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Pilot Research Grants (PRG)

Pilot Research Grants (PRG) provide seed funds to develop new proposals deemed likely to attract external funding. They primarily support recently appointed faculty; those entering a new research area in which they do not have significant external funding; and scholarly work in disciplines in which external support is limited. In all cases, the goal is to submit a proposal for external funding.

Funds up to $20K can be requested for research supplies, maintenance of essential equipment, travel, or technical personnel. Applicants must demonstrate that travel, if budgeted, is essential to the project, and a departmental matching contribution or cost sharing to cover some of the travel costs is encouraged. Defrayal of professional society dues is not allowed.

All PRGs are subject to the Terms and Conditions for Internal Awards (DOC). The project period is 1 year, with the possibility of a 1-year, no-cost extension. When awarded, the grants manager will establish an account and disburse the funds on the written authority of the investigator or a designated representative. Any balance unexpended at the grant’s expiration will be returned to ORSP, unless an extension (without additional funds) is requested in writing 10 days prior to the grant’s end date.

Projects awarded during the fall competition will begin no later than June 1. Projects awarded during the spring competition will begin no later than December 1.

Final Report: The abstract from a submitted external proposal that resulted from the PRG must be submitted to ORSP as a final report within 90 days of award termination.

Eligibility: Full-time, tenured or tenure-track faculty and research support staff with adjunct faculty appointments on the Reynolda campus may apply. Nontenure-track faculty may be considered, if their appointments continue through the award year. Preference will be given to those who have not previously received an award. The same project, regardless of PI, may not receive more than 2 awards.

Post Docs are eligible to apply if their department agrees to cost share 1/2 of the total grant; and, in order to receive the award, the post doc must be PI eligible, i.e., appointed assistant research professor or higher where sole PI status is allowed (for external funding).

Bridge Funding: Experienced researchers whose renewal applications to external sponsors are declined may request one-time bridge funding at any time of the year. To apply, submit the declined renewal proposal’s reviewer comments, a 2-page plan addressing them, an Application for Internal Funds form, an abstract, and a 1-page budget.

Proposal Preparation: The Application for Internal Funds form must be completed and signed by the applicant and the appropriate department chair or equivalent. Forms are available above. See p. 2 for application instructions and a proposal checklist. A font size of 11 pt or larger should be used.

Format: (up to 5 pages)

1. Abstract: A 1-paragraph summary of the proposed activity suitable for publication, and sharing, such as in the ORSP annual report.

2. Objectives: State precisely what the research will accomplish, the rationale for undertaking it, and what hypothesis it will test (if relevant).

3. Background and Significance: Summarize the most pertinent previous work and the current state of the field, including your own preliminary data. Identify the gaps that the proposed project is intended to fill and why they are important for moving the field forward. If your project is successful, what will it have accomplished?.

4. Methods: Discuss the methods proposed to accomplish project objectives in sufficient detail to allow assessment of their feasibility and applicability. How will the methods allow the research to answer the research questions stated in the objectives? If proposing new methods, describe their advantages. If several experiments are proposed, indicate their priority. Indicate the type of data to be generated, and how they will be analyzed (e.g., proposed statistical design and analysis). If the output is new methodology, explain how the new methods will be assessed relative to existing approaches. Briefly identify any potential pitfalls or limitations in procedures and suggest remedies. Provide plans for future efforts, including submission to external sponsors. Include a timeline.

5. References: Include only the most pertinent.

6. Timetable: A timetable for completing and publishing or presenting results, including planned dates for external funding submission.

7. Other Sources of Funding (if applicable): Please list all sources of funding available to you, including discretionary accounts, as well as pending applications. For each source, please list their current or requested balances and a statement as to the planned use for discretionary funds or the objective of the fellowship or grant for external funds. If other sources of funding exist, clearly describe overlap between projects, if any, and explain why the work in this proposal is outside the scope of the other funding.

All applications must include:

1. Budget: ($20,000 maximum). Include a brief budget justification. If the requested funds are inadequate to complete the project, indicate the source and amount of additional funds. Funds may not be budgeted for subawards to other institutions.

  1. Equipment. Justify why the equipment is necessary for the proposed study.
  2. Supplies (list major categories)
  3. Personnel
    • Funds for faculty salary and secretarial support will not be considered.
    • Funds for undergraduate student support are rarely granted, since they can usually be obtained through the WFU Undergraduate Research Fellowships.
    • Funds for technical support staff have been granted occasionally since no other campus source supports these costs. If requesting such funds, include appropriate fringe benefits.
    • Funds for graduate students will be considered only if the funds will be used exclusively for the pilot research (and not for existing/ongoing research projects). If funding for a graduate student is requested, funds for a stipend, tuition, health insurance, and other fees should be included in the budget. Summer support will also be considered with justification. In addition, applications should include documentation of the nature of the work of the student and the planned hours. During the project, the applicant should track the actual number of hours the graduate student spent on the project, especially if the student worked on more than one project during the funding period. Please see the Graduate Assistantship Stipends and guidance for Graduate Student Tuition and Fees on Sponsored Projects on the ORSP website for more information.
  4. Travel. There are many alternate avenues for faculty conference travel.  Please only include faculty travel after justifying why other internal funds cannot be used or if the travel will be for field work.
  5. Other (computer charges, audiovisual costs, hazardous waste disposal costs)

2. CV: up to 2 pages.

3. Description and Outcome of Previous Internal awards: Briefly describe internal awards received within the past 5 years and their outcomes.

4. Plan for External Submission: Indicate the agency name, program, and/or funding opportunity number to which you will submit the external proposal resulting from the PRG. Include the deadline, if known. If you need assistance in identifying a sponsor, please contact Stephen Williams, williasl@wfu.edu.

5. Resubmissions: If this application is a revision of a previously submitted proposal, the Resubmission Addendum will need to be completed and included with the revised application.

6. WFU Collaborators: List any WFU collaborators who may have a Conflict of Interest reviewing your proposal.

Appendices are discouraged, and reviewers are not required to read them.

Projects involving compliance requirements (i.e., human subjects, animals, toxins, etc.) must seek appropriate committee approval prior to project initiation. All related training must be complete prior to start of award.

Incomplete or late applications will not be reviewed.

Please send the complete Application for Internal Funds form and proposal in one PDF file as an attachment to Rick Orzechowski (orzechr@wfu.edu) by 5 p.m. on the deadline date. Hard copies will also be accepted in addition to the electronic application, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, 306 Reynolda Hall.  Please allow several weeks for the review process.

Awards for projects in the natural and physical sciences will be partially supported by a grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.

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