the health sciences and main campus. These bridges could address intellectual and/or organizational divides.
• Faculty must be in-residence at the University of Utah to be considered for Seed funding.
• A faculty may only serve as PI on one application. However, there is no limit to the number of applications they can be a part of in other roles.
• Proposals must exhibit high potential for leveraging extramural funding and PIs must commit to submitting at least one external proposal based on the pilot project. If funded, all applicants will be required to present proof of extramural submission.
• All applicants must clearly and convincingly demonstrate that the proposed project represents a new research direction in an area that is likely to generate extramural funding. Research that is already supported by other sources is not eligible for Seed funding. (For example, PIs cannot receive funding from the URC program and/or the UURF Research Initiative Program for the same or similar projects.)
• Proposals that have already been submitted to an extramural agency, or those already reviewed and found noncompetitive by an extramural agency, will not be considered for funding.

For the FY26 cycle of the 1U4U Collaborative Seed Grant Program are due by 11:59pm (MST) on Thursday, February 26th, 2026. 

We encourage all interested applicants/applicant support staff to attend an informational town hall on this program and the FY26 topic. The town hall will take place on Wednesday, October 22nd, from 10:00am-11:00am. This will be a virtual meeting (using Zoom) led by Jake Jensen, Associate Vice President for Research (AVPR). Please RSVP for the 1U4U informational town hall HERE. RSVP is required to receive meeting access details.

All materials should have standard 1-inch margins, single-spacing, and 12 pt. font.

1) Executive Abstract (PDF Format Only; 1-paragraph/500-word maximum): Abstract should include aim/goal for utilization of seed funds. Abstract should also include up to 10 keywords that help identify the key objectives, disciplines, research types, and associated departments of the 1U4U proposal. Keywords are separate from 500 word/3000-character maximum.

2) Team Roster (PDF or Excel Format Only): Team Roster must include all senior personnel on project. The following information must be provided for each associated individual:

• Full Name
• Professional Title
• Home Department
• Home College
• Participation Type (PI, Co-PI, Sr. Personnel, etc.)
• Specific Role on Project

3) Research Proposal (PDF Format Only; 2-page maximum): 
All proposal narratives must include:

• A clear description of the project with strong objectives, specific research questions/creative objectives, justification for the project, a detailed, and a concise description of methodology and procedure.
• A clear description of how the proposal addresses a clear funding need, i.e., identify areas of research that have limited funding options, identify components of project that are challenging to fund (and why), identify why the 1U4U program is an ideal mechanism for accomplishing a specific goal as part of a larger research effort, etc.
• Note: Each application can include a 1-page bibliography that is separate from the 2-page proposal.

4) Budget Outline (PDF or Excel Format): Please use the mandatory 1U4U Budget Template to complete your budget outline. Please also reference the ‘Budget Guidelines and Restrictions’ section of the RFP when completing this section. Budgets should be well-justified, accurate, and reflect the full scope of the proposed work. Budgets must be well-justified and reflect the actual funding need of the project. Projects with deliberately inflated budgets will not be considered for funding.

Budget Requirements

• All applicants are required submit a budget outline using the mandatory and provided 1U4U Budget Template. Add lines to the 1U4U Budget Template to include all pertinent items. Enter all amounts in whole dollars.
• Budgets cannot exceed $50,000.
• Hourly wages of research assistants must be listed and justified. Please utilize current fringe rates for all assistance benefit estimates.
• If Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) students are a part of the project, their wages are paid by UROP. Students must apply separately to UROP.
• The basis for figuring travel related to the project and per diem costs must be itemized and made clear, and may not exceed rates for per diem and travel set by the Travel Office.
• Careful justification should be given for the purchase of equipment (including computer software, books, or supplies) which may already exist in the University. Equipment purchased by the research grant becomes the property of the University of Utah. Where leasing equipment is a possible option, the purchase must be justified.
• All proposed expenditures must follow all University of Utah Purchasing and Procurement policies and use best judgment. No exceptions.

Budget Restrictions

1U4U Seed Grant Funding cannot be used for:

• Conducting research at other entities or institutions (including sub-awards). Faculty are expected to conduct their research at/with the University of Utah, apart from fieldwork directly related to the completion of the project.
• Travel that is not directly related to successful completion of the project. Travel to present project findings at conferences/meetings is not allowed.
• Faculty salaries or course/administrative buy-out
• Graduate student-initiated projects
• Support to write dissertations or theses
• Curriculum development
• Career development (e.g., taking courses, attending professional meetings/conferences, etc.)
• Computers or computer hardware (unless the applicant can provide strong evidence that the project cannot be pursued without procuring that specific computer hardware or workstation – contact vprgrants@utah.edu with questions)
• Society/group memberships
• Consultant costs

1U4U applications are reviewed by the 1U4U Review Committee. The 1U4U Review Committee is composed of applicants’ peers, past recipients of 1U4U funding, OURC members, and University Leadership. 1U4U funding recommendations are presented to the VPR. The VPR reviews and approves funding recommendations from the committee.

In general, 1U4U proposals are evaluated on the criteria listed below. Reviewers may also comment on other strengths and weaknesses of the proposal overall. This is to ensure applications receive a thorough review of their quality, merit, impact and feasibility.

• Overall quality and significance of the proposal
• Strength of the proposal's research questions, methodologies, personnel, facilities, etc.
• Likelihood that the seed project will lead to extramural funding.
• Relevance to the topic of “Mental and Behavioral Health”
• Articulated need for funding
• Importance of the work for the growth of the investigator
• Potential impact on the investigator's department, college, and discipline
• Potential Impact of the work on the University of Utah and surrounding communities

Important note: The 1U4U review process has may have additional approval steps that could delay award notification. Typically, the review process will take up to 90 days to complete.

Applications must be submitted via InfoReady.

1U4U Collaborative Seed Grant applications for the FY26 cycle are due by 11:59 PM on Thursday, February 26, 2026. Late applications will not be accepted. 

Apply Here