Faculty Research Support Program: Seed Funding
About this opportunity
Campus:
University-wide
Contact:
Alicia Gahimer,ord@iu.edu
Deadline:
October 1, 2025 and April 1, 2026
Award cycle:
FY 2025-26
Funding available:
$50,000 Maximum award
The Seed Grant program supports new, innovative research or creative activity projects that are sustainable through external funding. Seed Grant awardees are required to submit proposals for external funding based on their Seed Grant awarded research project within three years of the award letter date.
Eligibility
- All full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty
- Clinical faculty
- Research scientists and research center directors
- Lecturers, visiting faculty, postdocs, residents, and emeritus faculty are not eligible
Funding and proposal requirements
- Project funding may not exceed $50,000.
- Projects will be limited to one (1) year in duration.
- Funds will not be granted for similar projects currently supported by other internal or external funding mechanisms at the campus or university level.
- An investigator may not serve as PI or Co-PI on more than one Seed Grant application in each round.
- Applications for a second Seed Grant for the same project or research will not be accepted.
- Previous Seed Grant awardees are ineligible to receive an additional Seed Grant award unless they have met the post-award requirements in their prior award letter.
- Non-IU consultants and IU collaborators are not allowable expenses.
- IU statisticians, project/lab staff, postdocs, and students are allowable expenses.
- Investigator salary is not supported through this mechanism except for faculty on a 10-month appointment who can request up to one month of support.
- Travel expenses are not allowed unless it is necessary for completion of the proposed work.
- Conference attendance, presentations, and publication costs are not allowable expenses.
- Course release is not an allowable expense.
- Proposals focused on the development of teaching or academic programs are not eligible.
- Priority will be given to applicants with little to no remaining start-up funds.
- Letters of support from the Department Chair or Associate Dean for Research, consultants and collaborators are required.
- If awarded, no funds will be transferred without applicable IRB, IACUC, IBC or Research Security/Export Control approvals.
- Submission of a revised previously reviewed Seed proposal must include a copy of the reviewers’ comments and your response to those comments.
Post award requirements
- Grant recipients are reminded to acknowledge receipt of IU Research support in any presentation or publication of work.
- Submit progress reports as follows: end of year Project Status and No-Cost Extension request, a Final Report within 30 days of project completion, and Return on Investment report(s) as requested. System-generated emails with the online reporting instructions will be sent to you prior to each progress report due date.
- Progress report data requested will include: external submissions, external awards, type of student workers, publications, presentations, media contacts, disclosures and patents.
- Unused funds will be returned to IU Research.
- Requests for up to a one (1) year no cost extension must be approved by the Office for Research Development.
- Effective August 1, 2025: Faculty may have one active individual research grant awarded project from Seed, External Resubmission, Bridge, or Micro Grant at a time. Awardees may not apply for any of these four until their Final Report is received on the current awarded project. Faculty may apply as PI on a Conference, Equipment, Emerging Frontiers and Layered Learning Undergraduate Researchers grant concurrent with an individual research grant stated above.
Submission of application
- Submission deadlines: 11:59pm on April 1 and October 1.
- Download the supporting documents from the Details section.
- Follow the Guidelines and Instructions for content and page limits.
- Use the application form provided or your application will be returned!
- Submit your application form and attachments as one PDF document through the InfoReady portal.
- Allow at least 8 weeks to receive the funding decision notification.
Questions should be directed to Alicia Gahimer at ord@iu.edu.