Internal Funding for Research and Scholarship

Research & Sponsored Programs Capacity Building Grant Program

The Capacity Building Program is a competitive award program that provides seed grants to faculty and staff for projects which need early phase support to become competitive for external funding.

The purpose of the program is to enhance the ability of faculty and staff to successfully compete for external funding, as well as building UNI's capacity for scholarship, research and creative activities.

Awards may be made up to $15,000 each. For questions about the Capacity Grant program, please contact the Associate Director of Research & Sponsored Programs Lisa Ahern at lisa.ahern@uni.edu.

Capacity Grant Awardees

Request for Proposals - Not accepting applications

Application Overview

An updated RFP and associated documents will be released in Fall 2025.
For questions, please contact Lisa Ahern at lisa.ahern@uni.edu.

Project Period

All funds must be spent between February 1, 2026 and August 31, 2027.

Award Range

Up to $15,000

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Eligible?

All UNI faculty and staff are eligible. If you have a currently active Capacity Building Grant, you cannot apply for funding in the Fall 2025 competition.

What is the purpose of a Capacity Grant?

The objective of a Capacity Building Grant is to enhance the ability of faculty and staff to successfully compete for external funding. One-time projects or studies that do not advance a greater strategy for securing external resources do not meet the program objectives.

Do I need to have an external funding source identified?

Yes. A core objective of the Capacity Building Grant program is you have identified how the activity or outcomes of the project will position you to be more successful in securing outside funding. To that end, at least one external funding source should be identified in your application.

What is the deadline for submissions?

There are THREE important deadlines: 1) a Letter of Intent (LOI) is required to be submitted by October 31, 2025; 2) a Cayuse Proposal Form is required to be submitted by December 2, 2025 (11:59 pm); 3) a full proposal with all attachments (i.e. budgets, budget narrative, biosketch, etc.) is required to be submitted by December 4, 2025 (11:59 pm). Applications that fail to submit the above components by these deadlines will not be considered for funding.

How do I submit a Letter of Intent?

The LOI is submitted by completing this Google Form. Once complete, you will receive an automatic message that your LOI has been submitted. LOI’s are used to understand the general concept of your application and recruit reviewers.

Can I submit a proposal if I miss the Letter of Intent deadline?

LOI’s must be submitted by the deadline of October 31, 2025. Proposals submitted without a LOI may not be reviewed.

What is the purpose of the Proposal Form in Cayuse Sponsored Projects?

The Proposal Form in Cayuse Sponsored Projects provides departmental and other related approvals for you to submit your application. The Proposal Form goes through an institutional workflow and authorizes you to submit the application.

Where do I send my completed application?

Your completed application should be emailed to rsp@uni.edu. The preferred method for sending your application is through a PDF Portfolio which can be created using the Adobe Acrobat application. For more information on how to create PDF portfolios, please visit the Adobe website.

Will late applications be accepted?

Applications, Cayuse Proposal Form, and LOI’s must all be submitted by the stated deadlines in order for the application to be considered.

Who do I contact for questions?

For general questions about the Capacity Building Grant program, please contact Lisa Ahern, lisa.ahern@uni.edu.

For project consultation, please contact the pre-award team: Rebecca Rinehart, rebecca.rinehart@uni.edu or Sean Parrish, sean.parrish@uni.edu.

For technical questions regarding submitting your application in the preferred Adobe Portfolio format, please visit the Adobe website for more information.

Other Internal Funding Available at UNI

Pretenure Seed Grants are provided by the provost's office. Look under "Faculty Development Resources".

The Intercollegiate Academics Fund (IAF) reimburses students collaborating with faculty on research or creative activity for their travel to conferences and competitions.

Faculty Sponsorship Fund - Faculty who are traveling with students who have received an IAF award - you may apply for travel funds, prior to the trip, through the provost's Faculty Sponsorship Fund.

Graduate College Professional Development Assignments

CHAS Grants for faculty

Faculty Summer Fellowship Grants