Many federal agencies and foundations offer grants, awards and fellowships that limit the number of applications submitted from one institution. Extra submissions can result in rejection of all submitted by that institution. Researchers interested in submitting to a specific limited submission opportunities (LSO) must apply to an internal competition and be selected for full proposal submission to the opportunity's sponsor.

 Whenever possible, these opportunities will be advertised to researchers in a timeframe that allows for sufficient time for the internal review process to occur and a decision communicated that allows the selected research member to prepare a high-quality proposal for submission.

 Internal competitions help verify the eligibility of an applicant and ensure that another application has not already been selected to submit to a specific limited submission opportunity. In order to increase the chances of UAF succeeding in such LSO applications, the Office of Vice Chancellor for Research has established a procedure to peer review pre-proposals in a timely fashion.

 We strive to ensure that the process for selecting these proposals is transparent, fair, and does not overburden the applicant(s) or reviewers charged with selecting the most competitive proposals/applications to represent the University. Limited submission projects are considered institutional and should demonstrate benefits to UAF. Exceptions to this process are made in certain situations, for example, when a deadline is short, when a program is highly focused, when an opportunity reflects a strategic priority and/or requires significant institutional commitment.

1. Opportunity announcement: The Vice Chancellor for Research will send out a limited submission call for whitepapers to deans and directors. For major limited submission programs with established deadlines, there will be several months lead-time with the internal process.
2. Notification to your Institute, College, or School (as soon as you wish to apply): To apply to a limited submission program, first notify your dean/director that you intend to participate. The dean/director has the option to provide comments or rank multiple proposals submitted from their unit.

If your proposal will result in new space requirements, new courses and programs, new faculty hires, or need for additional resources it is important to engage in early discussions about these plans with your dean/director. This is also a good time to work out a plan with your dean/director for providing matching funds for your proposal, should the agency require non-federal matching funds

3. White paper submission for UAF-wide competition: You can submit your white paper at the following link: 

White Paper Submission Form

White papers must be received by 5:00 p.m. on or before the internal submission deadline. Submissions must include:

• • • • • Title page
        • White Paper (no more than 3 pages);
        • CVs of PI and all Co-Is

*Note: Some opportunistic or less known limited submission opportunities may have compressed timelines between the announcement of the request for proposals and the due date for submission, which will require a corresponding compression of the internal review schedule. Such special opportunities will be dealt with on an ad hoc basis and timelines/schedules for these will be clearly circulated by the VCR and OGCA Pre-Award along with the original email circular that announces the opportunity.

4.  Notification of Selected PIs: Your white paper will be reviewed and ranked by an external reviewer, who will make a recommendation to the VCR. The VCR will decide which PIs will continue with a full proposal submission on behalf of UAF, and will communicate this decision to the selected PIs, their respective dean/director, and relevant department fiscal/proposal staff by the date indicated in the solicitation memo. Candidates who have not heard any communication by this deadline should contact uaf-vcr@alaska.edu.

Please note that solicitation memos from the VCR's Office may augment these general instructions, so please be sure to reference the solicitation memo and also these guidelines as applicable.

Title page: Template can be accessed here

White paper: The white paper can be a maximum of 3 pages in length, including figures and references. Please use a minimum 12-point font size for the text and a minimum 1-inch margin for the document. This 3-page white paper is the only document that the internal review and selection committee will base its judgment on, so please take care to succinctly present your proposal ideas in this document. The white paper should present the rationale/purpose of the project/request, your work plan, personnel and responsibilities, relevance to the specific call, plus relevance to UAF and Alaska.

If your paper is a resubmission related to a full proposal that was submitted earlier but not selected by the agency for funding, please add a short section (no more than 1 page) on 'reference to the earlier proposal' that summarizes the main strengths and weaknesses pointed out by the reviewers and how you are planning to address the weaknesses in this second round of submission. This section is not counted in the 3-page limit.

 Depending upon the solicitation, the following should also be included in the white paper:

• Program or center development white papers: Carefully outline how this new program or center will fit into the existing university structure and describe how this program can become self-sufficient. Append a signed support letter from your dean or director (not counted in the 3-page limit). Note: Establishment of a center requires UA Board of Regent approval. This is not required at the submission stage, but will be necessary prior to accepting an award.

• Instrumentation white papers: Preference is given to proposals requesting instrumentation that benefits multiple faculty members or multiple programs. White papers must include recent price quotes from the anticipated vendor (not counted in the 3-page limit). If applicable, you must identify the room or lab that will house the equipment and provide cost estimates for installation.

Review Criteria: White papers will be evaluated on:

• Scientific/technical quality and merit 
• Compliance and alliance with agency requirements/specific RFP 
• Relevance/benefit of the proposed research for UAF/State 
• Overall rating

A list of limited submission opportunities that the VCR office is currently aware of is provided below. Please note that this list is not comprehensive. Anyone interested in applying to a program with a limitation that is not currently posted on our website should immediately contact uaf-vcr@alaska.edu

Below is a list of annually recurring limited submission opportunities sorted by anticipated month of program announcement. Please be aware of the following:

• This is meant to serve as a reference for faculty and administrators for planning purposes. Deadlines are general and may differ from year to year depending on when a competition is announced by the sponsor. For updated information on a particular competition, use the links below.
• Faculty may not apply directly for limited submission opportunities without institutional endorsement.

 

Funding Opportunity	UAF white paper call anounced	UAF white papers due	Proposals due to agency
NSF- 23-540 - Pathways into the Earth, Ocean, Polar and Atmospheric & Geospace Sciences (GEOPAths)	December 09, 2024	January 17, 2025	February 24, 2025
USDA ANNH NIFA	TBD	TBD	TBD
NSF-24-511 Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM)	December 09, 2024	January 17, 2025	March 4, 2025
NASA EPSCoR Rapid Response Research	December 09, 2024	January 17th, 2025	February 24, 2025
NSF 24-528: EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII): EPSCoR Research Fellows	December 8, 2024	January 17, 2024	April 8, 2025
NSF 23-519: Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program	June 15, 2025 June 15, 2026	July 15, 2025 July 15, 2026	October 15, 2025 October 15, 2026
NSF Graduate Fellowship Program (EGFP) 24-588	February 1, 2025 February 1, 2026	March 2, 2025 March 1, 2026	June 2, 2025 June 1, 2026
Keck Foundation	March 1, 2025	April 1, 2025	May 1, 2025
NEH Summer Stipends	July 17, 2025	August 17, 2025	September 17, 2025

 

Year-Round Opportunities

 Only one proposal from UAF can be considered at a time for the Murdock Research Application. The request must be for one or more pieces of large equipment intended primarily to support research activities at UAF. Murdock also typically requires a 1:1 cost share commitment with the equipment request. These funds will need to be secured by the proposing unit and worked out with the VCR prior to a full submission to Murdock, if the whitepaper is chosen to go forward.

If interested, please submit a 1-2-page whitepaper outlining the following:

• Model and description of each equipment item and a reason why that particular brand has been chosen;
• Justify the need for major equipment if the same or similar equipment is already available on campus;
• Identify where this equipment will reside, how it will be maintained, and how many researchers and students will be using the equipment; and
• Equipment costs, including a justification and vendor quotes.
• The following criteria will also be considered when assessing this pre-proposal, and should be addressed:
• Centrality of the equipment to the UAF research mission;
• The clarity of the budget narrative including a detailed description of the cost share commitment;
• Demonstration of shared/interdisciplinary use;
• Essential to a key program at UAF;
• Full funds to purchase the equipment are not potentially available from another source; and
• Partial cost sharing by unit Dean/Director to demonstrate commitment to acquisition.
•  

NEA Grants for Arts Projects - There are some exceptions to the one-applicant rule. Please consult the applicant eligibility information.

Rasmuson Foundation - Tier 1 and Tier 2 - All proposals to the Rasmuson Foundation require written permission from the UAF Chancellor. If you are planning to submit a Rasmuson Foundation proposal, you must first submit it to the Chancellor for pre-approval. OGCA will then review the proposal upon approval from the Chancellor.