UChicago CASE
Funding
CASE members have access to internal funding opportunities designed specifically to promote joint projects across UChicago and National Laboratories (JTFI); internal funding that prepares a team of researchers to apply for substantial federal grants (BIG); seed funds for international collaborations (FACCTS, Weizmann Institute). The University also provides comprehensive pre-award support for federal grants; the Research Development Support (RDS) team helps curate funding opportunities and develop proposals and University Research Administration (URA) manages all pre-award and post-award management.
JTFI Seed Funding
Deepen collaborative research opportunities between UChicago, Argonne, and Fermilab, position projects to successfully scale and secure future large-scale sponsored research funding and accelerate the development of transformational research and technologies that deliver high impact results to society
Big Ideas Generator (BIG) Seed Funding
The purpose of the program is to support interdisciplinary research teams to devleop novel research agendas and partnerships that will form the foundation for targeting large-scale (~$5M+) federal funding opportunities in the next 1-3 years.
France and Chicago Collaboration in The Sciences (FACCTS)
The purpose of the program is to support interdisciplinary research teams to devleop novel research agendas and partnerships that will form the foundation for targeting large-scale (~$5M+) federal funding opportunities in the next 1-3 years.
Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS)
The Weizmann Institute of Science is one of the world’s leading basic research institutions. It is comprised of 250 experimental and theoretical research groups across five faculties—Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science, and Physics. Insights that emerge from its labs help provide a fundamental understanding of the human body and the universe, and lead to advances in medicine, technology, and the environment. This is science for the benefit of humanity at its best.
CASE members receive comprehensive support for accessing federal funding opportunities, bolstered by the capacity to subscribe to weekly emails detailing internal and limited federal and foundation opportunities. This subscription service offers quick links to InfoReady Review for streamlined notification of interest and/or application submission processes. Members also gain access to a plethora of pertinent resources, including research opportunities, speaker series, and panel events. Additionally, they enjoy privileged entry to Pro Quest’s Pivot_RP database and InfoReady, facilitated through the University of Chicago, further enhancing their capability to pursue and secure valuable funding avenues for their endeavors. Learn More⇓
Office of Research Manages CASE and provides support to all CASE members during the entire pre-award timeline – from a nascent idea to curated federal funding calls to project management across institutions to the proposal submission. Research Development Support (RDS) team also administers the Big Ideas Generator (BIG) seed funding program, coordinates the internal competitions for limited federal funding opportunities, and manages the appointment of affiliated researchers into CASE. Learn More⇓
University Research Administration (URA) provides oversight and support for all sponsored projects at UChicago through the office of Research. URA Sponsored Development Services (SDS) provides pre-award support to CASE Scientists at-Large and CASE PME Affiliates. Learn More⇓
Internal Funding
JTFI Seed Funding
Primary Goals:
• Deepen collaborative research opportunities between UChicago, Argonne, and Fermilab
• Position projects to successfully scale and secure future large-scale sponsored research funding
• Accelerate the development of transformational research and technologies that deliver high impact results to society
• Frequency varies, but generally one opportunity every 1-2 years
• Topic areas generally aligned with strategic focus areas or federal funding trends
• Competitive process
• Approximately $50K – $100K/year per project
• Each project team must include at least one PI from UChicago and at least one co-PI from Argonne and/or Fermilab
• Argonne and Fermilab PIs need to obtain a UChicago CASE appointment if their project is awarded
Contact Anna Szabo: anna.szabo@uchicago.edu
Big Ideas Generator (BIG) Seed Funding
The purpose of the program is to support interdisciplinary research teams to develop novel research agendas and partnerships that will form the foundation for targeting large-scale (~$5M+) federal funding opportunities in the next 1-3 years.
Awards are typically $50-100K for one year, with opportunity for renewal for a second year.
Next completion cycle is anticipated Spring 2024
Contact Beth Ziolkowski: bethz@uchicago.edu
France and Chicago Collaborating in The Sciences (FACCTS)
FACCTS is designed to enhance science at the University of Chicago by encouraging closer relations between researchers in the Physical Sciences Division (PSD), The Biological Sciences Division (BSD), and the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) and high-level research teams and institutions of higher education in France. The FACCTS program accomplishes this goal by providing seed funding for new and potentially fruitful project-based collaborations. Through a partnership with Argonne National Laboratory and Fermilab, researchers at these two national laboratories are also eligible for FACCTS support, and are encouraged to apply.
Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS)
Quantum Information Sciences: Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) and University of Chicago (UChicago) scientists were invited to submit joint proposals for collaborative projects in the areas of Quantum Information Sciences. The overall goal of this program is to initiate and support collaborations between WIS and UChicago in this specific research area. Successful proposals will set ambitious goals with the potential for significant impact in science and technology.
Artificial Intelligence: Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS), University of Chicago (UChicago), and Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago (TTIC) scholars were invited to submit joint proposals for collaborative projects focusing on the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Materials Sciences or Health Sciences and Biology. The overall goal of this program is to initiate and support collaborations among WIS, UChicago, and TTIC in these specific research areas. Research projects must advance both the scientific domain and the foundations of AI.
For more information:
Contact Research Development Support: researchdevelopment@uchicago.edu
Federal Funding
- Subscribe to weekly emails of internal and limited federal & foundation opportunities
- Quick links to InfoReady Review for notification of interest and/or application submission
- Includes relevant research opportunities resources, and speaker series/panel events
UChicago offers unlimited access to ProQuests’s Pivot-RP database to help faculty and other researchers, staff members, and students find funding opportunities and potential collaborators for research and scholarly endeavors.
The Pivot Database is updated daily and provides information about billions of dollars in funding opportunities from federal, non-federal, foundation, corporate, and other private sponsors across all disciplines. Through Pivot you can save search criteria and receive weekly updates on new and upcoming funding opportunities of your curation.
Access to Pivot-RP is limited to authenticated users only, so you must have an email address that is issued by the University. To access Pivot without signing in, you will need to be connected to the UChicago network.
The UChicago Funding and Awards Portal, InforReady Review, is the application portal for interal seed funding as well as federal and foundation limited submissions.
All institutionally limited submissions are applied for via InfoReady Review. Simply select the opportunity of interest for which you are eligible, and your submission will then enter an internal selection process.
Subscribe to the weekly Office of Research InfoReady Review email digest of UChicago awards and institutionally limited opportunities for quick links to apply.
Access to InfoReady requires creation of an Application user profile upon initial login.
Proposal Support
Office of Research Manages CASE and provides support to all CASE members during the entire pre-award timeline – from a nascent idea to curated federal funding calls to project management across institutions to the proposal submission. Research Development Support (RDS) team also administers the Big Ideas Generator (BIG) seed funding program, coordinates the internal competitions for limited federal funding opportunities, and manages the appointment of affiliated researchers into CASE.
Research Development Support
Proposal Development
Research Advancement
- Analysis of responsiveness to solicitation
- Grantsmanship guidance and templates
- Writing team coordination
- Pre-submission color team review
- Site visit coordination
- Research & outreach program development
- Team building and workship facilitation
- Research funding strategic planning
- Partner or collaborator identification*
- Broader Impacts assistance and training
- UChicago CASE operations management
- Big Ideas Generator seed funding
Award Management
University Research Administration (URA)
University Research Administration (URA) provides oversight and support for all sponsored projects at UChicago through the office of Research. URA Sponsored Development Services (SDS) provides pre-award support to CASE Scientists at-Large and CASE PME Affiliates:
URA Sponsored Programs provides award management services to CASE Scientist at-Large and PME Affiliates, including:
URA Sponsored Development Services (Pre-Award)
Investigators will be able to focus their time on the scientific, technical or academic aims of the project and rely on URA Sponsored Development Services (SDS) for all administrative matters related to the pre-award process and proposal development.
- URA SDS shares an office with other URA teams including Sponsored Program Services (SPS), Post-Award, Billing and Collections, Subawards, Contracts, Research Integrity and Account Create as well as other central offices (Procurement, Shared Services, Payroll and HR). This allows for broader collaboration amongst all parties involved in the pre-award process. As a result, investigators can expect quicker turnaround times and support staff with access to more resources and training.
- URA Pre-Award Sponsored Development Managers are service and support-oriented, knowledgeable about pre-award, agency/sponsor, federal, non-federal and institutional requirements, and are experts in the relevant polices, procedures and systems to carry out the pre-award process with ease.
Pre-Proposal/Letter of Intent (LOI) Preparation
- Advise Investigator of pre-proposal or Letter of Intent (LOI) requirements for submission.
- Assist in the pre-proposal or LOI process for sponsors that require pre-application submission prior to full proposal submission.
Proposal Preparation & Submission
- Provide checklist of sponsor requirements based on guidelines for proposal submission
- Create timeline to keep Investigator on track for sponsor deadline
- Create or assist in creating the proposal budget
- Compile all required documents and ensure that institutional and sponsor requirements are met for proposal submission
- Ensure institutional review of the final proposal prior to submission based on URA Review and Endorsement Procedures: URA Review and Endorsement | University Research Administration | The University of Chicago (uchicago.edu)
- Submit proposal once PI concurrence/approval is received
Just-In-Time (JIT) Preparation
- Create checklist of sponsor requirements for JIT submission
- Advise Investigator of requirements for JIT submission and assist in preparation of JIT response. This may be in the form of Other Support (OS) or protocol approval information
- Budget revisions and other additional requested information
- Ensure institutional review of the final JIT response prior to submission based on URA Pre-Award procedures
Current & Pending Support or Other Support Updates
- Assist Investigator, as needed, with updates to pending support as proposals are submitted to ensure that a current version of the C&P Support document is used for submissions, as required.
Please note that for some funding agencies, this may require that the PI sign up for an account in sponsor systems and provide PI signature on documents
Meetings/Communications
The dedicated Sponsored Development Manager will be available to meet with Investigators or departmental staff, as needed, to:
- Reach out to sponsors on Investigator’s behalf to address a variety of topics, including but not limited to, clarification of sponsor guidance, status of proposal submission, act as authorized organizational offical and liaison between Investigators and grants contacts at sponsoring agency.
- Review proposal and/or sponsor requirements for upcoming proposal submissions.
- Answer questions and provide guidance on how agencies are structured, and the agency contacts that Investigators may reach out to directly.
URA Sponsored Development Services (Post-Award)
- If the Joint Appointee has not received prior funding, they will be assigned to a post-award team member to manage their award/s.
- The post-award team member is now the point of contact and will reach out via email to the Joint Appointee to discuss the award management.