Getting Started

2025-2026 FRG Program (Due November 8, 2024)

UNC Charlotte, through its Office of the Vice Chancellor for The Division of Research, sponsors an internal Faculty Research Grants (FRG) program designed to assist faculty in conducting well-defined, purposeful, new research or creative or scholarly activities. The program is divided into two categories: continuing faculty, and newly appointed assistant professors.

The 18-month program allows each individual project to have a maximum budget of $8,000, including a stipend of up to $4,200. Faculty submitting joint proposals may request up to $16,000 ($8,000 per faculty member; maximum stipend of $8,400).

Proposals must be uploaded electronically as a single PDF file to Niner Research, UNC Charlotte’s electronic research administration portal. See the FRG Guidelines for more information on Niner Research. Name your file in the following manner: Last name_first name. Joint proposals should use the last names of both faculty members.

Proposals for the 2025-2026 program are due Friday, November 8, 2024 by 5:00pm (all applicants) or Friday, March 21, 2025 by 5:00pm(new assistant professors enrolled in Proposal Development Workshop only*), but please read the FRG Guidelines carefully to note the details of the new Niner Research submission process.

Resources for the 2025-2026 program:

• FRG Guidelines
• FRG Application Forms 2025-2026

For FRG final reports, please use the FRG Final Report Template.

For more information, contact Dr. LaVerne Ellerbe, CRE Director by email or at (704) 687-1880 or Dr. Mel Atkinson, FRG Committee Chair, by email or at (704) 687-7055.

Ignite Planning Grants

Ignite Planning Grants promote new collaborative research efforts and facilitate the development of interdisciplinary teams focused on preparing competitive, large-scale collaborative proposals for significant external funding. Ignite planning grants are intended to enhance existing areas of excellence, accelerate the development of emerging research strengths, and foster interactions between UNC Charlotte faculty and potential collaborators at other institutions. The program aims to lower and eliminate barriers to building collaborative teams and coordinating, planning, and preparing large, interdisciplinary multi-investigator research proposals by providing funds to (1) convene conferences and meetings, (2) coordinate workshops, (3) support travel costs for potential collaborators from other institutions, (4) hire grant-writing consultants and content specialists, and (5) conduct other proposal-development and team-development activities.

Request for Proposals is now closed.

Deadline: tba

Research and Economic Development sponsors the Ignite Planning Grant Program which aims to promote new collaborative research efforts and facilitate the development of interdisciplinary teams focused on preparing competitive, large-scale collaborative proposals for significant external funding.

Ignite grants seek to enhance existing areas of excellence, accelerate the development of emerging strengths, and foster interactions between UNC Charlotte faculty and potential collaborators at other institutions. In an effort to eliminate barriers to building collaborative teams and coordinating, planning, and preparing large, interdisciplinary multi-investigator research proposals, Ignite provides funds to:

• Convene conferences and meetings
• Coordinate workshops
• Support travel costs for potential collaborators from other institutions
• Hire grant-writing consultants and content specialists
• Conduct other proposal-development and team-development activities.

Ignite grants are designed to support and incentivize stronger collaborative relationships among researchers from different colleges and disciplines with the goal of increasing UNC Charlotte’s competitiveness in attracting extramural funding and research support, especially in the areas of focus and distinction identified in the Top-tier Research Commission Report. Recipients of these one-time awards are expected to submit multiple applications and proposals for significant funding from diverse sources within the 24-month award period, thereby helping to position these teams of researchers to obtain the external funding needed to sustain future activities and research related to the project.

Award Focus and Scope

Ignite awards are intended to build capacity in research areas that are strategically important at regional, state, and national levels. While the Ignite program is open to all fields, of particular interest are proposals that focus on one or more of the areas of research focus and distinction identified by the Top-Tier Research Commission.

Regardless of the research theme or focus, proposers must fully describe how their research aligns with priority areas identified by state and federal agencies and policy offices (e.g., National Science Foundation’s Strategic Plan, NIH Strategic Plan, Office of Science and Technology Policy Priorities, and National Endowment for the Humanities Strategic Plan) and/or national organizations and professional societies.

Award Amount and Duration

Faculty and staff teams can apply for one-time grants of up to $50,000 per year for up to two years (24 months; $100,000 maximum direct costs). Facility and Administrative (F&A) costs are not required. We anticipate funding 4-6 awards annually. The second year of funding will be contingent upon the team’s performance and progress during year 1, including their successful attainment of proposed milestones. Annual reports detailing the activities and progress of the planning efforts will be due 45 days prior to the anniversary date of the project. Extensions are not permitted.

The expected start date for FY2025 awards is TBA.

To promote the success of proposals resulting from Ignite awards, successful teams will be expected to partner with the Center for Research Excellence to prepare and submit proposals through the Center’s Complex, Large, Interdisciplinary Proposal Preparation (CLIPP) program.

Who Can Serve as PI?

Full-time, tenured/tenure-track faculty at UNC Charlotte are eligible to serve as principal investigators (PI) on Ignite proposals. UNC Charlotte faculty (tenured/tenure-track, teaching, adjunct, and/or research faculty), instructors, post-docs, and staff, as well as faculty and researchers from other institutions, are eligible to serve as senior personnel. There is no limit to the number of senior personnel on a project. Only one faculty member can serve as PI and an individual faculty may only serve as PI on one proposal or active award. However, individuals may participate as senior personnel on up to three (3) proposals and/or awards.

How Do I Apply?

The full Request for Proposals (RFP) is available here.

Applications for the 2025 competition are due at TBA.

Questions?

Questions regarding this program announcement should be directed to Dr. LaVerne Ellerbe, Director of the Center for Research Excellence, at lellerb1@uncc.edu.

Bridge Funding provides short-term financial support to faculty to span a temporary period or gap in extramural support. The funding targets productive faculty and established projects that have a track record of support and that demonstrate a high probability of continued funding by external sponsors. Thus, Bridge Funding awards are for existing, ongoing research programs that have lost funding. They are not intended to provide seed funding, support new projects or new research directions, or makeup shortfalls in active awards.

Funding Available

A maximum of $100,000 in bridge funding may be requested for 12 months. The applicant’s department or unit is expected to provide 25% of the total requested funds. The remaining 75% is split between Research and Economic Development (25%) and Academic Affairs (50%). Thus, the ratio of the cofunding is 1:1:2.

Eligibility

• Full-time, tenure-track or tenured faculty with a history of extramural funding. Faculty with significant funding for other projects or from other sources are not eligible.
• The faculty member must have been a PI on a grant-funded for at least three consecutive years by a national agency or sponsor.
• A proposal for continued support of the project must have been submitted within 9 months of the project’s anticipated end date or new end date if the project is unexpectedly terminated. If funding ran out before the submission of a renewal/new application for extramural funding, the project is not eligible for a bridge award.

Application Materials

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Materials should be submitted as a packet to the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development.

• Cover letter from the PI that (1) explains the circumstances and need for bridge funding, (2) describes how the funding will increase the likelihood of a future award, and (3) documents the feedback from any unsuccessful attempts to secure funding for the project.
• Letter of support from the applicant’s Department Chair or unit head that includes a commitment to match the funds requested.
• An updated curriculum vitae.
• A summary (in tabular form) of the proposals (declined and pending) submitted in the last 12 months to support the project. The summary should include the funding source/agency and the date of submission.
• List of other sources of support available to the faculty member within the next 12 months, including internal grants and start-up funds.
• Reviews or critiques from recent submissions.
• A detailed budget and budget justification that includes both the bridge and matching funds.

Allowable Expenses

Bridge Awards may be used for:

• Materials, supplies, and consumables
• Salaries and benefits for research support staff

Bridge Awards may not be used for:

• Travel (except to reach the research site/location)
• Equipment or equipment repairs
• Faculty salaries
• Tuition
• Consultants or subawards

Spending and Repayment

Awarded funds must be spent during the award period and in the following order: department/unit, Research and Economic Development, and Academic Affairs. No cost extensions are not permitted. If the PI receives a new award within the bridge funding period, any unexpended funds must be returned to the funding sources.

Review Process

Bridge funding applications will be reviewed by the Provost and the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development. Priority will be given to applicants that have not received bridge funding awards in the past 5 years. Award notifications are typically made within 6 weeks of the submission date.

CLIPP (Complex, Large, or Interdisciplinary Proposal Preparation)

Large‐scale, complex grants often provide opportunities for faculty to engage in new or emerging areas of interdisciplinary research that may have a disproportionate impact on their field or discipline. They typically involve multiple departments, disciplines, and colleges and require coordination among collaborators and research offices at several institutions. Consequently, large, complex proposals are difficult to prepare, requiring significant time and resources to (1) establish and build relationships among participating partners, (2) identify and cultivate appropriate collaborators, and (3) draft and assemble the administrative (non‐technical) components of the proposal. Thus, CLIPP (Complex, Large, or Interdisciplinary Proposal Preparation) is intended to help build the research capacity of the University by providing enhanced support to teams of faculty interested in preparing and submitting large, complex grant proposals to external funding agencies.

Projects selected for participation in CLIPP will be eligible for enhanced pre‐submission support from the Center for Research Excellence, including help with the following:

• Coordinating team communication;
• Organizing, convening, and facilitating meetings of potential stakeholders and participants;
• Formulating proposal outlines (based on the solicitation), timelines, and application checklists,
• Clarifying proposal guidelines;
• Identifying existing university resources that can be leveraged to support the proposal, including connecting to campus resources for Broader Impacts;
• Identifying potential partners and collaborators;
• Gathering institutional data on student enrollment, performance, and outcomes;
• Securing documentation of institutional support (e.g., letters of support or commitment, matching funds or cost‐sharing commitments);
• Developing and reviewing supporting documents (e.g., proposal documents, supporting letters or supplementary documents, data management plans, mentoring plans);
• Developing relationships with funding agencies and program officers;
• Coordinating draft proposal reviews.

To be eligible for CLIPP, projects must meet one or more of the following criteria. Preference will be given to projects that meet more than one of the criteria:

• Annual budget of over $250,000 or total project period dollar value over $2 million;
• Involve senior personnel (faculty and/or staff) from two or more departments or colleges working on an interdisciplinary project; or
• Involve two or more institutions, businesses, or organizations with UNC Charlotte as the lead.

Applications must include the completed CLIPP application.

Questions?

Contact Stacy Leotta, Assistant Director & Program Coordinator in the Center for Research Excellence, sleotta@charlotte.edu.

The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) involves the disciplinary, cross-disciplinary, and inter-disciplinary study of teaching practice and student learning. UNC Charlotte’s SoTL program has an impact beyond the individual teacher, classroom, department, an