Funding opportunities

Whether you’re a prospective postdoc, new faculty member or research collaborator, University of Idaho offers robust support to help you pursue impactful research. Through internal programs and external funding sources, we’re here to help you secure the resources you need to move your work forward.

Find funding and proposal support

The Office of Research and Economic Development (ORED) provides comprehensive assistance to help University of Idaho faculty members identify, pursue and secure funding for their research and scholarly activities.

Sponsored programs administrators (SPA): If you’ve identified a funding opportunity and are ready to prepare a proposal, our SPA team can guide you through eligibility, compliance and the submission process.
Proposal development support: Our proposal development specialist offers assistance in obtaining funding sources and strengthening proposals.

Explore external funding opportunities

Pivot

U of I subscribes to Pivot, a comprehensive funding database that includes government funding agencies, private foundations and other funding organizations. You can create and save custom searches tailored to your research interests. Visit the Pivot website or contact the Research and Faculty Development team for more information.

Federal agencies

Grants.gov is a portal to all federal grant opportunities. U of I uses Cayuse424, a submission program for Grants.gov proposals.

Grant information for specific agencies is available at:

Corporations and private foundations

Sometimes funding opportunities arise through private industry collaborations or discussions with sponsor program officers. We advise that you inform the Office of Sponsored Programs, your department chair and your dean early in the discussion process in order to assess risk and address any potential issues.

Additionally, make sure to contact the University of Idaho Foundation before preparing an application.

Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission

The Higher Education Research Council of the Idaho State Board of Education has released an RFP for research proposals to support the goals of the Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission (IGEM) initiative.

The purpose of this call is to enhance research capacity at University of Idaho by building on existing strengths that will impact economic development in the state. These proposals can be up to $700,000 per year for a maximum of three years. Proposals must have an impact on the private sector.

To select the most competitive proposals for submission, there will be an internal competition based on a review of pre-proposals. The pre-proposal should be responsive to the RFP as well as describe the project, its potential impact, private sector interest and support, key personnel and expected outcomes. This should not exceed three pages.

In addition, an abbreviated proposed budget should be attached. This budget should include funds to be requested from IGEM as well as contributions from other sources such as the university, private sector, etc. All pre-proposals must be endorsed by the appropriate college dean(s). Researchers are encouraged to consult with deans and university administrators during development.

Internal U of I funding opportunities

Research and Faculty Development Programs (FY24)

Operation Resubmission Success: A funding program that is intended to support U of I faculty members looking to resubmit competitive federal grant proposals that received favorable reviews but were not funded.
Meet Your Program Officer: A travel grant program that supports up to 50% of travel costs (not to exceed $1,200) to meet program officers to discuss your grant proposal ideas.

Both programs have rolling deadlines for FY24. For details, contact Senior Director of Research and Faculty Development Carly Cummings (ccummings@uidaho.edu).

P3-R1 Grant Matching Program

University of Idaho is investing an additional $3 million of institutional funds annually in its efforts to increase research productivity and expand the number of doctoral degrees awarded. This funding, enabled by a public-private partnership on the university’s energy infrastructure, is named the P3-R1 Initiative.

P3-R1 funding will be deployed through three mechanisms:

Matching competitive externally funded grants
Matching new, externally funded endowed fellowships
Strategic initiatives

The purpose of this investment is to incentivize change and incentivize actions that will:

Significantly increase the award of research/scholarship doctoral degrees at U of I
Significantly increase the amount of externally funded research at the U of I
Increase the effective F&A rate of externally funded research at U of I

Questions can be addressed to Senior Associate Vice President for Research and Economic Development Brad Ritts at ritts@uidaho.edu.

Gift vs. grant determination

Not sure whether your proposal qualifies as a gift or a sponsored project? The Office of Sponsored Programs manages the process to make this determination, offering a clear process to help researchers determine classification and handle appropriate submission protocols.