Office Encourages Researchers to Visit Website for Limited Grant Submissions Information

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Economic Development encourages all campus researchers to contact the office if they are interested in submitting grant proposals to programs that have institutional limits.

The office has posted at the bottom of its Web page a link to a “Limited Submissions” Web page containing an overview of external funding opportunities currently requiring an internal selection process, as well as a calendar of limited programs competed throughout the year.

According to the university’s Academic Policy Series 1535.10, “In relatively rare situations, funding agencies solicit proposals but limit the number to be submitted by an institution. In such cases, the University of Arkansas will endeavor to determine which proposals are submitted from the campus on the basis of a competitive selection process that is open, fair, and unbiased.”

Cynthia Sagers, associate vice provost for research and economic development, said federal funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation have been dealing in recent years with an increasing number of proposals.

“Funding agencies are coping with the increased workload by imposing limits on the number of proposals an institution can submit,” Sagers said.

A growing number of opportunities, beyond the core programs at NSF or the National Institutes of Health, impose institutional limits.

“The agencies have pushed some of the burden of proposal review to the campuses,” she said. “This represents a real culture shift for our research community. If researchers discover they are submitting to a competition with institutional limits, they should contact our office at their earliest convenience.”

Sagers said the competitive selection process for limited submission proposals starts with a panel of UA faculty members who review the preliminary proposals. The panel discusses the merits of each and provides a ranking that results in a recommendation to Jim Rankin, vice provost for research and economic development. The final decision on whether a proposal moves forward rests with Rankin.

“The new Web page is a great source of information concerning the calendar of internal competitions and competition guidelines,” Sagers said.

For more information about limited submissions, e-mail Sagers at csagers@uark.edu.