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 support the final stages of proposal development for collaborative, often complex proposals in response to large external funding opportunities, enhancing the proposal’s competitiveness. Eligible projects must go “beyond the usual” norms in their field in terms of scope, budget, or team size. These opportunities often involve interdisciplinary partnerships tackling major societal or research challenges.

Suitable projects span various disciplines. In STEM, large team grants such as NSF Science and Technology Centers, DOE Energy Frontier Research Centers, NIH P50, NIH U54, and similar. In the arts, humanities, or social sciences, examples include collaborative grants such as NEH Collaborative Research Grants, NEA Grants for Arts Projects, and some Mellon grants. This list is not exhaustive.

Propel Grants require established teams to have completed preliminary work and plans to apply for external funding within 12 months. They do not fund initial team formation, concept development, or early-stage data collection. Instead, they strategically position teams for success in upcoming external funding opportunities.

We recognize that large, complex grants often require extensive preparation even before a call is released or may involve multiple proposal stages. Propel Grants can advance your efforts when the external funding opportunity is anticipated with a deadline in the next 12 months or when moving from a preliminary to a full proposal, particularly if highlighting progress or results between the proposal stages would be beneficial.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include Stanford faculty with PI status (Academic Council members or UML faculty). School of Medicine applicants must have co-PIs from other Stanford schools.

Eligible proposals must focus on preparing applications for large, collaborative, and multi-disciplinary funding opportunities. Proposals aimed at single-investigator projects or specified, circumscribed research efforts will not be considered.

Priorities

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

• Involve faculty partnerships across two or more Stanford schools.
• Include team members from diverse or underrepresented backgrounds.
• Engage disciplines with limited internal grant support.
• Strengthen collaboration between Stanford and SLAC.

VPDoR is committed to creating an environment that values and embraces diversity; applications from individuals from minoritized communities are particularly encouraged. RDO will award a portfolio of Propel Grants representing Stanford's diversity and breadth of scholarly areas.

Grant Supported Activities

Propel Grant activities should focus on fine-tuning the external proposal, solidifying collaborations, and addressing specific gaps. These activities allow teams to make targeted improvements and should be completed during the final stages of proposal development to illustrate the project's feasibility, significance, and impact, thereby increasing its competitiveness. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Accessing archives and databases.
• Conducting additional, desirable research experiments (not initial, core preliminary data).
• Engaging with stakeholders.
• Hiring consultants in specialized areas such as ethics, data analysis, or project management.
• Hiring research assistants for critical proposal development related work.
• Implementing a triangulation protocol.
• Implementing advanced statistical or computational techniques to analyze existing data.
• Organizing workshops or meetings to strengthen collaborations and project buy-in.
• Performing additional data analysis.
• Conducting questionnaires and surveys.
• Travel for site visits.

The Propel Grant may be used to cover administrative costs directly related to Propel Grant-funded activities, such as hiring a student worker or support staff to organize events or prepare for the external grant submission.

Up to $5,000 of the Propel Grant can be budgeted for proposal document development/beautification:

• Conducting an expert review of the proposal draft.
• Coordinating a proposal writing day to address feedback from mock review panels.
• Engaging professional grant writers or science communicators to ensure the proposal is persuasive, clear, and accessible to interdisciplinary or non-expert reviewers.
• Hiring a graphic designer or scientific illustrator for key proposal graphics or branding.

All applicable university fees apply. Propel funds may be used to cover these fees (e.g., fees for Visiting Student Researchers, shared facility hourly rates, dedicated computing resources on Sherlock, Oak monthly storage, etc.).

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.

Smaller budget requests are welcome and appreciated. In exceptional cases, higher budget requests may be considered if a clear and substantiated 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. Define the problem/need and the proposed solution: 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. Describe how the project fits the program: Clarify how the research you will propose to the external funding agency aligns with the Propel Grants’ purpose. Explain how the proposal goes “beyond the usual” for your field or discipline.
2. Propel Grant activities
   1. Describe the activities the Propel Grant funds will support.
   2. Explain how the proposed activities will enhance the competitiveness of the proposal to an external funding agency.
3. Team composition
   1. List the members’ names, titles, and departments (or institutions if external to Stanford), indicating which are confirmed or proposed.
   2. If applicable, describe aspects of diversity within the team.
4. External funding plan
   1. Describe the plan to apply for external funding within the next 6 months, identifying 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.