Research mini grant

Applications and guidelines

The primary purpose of the 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø research mini grant is to stimulate faculty research productivity by providing seed funds for projects that will lead to requests for external funding or exceptional scholarly activity.

Application deadline: 5 p.m. Feb. 28
Award start date: May 1
Award end date: June 15, 2026
Final report due: September 15, 2026

Eligibility

Tenure-track and career-track faculty are eligible. Junior faculty, faculty without extramural funding and faculty who have not previously received a 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø mini grant are highly encouraged to apply.

Review criteria

Proposals will be reviewed by a committee and evaluated based on the following criteria (in order of priority):

  • Intellectual merit of the research. Will the research lead to significant new discoveries, advances or understanding in the field?
  • Likelihood of future development of the proposed line of research including, but not limited to, future external support.
  • Research competence. Is the proposed project consistent with the investigator's capabilities?
  • Can the project be completed in the time specified?
  • For collaborative proposals, the strength of the rationale for the collaboration. In other words, is there "value added" to the proposal by collaborating?
  • Rank and funding history. Junior faculty, faculty without a history of extramural funding and faculty who have not previously received internal funding will be given preference, although all faculty are eligible.
  • Explanation of how funds will be used to meet the aims of the proposal.
  • Explicit plan to apply for funding from external sources, agencies, etc. following completion of the research mini-grant project.

Funding

  • Funds up to $15,000 may be requested for individual or collaborative projects. For collaborative projects, describe the role of each faculty member in the team.
  • The budget must be fully justified; be specific with the budget item and as accurate as possible for the budget amount. Explain why the budget item is necessary for your research.
  • Funding requests for less than the maximum are encouraged in order to support the highest number of promising project proposals each year.
  • Funds must be expended by June 15, 2026.
  • Funds may be used for all legitimate purposes such as supplies, equipment, travel, training, salary support (faculty, graduate students or time slip), consultation fees, etc. All requested support must be justified in terms of the proposed research project.

Requirements

Funded investigators will be required to submit a final report (no more than three pages) by September 15, 2026. The final report must contain and respond to the following:

  1. What new discoveries, advances or understandings were achieved?
  2. What external funding and/or collaborative partnerships were established and/or enhanced?
  3. How has your capacity as a researcher been enhanced?
  4. What are your future directions?
  5. Provide a detailed list of all expenses accrued.

Please note that any budget amount remaining after your Final Report has been submitted will be returned to Finance and Operations.

Application Questions

Please be prepared to answer the following questions in the online application:

  • General information about applicant
  • Current financial support for your research
  • List of publications, scholarly products or visible productivity (conference presentations, etc.) related to this proposal for all investigators (limit of 10 products total)
  • Project goals and specific aims (max 250 words)
  • Background and significance (max 250 words)
  • Approach (max 300 words)
  • Expected results and impact (max 250 words)
  • Plans for future grant proposals based on results from this project (max 250 words)
  • Budget
  • Budget justification

If you have questions, email Christine Portfors at portfors@wsu.edu.

Previous Awards