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Purpose

The objective of the Small Research Grant Program is to encourage faculty to establish and maintain èßäÊÓƵapp of research, scholarly, and/or creative activity in areas for which other funding is not commonly available. The program supports projects from any discipline, with emphasis on projects that can be significantly advanced with a relatively small investment. Exploratory and early-stage projects are especially welcome. 

Eligibility 

All full-time tenured, tenure track, and continuing non-tenure track faculty are eligible to apply, with the following limitations:

• Individuals are eligible for a new SRG every other year. 
• Individuals may not hold SRG awards concurrently with either a University Summer Grant (USG), a Research Catalyst Grant (RCG), Unitas Grant, or Veritas Grant. 
• Faculty with projects under consideration for the University Summer Grant (USG), Unitas Grant, and Veritas Grant may submit to the SRG Program on a provisional basis. If a project is successful in the USG, Unitas, or the Veritas competitions, it will automatically be withdrawn from consideration for the SRG. 

Award Amounts, Uses and Restrictions

Maximum award amount for SRG varies annually depending on budgetary constraints. For the 2026 cycle, proposals may request up to $3,000. Awarded funds are available for expenses incurred on or after June 1, 2026. All SRG awards have a one-year duration. 

Allowable expenses include any combination of funds for research assistance (RA) and/or funds for reasonable research-related expenses (RRRE), that does not exceed $3000. Details and restrictions are as follows.

Wages for research assistance (RA)

Funds may be used to pay èßäÊÓƵapp graduate or undergraduate students on an hourly wage basis to assist faculty members in the execution of the proposed research. Funds may not be used for graduate or undergraduate students to work on their own thesis/dissertation research unless it is integral to the proposed research.

Note: Funds to hire non-èßäÊÓƵapp research assistants must be requested as RRRE.

Reasonable research-related expenses (RRRE)

Funds may be requested for eligible expenses related to the conduct of research. These include but are not limited to travel to research-related sites, libraries and archives; equipment, supplies, and books; data sets, software, transcription, and translation services; payment for research assistance provided by individuals not affiliated with èßäÊÓƵapp; and other reasonable needs.

Excluded expenses

Known exclusions (and there may be others) include childcare, professional society fees, student stipends, and travel and expenses for conferences that are not dedicated to the SRG project.

For questions about allowable expenses, please contact the VIRS Director.

Research Compliance

Applicants should note that any research activities involving human subjects will require approval from èßäÊÓƵapp’s Institutional Review Board. IRB approval must be in place before awarded funds can be disbursed. 

Applicants should note that any research activities involving vertebrate animal subjects will require approval from èßäÊÓƵapp’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. IACUC approval must be in place before awarded funds can be disbursed. 

Application Submission and Contents

The completed SRG application must be submitted through InfoReady. The application has several components. 

1.  Cover Form

2. Proposal Narrative

Proposals should clearly articulate the question or purpose of the project, motivation/rationale, method or approach, activities to be undertaken, and anticipated project-related accomplishments (e.g., milestones in the research, scholarly, or creative process) and/or outputs (e.g., manuscripts, articles). Proposals should discuss the challenges/limitations of securing funding from other sources. Proposals will be evaluated on the criteria as specified in Section 5 below. 

Proposals are reviewed by a committee composed of faculty from several disciplines across the university, should be written with non-expert peer reviewers in mind, and should minimize reliance on jargon. Please define discipline-specific terminology when its use cannot be avoided.

Proposal narratives should not exceed 2 double-spaced pages with 1-inch margins, using 11-point font (about 550-650 words). 

3. Other Application Components 

In addition to the narrative, proposals must include a cited literature section, a resume/CV (maximum 1 page), and a budget with timeline, if appropriate.  Please include as much detail as possible in the budget, distinguishing between RRRE and RA requests. 

Proposals that do not adhere to guidelines (including page limits) will be returned. 

Evaluation and Review Criteria

SRG awards are determined through a competitive review process. Proposals are reviewed and evaluated by an internal evaluation committee, which includes èßäÊÓƵapp faculty from several disciplines. The evaluation criteria are as follows: 

• Anticipated impact and importance of project-related progress and accomplishments enabled by SRG funding. 
• Clarity of the proposal regarding purpose and goals, motivation/rationale, method or approach, and activities to be undertaken. 
• Reasonableness and justification of the budget. 
• The feasibility of the project and the likelihood that the applicant will execute the work within the proposed time frame. 

Critical Dates 

• Proposal submission deadline: February 26, 2026, by 5 p.m. (EST)
• Announcement of awards: mid-April 

Post-award requirements

All SRG 2025 award expenditures must be made by May 1, 2027. After receiving an award, and in order to be eligible for future awards, awardees will be required to prepare a Final Report, to be submitted to VIRS by June 15, 2027. Details for submitting final reports will be provided upon award.

Contact 

Questions about proposal preparation, review, and allowable costs can be directed to the VIRS Director. Questions about proposal format, submission, and use of InfoReady can be directed to VIRS Assistant Director.

Members of the Evaluation Committee

• Tracy Oliver, PhD, RDN, LDN, Nursing
• Peter Zaleski, PhD, Economics
• Heidi Grundetjern, PhD, Sociology and Criminology
• Rachel Smith, PhD, Theology and Religious Studies