Research & Innovation Seed Grants is sponsored by University of Colorado Boulder (Research & Innovation Office and Office of the Provost). This seed grant program stimulates new research and creative work at CU Boulder, including ventures involving interdisciplinary work that foster collaborative interaction among faculty. Projects include those in AI and advanced computing, biosciences, climate, and sustainability.

Research & Innovation Seed Grant Program | Research & Innovation Office | University of Colorado Boulder Research & Innovation Office Operations & Administration Research Operations & Administration Office of Contracts and Grants Partners with researchers throughout the lifecycle of an award to obtain and manage external support for sponsored activities.

Program Management Office The strategic bridge between sponsored projects and their impact on the campus research portfolio objectives.

Research Professor Series Clinical Professor Series Security & Integrity Research Security & Integrity Animal and Human Subject Research Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Office of Animal Resources Research Security and Export Controls Office of Export Controls Conflicts of Interest and Commitment Responsible Conduct of Research Training Controlled Drug Use and Cannabis Research Quality Assurance / Quality Improvement (QA/QI) Strategy & Development Research Strategy & Development Center for National Security Initiatives Sustainability Research Initiative Principal Investigator (PI) Academy Distinguished Research Lectureship Office of Postdoctoral Affairs Supports training, career development and community-building among postdocs.

Core Facilities and Shared Instrumentation Equipment, instrumentation and services to help you achieve your research goals. Innovation & Partnerships Innovation & Partnerships Venture Partners at CU Boulder Translates groundbreaking discoveries into new solutions, businesses and partnerships. Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative Connects entrepreneurs with the resources they need to turn their ideas into impactful ventures.

Industry Research Partnerships Lowers barriers to innovation by connecting partners with top talent and supporting scalable collaboration. Institutes & Centers Research Institutes & Centers Research Institutes CU Boulder’s 12 research institutes account for more than half of all sponsored research dollars at the university.

Research Centers CU Boulder’s 75+ centers conduct research, scholarship and creative work, education and/or leadership and service activities. Translate English Spanish Chinese French German Korean Lao Nepali Japanese Tibetan Enter the terms you wish to search for.

Research & Innovation Seed Grant Program Research & Innovation Seed Grant Program Grant Program Launch: July 2026 Grant Workshop: TBD ( 2025 Recording ) Grant Deadline: October 2026 Grant Panel Reviews: October - November 2026 Notifications: December 2026 Award Amount : Up to $60,000 Award Duration : 18 months Total Program Funding : Approximately $1,000,000 annually Funding Offices : Office of the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Research & Innovation Office (RIO) Research & Innovation Seed Grants aim to stimulate inter- and multidisciplinary research, scholarship and creative projects with high potential for innovation and/or impact.

These grants support creative, and sometimes high-risk, high-reward initiatives, including team development proposals for future large collaborative projects. Projects may take a variety of forms but should represent an investment in advancing the university’s future research, scholarly or creative activities.

Proposals are reviewed in categories that ensure faculty from all disciplines can compete successfully, even if their discipline is not traditionally associated to sponsored research. We encourage proposals from all disciplines, especially those involving interdisciplinary collaboration and emerging fields. Seed grant categories are listed below.

Projects that establish or leverage external partnerships (e.g., industry, national labs, universities, community nonprofits) are particularly welcomed. For projects involving external partners, requests can be up to $60,000, provided the external partner supplies a 1:1 match up to $25,000 (i.e., total budget up to $85,000, with $60,000 from CU Boulder and $25,000 from the external partner).

A letter of financial commitment is required from any external partner (details under the Proposal Requirements section). Projects involving external partners should apply under the External Partnerships category. Arts & Humanities: Scholarly, creative and critical work focused on human culture, history, language, literature, philosophy and the arts.

Basic Physical Sciences: Foundational research in disciplines such as physics, chemistry, astronomy and mathematics, aimed at understanding natural laws and physical phenomena. Biomedical Sciences / Life Sciences: Research related to biology, neuroscience, health, or medicine, including disease mechanisms, genetics, physiology and related life processes.

Engineering & Applied Sciences: Problem-solving research applying scientific and mathematical principles to develop technologies, tools or systems, including engineering disciplines and computer science. External Partnerships: Projects involving collaboration with external entities (e.g., industry, federal labs, government agencies, nonprofits or other academic institutions).

Geological & Environmental Sciences: Research on Earth systems, climate, ecology, and the environment, including sustainability, natural resources and geoscience disciplines. Social Sciences & Professional Schools (e.g., Business, Education, Law): Research in human behavior, institutions, and societal systems, including fields like psychology, sociology, economics, political science, education, law and business.

All CU Boulder Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty, Instructors and Senior Instructors (including Teaching Assistant Professors, Teaching Associate Professors, and Teaching Professors), and Career Track Research Faculty (i.e., Research Professors Series, Senior Research Associates* (SRA), and Research Associates* (RA)) who hold an appointment of half-time or greater are eligible to apply. The lead PI must be employed by CU Boulder.

Adjoint professors are eligible as long as they submit a letter from their unit or department head confirming they hold a long-term appointment of half-time or greater. Co-PIs can be funded as long as they are eligible CU Boulder faculty who hold an appointment of half-time or greater. Collaborators from other institutions are permitted but cannot receive funding from the program.

*Postdoctoral Associates, Postdoctoral Fellows, and Research Associates/Senior Research Associates in short-term, transitional postdoctoral training positions should not apply as the intent of this award is to foster new and innovative programs of research and scholarly activity that will be of long-term benefit to CU Boulder. Professional Research Assistant (PRA) or Senior Professional Research Assistants are ineligible.

Additional eligibility information: Applicants may submit only one proposal as PI; multiple submissions by the same PI are not allowed. Applicants may be funded on only one proposal as Lead PI or Co-PI. Applicants may participate as unpaid Co-PIs on multiple proposals.

PIs with active Research & Innovation Seed Grant awards cannot serve as unpaid lead PIs for other projects but may serve as unpaid Co-PIs. Both PIs and co-PIs may only receive funding for one active seed grant at a time. Projects with a major scientific or budgetary overlap with the PI's active research support are not eligible.

Projects with a primary focus on curriculum development are not eligible. Faculty course or teaching buy-out is not an eligible expense. Applicants with existing resources that could fund their project are discouraged.

Applicants may request up to two weeks of summer salary (or up to 12. 5% of annual salary for Research Associates/Senior Research Associates with appointments of 50% or more) in their proposal budgets. Application Process and Requirements Proposals must be submitted electronically through the application portal.

Applicants self-select the proposal category in which their proposal will be reviewed.

July Program launch October Proposal deadline December Applicants notified of proposal status July 1, 2027 - December 31, 2028 Project period Budget Maximum Budget Request: $60,000 If support for graduate research assistants is requested, applicants must include the associated tuition in the proposed budget; otherwise, the department will be responsible for covering it. Co-PIs can be paid as long as they are CU faculty.

Collaborators from other institutions may not be paid. For External Partnership projects, requests can be up to $60,000, provided the external partner provides a 1:1 match up to $25,000. Thus, the total budget could be up to $85,000, with $60,000 from CU Boulder and $25,000 from the external partner.

Project Duration: Up to 18 months. Proposals should use clear writing appropriate for non-specialists and make a strong case for the project’s importance to reviewers outside the discipline. Proposal documents should be in Arial 11-point type with at least 0.

5" margins and should include the PI's name and the year of proposal within the document title (e.g., MRuzzene2025SeedGrant. pdf) . All proposals should include the components below in one PDF document and be clearly marked by section.

Proposals that fail to comply with these requirements will not be reviewed. Proposal/Project Plan : Describe the aims, significance, methods and expected outcomes of the project, highlighting any new or creative directions, future payoff potential or value/impact (especially in the case of arts and humanities proposals).

For relevant disciplines, explain why the concept will be competitive for future extramural funding and identify specific external programs targeted for future funding requests. If applicable, include a mentoring plan (2-3 sentences) describing how postdocs, graduate students and/or undergraduates will benefit from training and how progress will be assessed.

The maximum length is 5 pages, including tables, figures, charts, references and any other supporting information. Supplemental Materials (these do not count toward the 5-page proposal limit): PI Curriculum Vitae(s) : Up to 2 pages. If the proposal includes multiple co-leads, you may include a 2-page CV for each.

Abstract/Project Summary : Provide a concise summary of the project accessible to general audiences. Explain how the project will foster future research, scholarly and creative vitality at CU Boulder. 350 words maximum; up to 1 page.

Co-PIs/Collaborators : Name, title, institution, unit/department and role(s). Up to 1 page. Budget and Budget Justification : Use this template for the budget.

Budget requests are intended to support postdocs, graduate students or undergraduates. If support for graduate research assistants is requested, applicants must include the associated tuition in the proposed budget; otherwise, the department will be responsible for covering it. Requests solely for faculty salary support are discouraged; however, applicants may request up to two weeks of summer salary (or up to 12.

5% of annual salary for Research Associates/Senior Research Associates with appointments of 50% or more) . No overhead or indirect costs are allowed. Provide a justification of the items requested in the budget.

Particular attention should be given to justifying budget items that may not be immediately clear to reviewers who are familiar with (but not experts in) your specific field. Up to 2 pages total (approximately 1 page for the budget and 1 page for the budget justification).

Honors, Awards, Representative Scholarly Work or Publications Relevant to Proposal : Highlight published work that directly addresses the PI’s ability to carry out the proposed project. Up to 2 pages.

Letter of Financial Commitment (for External Partnership projects only) : A letter of financial commitment is required from any external partner and must clearly state the: 1) amount of financial support; 2) start and end dates of commitment; and 3) nature of support (e.g., cash, in-kind contributions). Up to 1 page.

Eligibility Confirmation (for Adjoint Professors only) : Adjoint professors are eligible as long as they submit a letter from their unit or department head confirming they hold a long-term appointment of half-time or greater. Up to 1 page. Faculty volunteers review proposals, provide comments, convene to discuss proposals and recommend proposals for funding.

Proposals will be evaluated in three primary areas: Intellectual Merit : Merit and quality of research, scholarship or creative work, with potential to contribute value to the respective discipline and advance knowledge, especially through novel approaches. Impact : Potential to advance university priorities by addressing specific societal challenges and elevating the university’s research, scholarship, or creative work.

Inter- / multidisciplinarity : Potential to foster collaborations and partnerships across disciplines and support team development for future collaborations. The potential to obtain future funding will also be considered in the review process for appropriate disciplines. Note on Discipline-Specific Reviews : Discipline-specific considerations will be taken into account during the review process.

RIO understands that merit, impact and success are defined differently across disciplines and that opportunities for funding vary. For example, the potential to attain future funding is typically not weighted as heavily in the Arts & Humanities category. Serving as a reviewer provides an invaluable opportunity to understand the key elements of a successful proposal.

If you are not ready to apply, serve as a reviewer and gain valuable insights into how to succeed! Seed grant recipients agree to the following conditions: Reporting: Recipients are required to submit two Progress Reports at six-month intervals. The first Progress Report is due six months after the grant begins, and the second is due 12 months into the grant.

Additionally, a Final Report must be submitted to RIO within 30 days after the grant period ends. For projects involving postdocs, recipients are required to develop an Individual Development Plan (IDP) with each postdoc; see resources here . A copy of the IDP will be requested for Progress Reports.

RIO will provide detailed report requirements and submission guidelines. External Funding: Recipients are strongly encouraged to submit a proposal for external funding (for related work) within 18 months of receiving the grant.

Significant Outcomes: If a significant outcome of this seed grant award is realized at any time (e.g., securing an external grant, publication of a significant piece of work, an invention, a key creation or performance, etc.), recipients will immediately notify RIO in writing by emailing rioseedgrant@colorado. edu .

PI Change: If there is a change or absence (60 days or greater) in PI, recipients will immediately contact and provide a justification to RIO at rioseedgrant@colorado. edu .

Exclusive Funding: Recipients must not seek or accept funding from any other RIO funding source for the same project or activities funded under this award including but not limited to AB Nexus, New Frontiers Grants, Research & Innovation Office Arts & Humanities Grants and/or additional Research & Innovation Office funding.

Review Panel Service: Recipients agree to serve on a Research & Innovation Seed Grant review panel for the following review cycle. They cannot be lead PIs or paid Co-PIs/collaborators on proposals submitted in the cycle immediately following their award cycle. Recipients may serve as unpaid co-PIs.

Recipients agree to score and provide written comments on assigned proposals before the review deadline and participate in a review meeting. Recipients on sabbatical or family leave during the review period will serve as a reviewer the next cycle. If a recipient fails to serve as a reviewer during the next cycle, funds may be suspended.

Compliance: If the project involves any compliance issues (e.g., IRB, IACUC, EHS, biohazardous material, etc.), recipients certify that the appropriate campus compliance offices will be notified before initiating any work. Funding Access: Awards will be made available through the financial office in recipients’ respective college/school/institute on the first day of July following award notification.

The budget office at the PI’s respective college/school/institute will set up the speedtype (account) number for the award, and RIO will transfer the funds to the speedtype. Recipients should contact their respective budget office for the speedtype in June following award notification. Project Duration and No-Cost Extensions: The project duration is up to 18 months (July 1 [Year 1] – December 31 [Year 2]).

No-cost extension requests of 3 or 6 months must be approved by RIO before the project termination date. No-cost extension requests must include: 1) a justification for the extension; 2) a plan for using the funds during the extension period; and 3) the length of extension. These requests should be sent to rioseedgrant@colorado.

edu . Unused funds at the end of the project will be returned to RIO. Suspension of Funds: If a recipient fails to fulfill any of the aforementioned conditions, RIO reserves the right to suspend funds.

Contact rioseedgrant@colorado. edu with any questions or comments.

1on1 Faculty Funding Consultations RIO Funding & Limited Submission Opportunities Research & Innovation Seed Grant Program Past Research & Innovation Seed Grant Winners Seed Grant Competition FAQs Research & Innovation Arts & Humanities Grant Program AI Discovery & Capacity Building Grants Core Facility Assistance Grant Program Core Facility Voucher Program Faculty Conference Awards OEDIT Translational Quantum Research Seed Grants Early Career Investigator Opportunities & Resources Arts & Humanities Opportunities & Resources Social Sciences Opportunities & Resources Research & Federal Funding News National Laboratory Partnerships at CU Boulder Sustainability Research Initiative Research and expertise across CU Boulder.

Our 12 research institutes conduct more than half of the sponsored research at CU Boulder. More than 75 research centers span the campus, covering a broad range of topics. A carefully integrated cyberinfrastructure supports CU Boulder research.