Research Development

2310

Researchers Trained

331

Seed Grants Awarded

137

Capital Equipment Grants Awarded

31000

GrantForward Opportunities

The Research Development Division was established in 2008 as the Office of Proposal Development to assist USU researchers in developing stronger proposals for submission to external sponsors. The division was renamed Research Development in 2015 to more accurately reflect the work being done. Since its establishment, the division has grown from a one-person shop to a network of college-based specialists, whose primary goal is to relieve researchers of the logistics of proposal development and submission to allow more time to focus on technical writing. To achieve this, network specialists can help researchers from beginning to end of the proposal development and submission process, or at any point throughout depending on needs and/or wants.

The ultimate goal of the Division is to foster a competitive advantage in the search for external funding by helping researchers develop strong and successful proposal writing skills and research portfolios, and ultimately expand the revenue created by externally funded research at USU.

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NIH R15 Program: Change in USU Eligibility
As of October 1, 2022, USU is ineligible to submit to the NIH R15 program.

USU researchers can review the Office of Research memo in Box. If you have any difficulties accessing the memo, please email Jeri Hansen.

Upcoming Deadlines Calendar icon

FY24 Cycle 1 Seed Grants
June 15, 2023

FY24 cycle 1 seed grant applications are due June 15, 2023. Be sure to check with your Dean’s Office on internal deadline. Awarded grants will begin September 1, 2023.


LIMITED SUBMISSION Notice of Intent
NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program
NSF submission window October 16 - November 15

The Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) serves to increase access to shared scientific and engineering instruments for research and research training in our nation's institutions of higher education, not-for-profit museums, science centers, and scientific/engineering research organizations. The program provides organizations with opportunities to acquire major instrumentation that supports the research and research training goals of the organization and that may be used by other researchers regionally or nationally.


Upcoming Events & Trainings Calendar icon

Datapalooza 2023
March 22, 2023
1:30 - 3:15pm
In-person and virtual (Zoom)

Join the USU Libraries for Datapalooza 2023! Topics to be covered are Data 101, ORCID, and the research data lifecycle with presentations from librarians and researchers across campus. Light refreshments will be served. Registration is required.


Interacting with Program Officers Workshop
March 29, 2023
3:00 - 4:30pm MT
Virtual event (Zoom)

The Office of Research’s Interacting with Program Officers workshop provides faculty with a better understanding of the role of funding agency program officers/leaders and why their feedback is important to increasing funding chances. The workshop will offer tips on how to develop a relationship with program officers/leaders, including advice on effective communication and common mistakes to avoid, and the importance of confirming if research ideas align with agency/program goals. The workshop will also include an interactive panel discussion with former program officers/leaders who are now at USU.


CHaSS Grant Writing Charrette
March 31, 2023
Noon - 3:00pm MT
Applications are due by March 17

The College of Humanities & Social Sciences, the Office of Research, and USU Libraries will sponsor a grant-writing charrette - a hands-on collaborative peer review session - for researchers who will soon be submitting external grants, research fellowships, residential fellowships, humanities awards, and other sponsored activities and research. Participants will share a grant proposal in progress with a small group of fellow participants and receive targeted, actionable feedback. Participation in the workshop is by application only.


2023 Proposal Writing Institute
May 15, 18, 22, 25, June 1, 5, 8, 12, 15, 2023
10:00am - noon MT

The fifteenth annual Proposal Writing Institute (PWI) will be held in late Spring 2023 to assist researchers in learning to develop high-quality proposals for extramural funding. The PWI is conducted via a small-group setting allowing for individualized attention and the development of rapport among participants and the various staff members across campus who support them. Acceptance to participate in the Institute is a competitive process and faculty should check with their Dean's Office on its internal application deadline.


Graduate Student Proposal Writing Seminar
September 19, 26, October 3, 10, 2023
1:00 - 3:00pm MT
Virtual event (Zoom)
Registration opens August 2023

The goal of this seminar is to provide those with little to no proposal writing knowledge or experience with a framework of how to place a proposal in the context of a project. This seminar will help demystify the proposal process and emphasizes how the approaches taught can also be applied to planning and writing a thesis project or paper for publication. Seminar content is spread out over the four days (i.e., new content each day). Participants must attend all four days to receive the full training.


Faculty Proposal Writing Seminar
October 27, November 3, 10, 17, 2023
1:00 - 3:00pm MT
Virtual event (Zoom)
Registration opens August 2023

The goal of this seminar is to provide those with some proposal writing experience with new approaches and ways to think about preparing a proposal. The approaches taught during the seminar will help demystify the proposal writing process but at the same time provide concrete tools to use in organizing the information and arguments necessary for the development of a compelling proposal. Seminar content is spread out over the four days (i.e., new content each day). Participants must attend all four days to receive the full training.


Arts and Humanities Proposal Writing Seminar
January 26, February 2, 9, 16, 2024
1:00 - 3:00pm MT
Virtual event (Zoom)
Registration opens Fall 2023

This seminar emphasizes the why as well as the how of proposal writing to help arts and humanities faculty and advanced graduate students develop the proposal writing techniques they need to competitively apply to the specialized sponsors of creative activities and research. Seminar content is spread out over the four days (i.e., new content each day). Participants must attend all four days to receive the full training.

Seed Grants and Funding

Seed Program to Advance Research Collaborations
The Seed Program to Advance Research Collaborations (SPARC) provides funding to catalyze the development of interdisciplinary research teams and projects that involve research/creative scholarship in more than one department, research center, college, or institution.

Research Catalyst Program
The Research Catalyst (RC) program provides funding to help applicants develop new initiatives or directions in their discipline. The purpose of this program is to seed research/creative scholarship that will lead to external funding.

Grant-Writing Experience through Mentorship Program
The Grant-Writing Experience through Mentorship (GEM) program provides funding to enhance the professional development of investigators through one-on-one research/creative scholarship and grant-writing interaction with successful mentors.

Capital Equipment Grants Program
The Capital Equipment Grant program is an annual grants program to purchase capital equipment to support research and creative activities at USU, receiving an allocation from the recovered F&A pool.