OVPR-Administered Opportunities

• Applicants must be tenured or tenure-track faculty.
• A faculty member may receive either an RCG or Special Research Grant (SRG), but not both, in a given academic year (September 1, 2023, through August 31, 2024).
• Applicants must be in residence during the period of the award.
• Professors and Chairs with balances greater than $50,000 in chair, professorship or other discretionary funds are ineligible.
• Faculty with any remaining start-up funds are ineligible.
• Each faculty member may submit only one proposal during each funding cycle.
• Applicants cannot receive RCGs for the same project in multiple award cycles. Applicants submitting a proposal closely related to a previously RCG-funded project must demonstrate that the new application is substantially different.
• Applicant PI must be committed to, leading and actively engaged in the proposed project.
• Faculty who received awards in the past five years are ineligible for funding.
• Current members of the Review Committee are not eligible to apply for RCG funding.  

• Faculty development—activities such as learning a new technique, language, methodology or completing a thesis or dissertation. 
• Institutional research—studies related directly to the operation of the university that are not generalizable and have little application beyond UT. 
• Public service and consulting. 
• Departmental curriculum development, such as the preparation of curriculum materials, curriculum modifications and student interest surveys. (Curriculum Development that includes empirical studies of the effectiveness of new program formats, or techniques and content that are generalizable and have application beyond UT may be considered research for this grant program.) 
• Edited work. Although the process allows for collaboration, the research or creative project must be the work of the named applicant.

Deadlines and important dates will be posted here when the grants open for submission.

Proposals must be submitted online via InfoReady Review by the deadline.

Applicants will select the panel under which they would like their project to be reviewed: 

• Panel 1: Arts, Humanities and Law 
• Panel 2: Social Sciences, Business, Communication and Education 
• Panel 3: Life Sciences 
• Panel 4: Biomedical Sciences 
• Panel 5: Physical Sciences, Mathematics, Engineering and Information        
   

Proposals will include the following (to be submitted in the following order as a single PDF). Proposals not meeting these guidelines will be returned: 

1. Title must include the panel number, e.g. “Panel 3: Title Here.” 
2. PDF File Name must read “Last Name_First Name_Panel Number.” 
3. Brief (150-word maximum) project abstract. These will be used for promotion and announcement purposes. Please write for the non-specialist. 
4. Project Plan (Maximum of six single-spaced pages). All proposals should clearly explain the merits of the research project relative to advancement of his/her discipline or field of work. Include need for compliance approval, such as IRB, IACUC and IBC. 
5. Up to two pages (separate from the text of the project plan) for references and/or graphics (Optional). Please provide a link for any video examples. 
6. Detailed budget and Justification. Budgets must be itemized and listed items must total no more than $10,000. If part of a larger project, such as a film, please provide a separate budget for the overall project. 
7. Other support requested or received for the proposed project. 
8. Uses and results of any previous VPR Grant support. 
9. Curriculum Vitae in outline form (two pages or less). 
10. A list of any collaborators on this project.        
     

Please be aware of the following: 

• Proposals related to fields for which outside funding is likely should contain clearly defined plans to obtain future funding for this project, including funding agencies to which proposal(s) will be submitted, amount(s) requested, research topic(s) and anticipated timeline for submission and results. 
• For applicants with existing external funding, the proposal must demonstrate that the funds will be used to initiate new research directions or new research projects separate from existing projects.
• The review panel will comprise faculty from various related disciplines. Please write so that a reviewer from any discipline can understand and evaluate it.  

The maximum grant amount is $10,000. Proposals are not required to seek the maximum.

• Budgets must be itemized, and listed items must total no more than $10,000.
• If this request is toward a larger project, please include a separate, overall project budget. 

Allowable Costs

• Research assistants 
• Research-associated travel (for grant holder only) 
• Research supplies and materials 
• Small items of research equipment. Funds to purchase equipment can often be obtained from the applicant's dean or chair, so any equipment items requested must be fully justified.
• Software may be purchased only if it is highly specialized research software fully justified by the scholarly demands of the proposed work. General purpose software is not allowable.
• Computer hardware may be purchased only if it is highly specialized research hardware fully justified by the scholarly demands of the proposed work. General purpose hardware is not allowable.

Unallowable Costs 

• Faculty salaries
• Any expenditure prohibited from an indirect cost account
• Student tuition, fellowships, scholarships or stipends
• Any pre-publication manuscript preparation expenses: copy editing, photos for publication, etc. 
• Books, CDs, DVDs or videos 
• Page charges, reprints or subventions for publication 
• Indexing
• Travel or registration expenses for attending professional meetings or symposia 
• Tuition and fees 
• General-purpose software 
• General-purpose equipment—cameras, recording equipment, etc. 
• Computer time, computer hardware or peripherals 
• Conference registration or travel expenses 
• Research-related costs incurred prior to the start date of the RCG award

Criteria

Competing proposals will be ranked by a committee of peers. All applicants will be judged on the following criteria: 

• Intrinsic, scientific, scholarly or creative excellence of the work. 
• Evidence of work plan soundness and investigator’s ability to carry out the project. 
• Importance of proposed work to the knowledge of the discipline. 
• Impact on the completion of the scholar’s creative activity. How much will this funding make the project better? How much will this impact the project? 
• Likelihood of obtaining external funding and/or generating activities consistent with the highest standards of the discipline will be given the highest priority. 
• A clearly-defined plan for using RCG funding to leverage future funding (for fields where external funding is likely). 

Review Process 

Applicants will request a specific review panel: 

• Panel 1: Arts, Humanities and Law 
• Panel 2: Social Sciences, Business, Communication and Education 
• Panel 3: Life Sciences 
• Panel 4: Biomedical Sciences 
• Panel 5: Physical Sciences, Mathematics, Engineering and Information 

Each panel will provide scores and comments using the following scoring scale: 

• Outstanding (Point value: 5): Vitally important project undertaken by a qualified investigator who can be expected to make substantial progress and has potential for generating activities consistent with the highest standards of the discipline. This rating should be reserved for truly excellent proposals but should be used when warranted. 
• Excellent (Point Value: 4): Proposal considered superior, both for the intrinsic merit of the project and the ability of the investigator. Should be supported. 
• Very Good (Point Value 3): Proposal considered superior, both for the intrinsic merit of the project and the ability of the investigator. Should be fully or partially supported with recommendation for scope or budgetary adjustment. 
• Good (Point Value: 2): Worthwhile project by a competent investigator, but routine in nature. May be supported if funds are available. 
• Fair (Point Value: 1): Proposal has serious deficiencies that decrease the probability of successful completion. Might merit consideration in future competitions if resubmitted with major changes.
• Poor (Point Value 0): Clearly not deserving of support or is written in language that prohibits adequate merit evaluation by reviewers. 

Applications with the highest average point value will receive funding depending on availability.

General Terms & Conditions 

• Funds will not be released until appropriate compliance approvals such as IRB/IACUC/IBC have been received (if applicable). 
• In no case will approval be given for expenditures in excess of the total amount of the award or after the closing date of the grant period. 
• Fiscal regulations governing expenditure of UT and State funds must be observed, and all purchases must be made using university and State of Texas guidelines. See the Financial and Accounting Services Handbook of Operating Procedures for policies and processes around expenditures or reach out to the appropriate departmental accounting contact for assistance.
• This is not a cash award. Funds are made available through an account established for the awardee’s department by OVPR and the Office of Accounting. This is not a personal account, nor should it be used to deposit funds aside from those deposited by OVPR for RCGs. 
• If the research leads to a submission and a positive funding decision during the award period, the remaining RCG program funds must be returned when external funding commences. 
• Any and all changes to the funded budget included in a proposal must be approved in advance and in writing by OVPR. Please submit requests to modify with specific dollar amounts and justification via email to VPRcompetitions@austin.utexas.edu.
• Out-of-pocket expenses paid for with personal funds will not be reimbursed from RCG funds except in the case of PI travel outside the Austin area. 
• All awards are subject to the intellectual property policy of The University of Texas System. 
• Travel expenses paid from RCG funds are subject to State regulations, and are only allowed for the RCG holder. Please follow guidelines established per department for travel. The account number can be charged directly if the awardee chooses to arrange travel through one of the University’s approved travel agents. 
• Any funds remaining after completion of the project will be returned to OVPR. 
• Employment of personnel must be in accordance with established University regulations. Please note that fringe benefit costs are automatically covered, but ITS core data and network charges are not. Cost is calculated per FTE. Professors awarded RCGs may not be paid any monies from grants except reimbursement for travel per university regulations. 
• RCG award recipients will be expected to serve as reviewers on future RCG review committees. 

Reporting Requirements 

A final project report will be due by February 14, 2025, with a follow-up report due February 13, 2026, using the report form assigned to awardees in InfoReady. This report will include results directly related to the RCG:

• Summary of results during the course of the project and how they addressed the goals stated in the application. 
• Budget report outlining utilization of funds. 
• Resulting publications, performances, conferences, exhibits, including titles, dates, venues, bibliographic information.
• Progress in applying for external funding, including titles, agencies, date submitted (past and future), amounts requested, status, awarded amount.
• Recognition: awards, honors, prizes, reviews.

Additional follow‐up information may be requested outside of the progress report to determine the ongoing efficacy of the RCG program. 

Find previous Research & Creative Grants recipients.

• SRG applications will be reviewed on the basis of merit to the discipline and relevance to the university’s research mission. 
• A SRG recipient can receive only one SRG per academic year and no more than three in any five-year period. Collaborative projects can only be funded once in the same academic year. 
• An applicant cannot receive both an OVPR Research and Creative Grant (RCG) and an SRG in the same academic year (i.e., September 1, 2023, through August 31, 2024). Applicants cannot receive SRGs for the same project in multiple award cycles.
• SRGs for the same project in multiple award cycles. 
• Applicant PI must be committed to, leading and actively engaged in the proposed project.
• SRG funds are not intended to supplement existing large funding mechanisms you may hold.

• Faculty development—activities such as learning a new technique, language, methodology or completing a thesis or dissertation. 
• Institutional research—studies related directly to the operation of the university that are not generalizable and have little application beyond UT. 
• Public service and consulting. 
• Departmental curriculum development, such as the preparation of curriculum materials, curriculum modifications and student interest surveys. (Curriculum Development that includes empirical studies of the effectiveness of new program formats, or techniques and content that are generalizable and have application beyond UT may be considered research for this grant program.) 
• Edited work. Although collaboration is allowed, the research or creative project must be the original work of the named applicant.

Budgets must be itemized, and all items listed must total no more than $2,000. Projects are funded based on approved itemized expenditures to which the PI will be held. Any changes to the approved budget will require OVPR approval. 

Allowable Costs 

• Travel to research site beyond the Austin area for the PI only. 
• Research equipment, supplies and materials. 
• Highly specialized computer software required for the project. Note that the University retains ownership of all equipment and/or software acquired with SRG funds, which will remain the property of the researcher’s department. 
• Salary for research assistants, translators, transcribers or technicians. 

Unallowable Costs 

• Researcher’s salary or fringe benefits. 
• Fellowships, scholarships, tuition, fees or student travel. 
• Books, journal subscriptions, music tapes, CDs or DVDs. 
• Any expense related to manuscript preparation or book publication including indexing, page charges, reprints, copy editing, photographs for publication or book subventions. 
• Any costs related to dissemination of the completed research. 
• Computer time, hardware, software (unless very highly specialized) or computer peripherals. 
• General-purpose computer equipment or software (e.g., laptops, Microsoft Word, etc.) 
• Travel or registration costs for professional conferences, meetings, classes or symposia. 
• Professional membership fees. 
• Entertainment expenses (e.g., refreshments, etc.) 
• Office supplies unless specifically required for the proposed projects. 
• Any expenses not allowed in an indirect cost account. 
• Expenses related to grant losses (e.g., losses as a result of currency fluctuations) 
• Expenditures before the award issue date.  

Disbursement of Awarded Funds 

SRGs become effective upon award notification. If applicable and an award is made, required IRB (human subjects), IBC (biohazardous material) or IACUC (animal subjects) approval must be submitted to OVPR prior to disbursement of SRG funds to the recipient. The funded project cannot begin until approval is granted by the appropriate institutional agent and proof of approval has been provided to OVPR. 

Administration of Awarded Funds 

• Any and all changes to the funded budget included in the proposal must be approved in advance and in writing by OVPR. Please submit requests to modify with specific dollar amounts and justification via email to VPRcompetitions@austin.utexas.edu.
• SRGs are not cash awards. Funds are made available through an indirect cost account established by the Office of Accounting in the department’s name specifically for containing OVPR awards. In expending these funds, all regulations governing expenditures of State funds must be observed. 
• Reimbursement for items purchased with personal funds is not permitted from SRG funds, except in the case of travel expenses (for the PI only). Travel expenses paid from SRG funds are subject to the same regulations as travel expenses paid from State-funded departmental travel accounts. Requests for Travel Authorization (VE5) require prior approval. 
• Employment of research assistants, technicians and other research support staff must be in accordance with established University regulations. Travel reimbursement is only available to the award recipient. 
• Production of fiscal documents (purchase orders, requisitions, travel vouchers, personnel appointment forms, vouchers, etc.) and accounting for the grant is the responsibility of the award recipient and his/her departmental accounting contact. 

A completed final report is due to the OVPR by Monday, November 25, 2024. A follow-up report is due one year later, by November 24, 2025. Both should be submitted through InfoReady and automated reminders with submission information will be sent from InfoReady. Missing final reports will make the awardee ineligible for future OVPR Special Research Grants and OVPR Research and Creative Grants.

For more information, please contact us.