The Faculty Small Grant Program (FSGP) provides grants of up to $10,000 over one year to support scholarly publications and creative research. The VPR Office defines scholarly activity as a work of scholarship that is peer reviewed and publicly disseminated. Examples of scholarly activity should demonstrate the discovery and/or integration of new knowledge, technologies, methods, or materials. The VPR defines creative activity as original contributions to an investigator’s field of study that are produced through writing, creating, composing, designing, recording, performing, curating, etc.*

New for FY25: The Faculty Small Grant Program will have a tiered funding option. Total budget requested must align with one of the following tiers:

Tier 1: Up to $3,500
Tier 2: Up to $5,000
Tier 3: Up to $10,0000

*Listed definitions of scholarly and creative research work are not meant to be comprehensive. Questions about whether your research idea would qualify for the FSGP should be directed to vprgrants@utah.edu.

- 1. All applicants are required to use the FSGP Budget Template. Add lines to the FSGP Budget Template to include all pertinent items. Enter all amounts in whole dollars. Please indicate in your application and budget whether you are requesting up to $3,500, $5,000 or $10,000. Please only request the amount necessary for your project.
  2. Hourly wages of research assistants must be listed and justified. Please utilize current fringe rates for all assistance benefit estimates.
  3. If Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) students are a part of the project, their wages are paid by UROP. Students must apply separately to UROP.
  4. Please ensure all requested travel is in line with most up to date UofU Travel policies (including any current COVID-19 Travel restrictions).
  5. The basis for figuring travel related to the project and per diem costs must be itemized and made clear, and may not exceed rates for per diem.
  6. Careful justification should be given for the purchase of equipment (including computer software, books, or supplies) which may already exist in the University. Equipment purchased by the research grant becomes property of the University of Utah. Where leasing equipment is a possible option, the purchase must be justified.
  7. PI’s may not make any changes to the original objectives in their research plan or budget without written permission for the VPR. Should the investigator wish to use the funds for something other than what was previously established in the budget, a modified proposal must be presented to the VPR for reconsideration of funding. Modifications are not approved until the PI receives written confirmation from the URC.
  8. Once the grant is awarded, the awardee is responsible for managing the budget. All funding distributed by the VPR is subject to audit. The VPR will not bear the burden of over-expenditures, which must be rectified by the faculty member and his/her academic unit.
  9. ALL expenditures must follow relevant UofU Regulations (including 3-010, 3-030, 3-040, 3-100, 3-111, 3-003, 3-001) and use best judgment.
- 1. Grant funding may not be used for faculty salaries, graduate student-initiated projects, support to write dissertations or theses, curriculum development, career development (e.g., taking courses, attending professional meetings/conferences, etc.), and benefits on hourly wages (excluding those required by law.)
  2. Grant funding may not be used to purchase computers or computer hardware, unless the applicant can provide strong evidence that the project cannot be pursued without procuring that specific computer hardware or workstation. Any computer/tablet/computer hardware purchased with University of Utah funding becomes property of the university after the project is completed.
  3. Grant funding may not be used to conduct research at other entities or institutions. Faculty are expected to conduct their research at the University of Utah, apart from fieldwork connected to scholarly or creative research project.

Executive Abstract (up to one-page max): Abstract should include project goals or research questions, plan of action or research methods, planned outcomes, and plan for dissemination. Abstract should also include up to 10 keywords that help identify the key objectives, disciplines, research types, and associated departments of the FSGP proposal. Example: global, air quality, interview research, and junior faculty
Proposal Narrative (up to three pages max): The proposal narrative must be limited to three single-spaced pages with a font size of 12 points. A one-page bibliography may also be submitted. Those with more than 3 pages will be returned to the applicant without committee review. All proposal narratives must include:
- A clear description of the project with strong objectives, specific research questions/creative objectives, justification for the project, a detailed, concise description of methodology and procedure, and verification that the proposed project will not duplicate research already undertaken by other researchers.
- A clear description of how the proposal addresses a clear funding need i.e., identify areas of research that have limited funding options, identify components of project that are challenging to fund (and why), identify why the FSGP program is an ideal mechanism for accomplishing a specific goal as part of a larger research effort, etc.
- Timeline for completion of the project.
Budget Outline: Please reference the FSGP Budget Guidelines and Restrictions section of this webpage and required FSGP Budget Template when completing this section. Budgets should be well-justified, accurate, and reflect the full scope of the proposed work. In general, budgets should not exceed $10,000. In exceptional circumstances, the committee may elect to support an outstanding proposal at a higher level of funding. If additional funding is needed, substantial justification is required. Budgets must be well-justified and reflect the actual funding need of the project. Projects with deliberately inflated budgets will not be considered for funding.
Abbreviated CV OR Biographical Sketch: Please provide the abbreviated CV or biographical sketch of each investigator listed on the project. CVs/bio-sketches are not required for associated parties who will not be considered PI or co-PI on the project. There is no maximum number of pages for the CV/Biosketch upload, however, please ensure all relevant entries are uploaded as a single PDF.
Health, Safety, and Compliance Documentation: The applicant must submit evidence that the proposal has been submitted to the required health, safety, and compliance officials, including Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for research on human subjects, and IACUC approval for research involving comparative medicine. Note: The URC will not release funds for an awarded project if not approved by the relevant health, safety, and compliance officials. Documentation of relevant IRB and/or IACUC application submissions must be provided with the grant application for the application to be considered.
Resubmission Statement (if applicable): All resubmissions must include a point-by-point response to all previous reviewer comments, explicitly stating how the new proposal has addressed or clarified those comments and concerns. New proposals are not required to complete this step.
Appendices & Attachments (up to three pages max – optional): Examples of relevant attachments include applicant’s relevant publications (include first page of publication or link to publication), descriptions of how the project will be disseminated to the public, etc. Appendices & Attachments should be kept to a minimum.

Important Note: Letters of Support are no longer required for the FSGP. If you have optional letters of support you would like to include for review consideration, please upload them to the Appendices section.

FSGP applications are reviewed by the University Research Committee (URC). The URC is a campus-wide faculty committee tasked with reviewing creative and scholarly research proposals and making funding recommendations to the VPR.

In general and at minimum, FSGP proposals are evaluated on the criteria listed below. Reviewers may also comment on other strengths and weaknesses of the proposal overall. This is to ensure applications receive a thorough review of its quality, merit, impact and feasibility.

Overall quality and significance of the proposal
Strength of the proposal's research questions, methodologies, personnel, facilities, etc.
Articulated need for funding
Importance of the work for the growth of the investigator
Potential impact on the investigator's department, college, and discipline
Potential Impact of the work on the UofU and surrounding communities
Timeline for completion of the project.

Important note: The FSGP review process may take up to 90 days to complete.

Contact Information

Questions about the above program guidelines, eligibility criteria, application materials, etc. should be directed to Whitney MacKay in the VPR Office.

Office of the Vice President for Research

Faculty Small Grant Program (FSGP)

Program Description

Eligibility Criteria

Program Deadline

Budget Guidelines

Required Application Materials

Review Process and Evaluation Criteria

Acknowledgment Information

Submit an Application

Contact Information