Limited Submissions

Many highly competitive extramural funding opportunities that are relevant to the UCSC research community impose restrictions on the number of proposals that can be submitted by a single organization. These “Limited Submission” opportunities include grants for research centers, major instrumentation, international partnerships, or high priority research focus areas that are sponsored by agencies (e.g. NIH, NSF, DOE, DoD, NEH, NEA). In some cases, there may be an annual or biannual “Limited Submission” cycle and in other cases there might be a single opportunity. To ensure compliance and promote competitiveness for funding opportunities with restrictions on the number of institutional submittals, UCSC has instituted an internal pre-proposal process in advance of the sponsor deadline.

The Limited Submissions Process

The UCSC Limited Submission Process involves six steps:

1. The Office of Research issues an internal call for pre-proposals that is disseminated to the Divisions and also posted on the website. Research teams are encouraged to consult with the Office of Research Development to scope the pre-proposal and strategize.
2. The pre-proposal call typically mirrors (in reduced form) the requirements for a full proposal, and generally includes administrative details about the proposing PI or team; a project summary; a draft budget; and information on any additional space or matching fund requirements. There is a strict internal deadline for submitting the pre-proposals.
3. Pre-proposals are typically assessed by a committee appointed by the Office of Research. This may include relevant Deans or their designees; members of the Office of Research; and non-proposing faculty with particular expertise or history with the limited submission opportunity. The main criteria for selection are the quality of the proposal, alignment with the solicitation requirements, and overall feasibility assessment (particularly where matching funds or additional resources are required).
4. The review committee down-selects the highest ranked proposals and provides feedback to the research teams.
5. Teams that are selected are encouraged to work with the Office of Research Development in framing a competitive proposal.
6. The Office of Research Development also will provide debriefing sessions with the teams that are not selected with a goal of identifying alternative funding opportunities.

For more information, contact Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, John MacMillan.