Research and Innovation at The University of Toledo

Projects should be led by experienced interdisciplinary leadership teams with demonstrated capacity to manage complex initiatives. Full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty at the University of Toledo are eligible to submit as Principal Investigator (PI).  Those in the Research Professor title series are not eligible to apply as Principal Investigator. PIs must be employed as a full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty member at UT during the full academic year of the award.

Investigators may be the PI on one, and only one, proposal submitted to any major internal seed grant  program in a given Academic Year. Submission of more than one seed grant major program proposal in total by the same PI will result in their disqualification.  Please submit only one proposal as PI to the program most aligned with your research interests.  (A Letter of Intent or pre-proposal does not count as a proposal for these purposes.)  A faculty member may, however, be a co-investigator on a second proposal submitted to one of the following major programs: Research Awards and Fellowships, deArce-Koch Memorial Fund, Ignition, Trajectory, or Orbit provided that salary is not received and the activities are independent.

Faculty may not receive more than two of any major seed grant funding awards as Principal Investigator over any seven-year period, and faculty may not receive any major seed grant funding awards as Principal Investigator in two consecutive years.

Faculty must have at least six weeks without summer teaching if they are awarded a summer fellowship under the seed grant funding award program. 

Faculty members with start-up fund accounts are not eligible for support unless documentation shows that start-up funds cannot support the project.  For example, if start-up funds are dedicated entirely to the purchase of an instrument, then it is possible to seek support for programmatic activity.  In all cases, faculty members with grant and/or startup funding must indicate the extent of that funding, and how the need for seed grant funding requested is not met by those sources of funding. Generally those with remaining start-up funds will be evaluated at a lower priority than those without start-up funds.

One strategic institutional investment with multi-year project periods when appropriate.

Proposals must be submitted through InfoReady.

Letter of Intent

Use the Letter of Intent Template available through InfoReady.

Full Proposal

• 1 page | Abstract written for a general audience that summarizes the project and expected outcomes; maximum 250 words, single-spaced.
• 15 pages | Project description.
• 2 pages | References, single-spaced.
• 1 page | External Funding Strategy and Proposal Development Plan.
• 2 pages | Management Plan.
• 2 pages | Budget justification.
• 5 pages | Biosketch required for the PI; optional for co-investigators.
• No page limit | Final reports for applicable prior internal seed grant funding awards during the past five years.
• No appendix materials or letters of support will be accepted.

• A clearly defined large-scale research initiative capable of establishing or significantly expanding an area of UToledo research distinction.
• An established interdisciplinary leadership structure and research team extending across appropriate colleges, centers, institutes, campuses, or clinical units.
• A major external funding strategy, including identified federal, industry, foundation, defense, healthcare, or other funding opportunities of appropriate scale.
• Strategic external partnerships necessary to compete nationally, potentially including other universities, national laboratories, industry, healthcare systems, government agencies, or community partners.
• Development of the institutional capabilities required for competitiveness, which could include research infrastructure, shared capabilities, data resources, specialized expertise, preliminary work, partnership structures, or other strategic assets.
• Submission of a major collaborative or center-scale external proposal, generally within 18–24 months.
• A sustainability strategy describing how the initiative will continue to develop beyond the initial RRAP investment.
• Evidence that the investment has strengthened UToledo's position within one or more Areas of Strategic Focus and/or at an important intersection among those areas.