Program Description

The goal of the Research Incentive Seed Grant Program is to support investigators in collecting preliminary data in new, innovative research areas that will be leveraged for extramural grant applications. In brief:

• The VPR approves a set amount of funds for each college. The amount of these funds is based on the extramural award performance of the college.
• Each college will run a competitive seed grant program that aligns with their specific needs.
• Colleges will submit a list of research projects to the VPR that they recommend for seed funding.
• After final VPR approval, the awarded PI’s will work with the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) to set-up a DSS account to access the seed funds.

Eligibility Criteria

• Tenure-line faculty and Career-line faculty who hold at least a .75 FTE appointment are eligible to apply.
• Faculty must be in-residence at the University of Utah to be considered for Seed funding.
• Faculty in Institutes/Centers/Programs, the Honors College, and the Libraries will need to apply via their home colleges.
• 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 in the Final Report.
• 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, PI’s cannot receive funding from the URC program and the Research Incentive Seed Grant 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.
• An applicant may only apply to one College's internal seed grant competition at a time as PI. An applicant may act as co-PI on up to 5 additional VPR seed grant submissions.

Budget Guidelines

Grant funds cannot be used for:

• Travel that is not directly related to project research (including curriculum or career development, taking courses, or attending professional meetings and conferences)
• Society/group memberships, consultants, large research instrumentation, or office equipment (including computers) unless clearly and convincingly justified

Final Report Information

• A Final Report will be due to the VPR Office and the awardees’ colleges within 90 days of the project end-date. Investigators will submit their Final Report to their Associate Dean for Research who must approve the report at the college level to ensure that the college’s goals and requirements have been met. Approved reports will then be reviewed by the VPR Office.
• Final reports must include proof of proposal submission to an extramural funding agency. If the investigator has not submitted to an extramural funding agency at the close of the seed grant, their final report will not be approved by the VPR Office.
• Investigators with outstanding final reports are not eligible for additional funding from the VPR Office.

Submit an Application

Information on accessing your College's internal competition will be published as soon as it is available. ALL internal competition information will be available starting October 7th, 2022.