VPDoR $5,000 Propel Grant FY25

The Stanford Research Development Office (RDO), a unit within VPDoR, supports Principal Investigators (PIs) throughout the proposal development process. To improve the competitiveness of large and complex external funding proposals, RDO invites applications for Propel Grants, which fund the final stages of proposal preparation.

Purpose and Scale

Propel Grants are designed to help teams take their projects to the next level by providing strategic support for large-scale, complex proposals. These grants fund additional activities in the final stages of proposal development, enhancing strategic positioning, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and addressing key gaps to strengthen the proposal’s competitiveness. Rather than covering baseline preparation, Propel Grants support the extra steps—such as strategic planning, advanced preparation, and targeted refinements—that position teams to succeed in securing external funding.

These grants are intended for projects that exceed typical scope, budget, or team size expectations, often involving interdisciplinary partnerships to tackle major societal or research challenges. Propel Grants are aimed at large-scale projects in both STEM and the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In STEM, suitable opportunities may include center-type grants such as NSF Science and Technology Centers, DOE Energy Frontier Research Centers, and NIH P50 or U54 awards. In the arts, humanities, and social sciences, projects may target NEH Collaborative Research Grants, NEA Grants for Arts Projects, and select Mellon grants. This list is not exhaustive but illustrates the kinds of complex funding opportunities the Propel Grants aim to support.

Eligibility

• Open to Stanford faculty with PI status (Academic Council members or UML faculty).
• School of Medicine applicants must include co-PIs from other Stanford schools.
• Teams must have already conducted preliminary work and be prepared to submit an external funding proposal in 12 months or less.
• Projects must target funding opportunities that are “beyond the usual” in scale for their disciplines in terms of research scope, award budget, or team size.

Priorities

Priority is given to Stanford-led teams and for projects that:

• Involve faculty partnerships across two or more Stanford schools.
• Engage disciplines with limited internal grant support.
• Strengthen collaboration between Stanford and SLAC.

RDO will award a portfolio of Propel Grants representing Stanford's breadth of scholarly areas.

Grant Supported Activities

Propel Grants do not fund routine proposal preparation tasks, such as drafting standard sections, collecting baseline data, or completing essential but routine submission requirements. Instead, they support activities that elevate the proposal to push it over the edge toward a successful external submission. This might include accessing specialized archives, conducting supplementary experiments, engaging stakeholders for further expertise, or organizing strategic workshops to strengthen the collaborative foundation for a competitive proposal.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Accessing archives or specialized databases as part of proposal preparation or to show feasibility.
• Conducting strategic, supplementary research experiments to augment preliminary data already presented in the proposal.
• Engaging stakeholders or external consultants to deepen relationships and expertise ahead of the application.
• Implementing advanced data analysis or computational techniques.
• Organizing workshops or team-building meetings.
• Conducting surveys or site visits.

Up to $5,000 of the Propel Grant may be allocated for proposal development/beautification, including:

• Expert review of proposal drafts.
• Mock review sessions or proposal writing retreats.
• Grant writing assistance or science communication support.
• Graphic design or scientific illustration.

Additionally, funds may cover administrative costs related to grant-supported activities, such as hiring student workers or paying staff time to organize events funded by the Propel Grant. University fees (e.g., Visiting Student Researcher fees, shared facility access, or dedicated computing resources) are also eligible expenses.

Timeline

Small Propel Grants with budgets of up to $5,000 are reviewed biweekly, with funding decisions announced within three weeks of submission.

Award

All applications will be reviewed to determine whether the requested amount is reasonable and essential for completing the Propel Grant activities. Applicants are encouraged to limit their requests to only what is necessary for these activities. The external funding opportunity's budget is expected to be substantially higher than the Propel Grant request.

Small Propel Grant applicants may request flexible funds up to $5,000 in direct costs for up to 6 months.

All applications will be assessed for the reasonableness and necessity of the requested funds to achieve the proposed activities. Awards may not cover the full requested amount if activities are misaligned with the program's purpose. Smaller budget requests are welcome and appreciated. In exceptional cases, larger requests may be considered if a compelling and well-documented need is demonstrated.

Review Process and Criteria   

Reviewers should be confident that your team has a high level of readiness and will be well-positioned to apply for external funding opportunities upon completion of the proposed Propel Grant activities. All applications receive a programmatic review by RDO staff for compliance and programmatic fit.

All applications will be screened based on the following criteria:

Significance

• The research idea is likely to be compelling to external sponsors.
• The proposed project goes "beyond the usual" for the discipline in terms of scope, budget, or team size.

Readiness

• The proposed project for external funding has an established foundation with existing preliminary work.
• The team demonstrates a collaborative partnership.  (Large Propel Grants only)

Proposed Activities

• The proposed Propel Grant activities will enable a competitive proposal to an external funding agency and increase the likelihood of success in securing external funding. Learn more about what makes a successful grant application on the RDO website.
• Appropriate Budget
• The budget is reasonable and reflects essential activities that address the stated needs.
• The requested amount justifies the Propel Grant investment in comparison to the external funding opportunity.

Feasibility

• The application conveys an achievable research design/approach for the Propel Grant activities.
• The Propel Grant activities can be implemented within the proposed timeline and budget.
• The team is cohesive and possesses sufficient expertise to conduct the research successfully.

Potential for External Funding

• The team will be ready to submit a well-aligned proposal to an external funding agency by the end of the Propel Grant period and has a backup plan if necessary.

Application Format

Each application should be uploaded as a single PDF via the VPDoR Internal Awards Portal.

Propel Grant reviewers will be from different academic fields or subfields than your own. It is highly recommended that you write your application so a wide academic audience can easily understand it and provide sufficient detail to demonstrate feasibility. 

Font size must be 11 pt or larger with 1-inch margins on all sides. Small Propel Grant applications are limited to 3 pages (excluding references).

Please include the following sections:

1. Research idea for the external proposal
   1. Describe the problem or need your research aims to address and how it proposes to do so. This idea should form the basis of your proposal for external funding.
   2. Explain how the project goes beyond standard disciplinary expectations in scope, scale, or team structure.
2. Propel Grant activities
   1. Describe the specific activities, timeline, and expected outcomes.
   2. Clearly state how these activities will enhance the competitiveness of the external proposal.
3. Team composition
   1. List members, roles, and departments, noting confirmed vs. proposed collaborators.
   2. Highlight interdisciplinary partnerships or prior collaboration.
4. External funding plan
   1. Identify at least one potential external grant. Proposing an alternative funding opportunity or backup plan is encouraged.
   2. Include the following details on the targeted external grant(s).
      1. External sponsor name.
      2. Program name or identifier.
      3. External sponsor deadline.
      4. The expected budget request for the targeted external opportunity.
      5. URL to the funding solicitation if available.
5. Appendices (optional and do not count towards any page limits)
   1. References
   2. PDF of the targeted external funding opportunity solicitation(s)

Award Reporting Requirements

1. Survey/report: Small Propel Grant recipients will be expected to complete a brief survey one month after the award period describing the impact of the Propel Grant activities.
2. Notification: Teams should notify RDO if the Propel Grants contributed to a noteworthy outcome, or if any external funds were received, for up to two years after receiving the award.