Research Development Resources

For UIC Faculty, Staff, and Students

Pivot
Search for funding opportunities in all areas of research, including federal, private sponsors, domestic, and international awards. Create custom searches and email alerts. Use your UIC login if you already have an account or click “Create Account” to join. Pivot is available to anyone with a UIC netid. There is a very good webinar conducted by the UIC Office of Research Development on getting started using Pivot. An accompanying slide deck for the ORD pivot tutorial is also available.

OVCR Funding Portal
Search all the open opportunities UIC Research Development has announced in newsletters: Limited Submissions, RDSNews, and special topics such as COVID-19 Opportunities and Data Science.

Limited Competition Opportunities
Search opportunities for which pre-authorization must be granted prior to submitting a full proposal to the sponsor. More information about Limited Competitions at UIC can be found here.

GrantForward
Formerly known as IRIS, this database contains over 8,000 federal and 6,000 foundation opportunities. Set up an account using your UIC email address to search.

UIC Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations
Help searching for corporate or foundation funders for UIC programs and projects. List of upcoming grant opportunities from non-federal sponsors (scroll to the bottom of the page for a table of upcoming opportunities).

Federal Grant Search Tools

Grants.gov
Search federal grant opportunities. Create an account to save searches and subscribe to announcements.

NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Search NIH’s official publication of notices of grant policies, guidelines and funding opportunity announcements (FOAs). View recent postings in the NIH table of contents weekly. Subscribe to receive updates!

EPA Grant Programs
Description of Environmental Protection Agency grants and funding.

HRSA Grant Funding
Search Health Resources and Services Administration funding opportunities.

National Science Foundation
Offers hundreds of funding opportunities — including grants, cooperative agreements and fellowships — that support research and education.

Non-Federal Grant Search Tools

Philanthropy News Digest
Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for U.S.-based nonprofit and grantmaking organizations.

The following foundations fund social science research. Check each foundation’s page for information on the topic areas covered, funding announcements, and procedures for applying for funding. This is not an exhaustive list. Please check the UIC Corporate and Foundation Relations web page for more information on foundations that support social work and social science research.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Chicago Community Trust

MacArthur Foundation

Rockefeller Foundation

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

John Templeton Foundation

Spencer Foundation (Educational research)

Social Science Research Council

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

William T. Grant Foundation

Please  use this  online form to expedite the proposal submission process in JACSW.

1. Principal Investigator (PI) or Manager of Research Operations (MRO) identify a source of sponsored funding to support a research project.
2. Principal Investigator will contact Manager of Research Operations as soon as possible.
   • At this time, if available, please provide the following:
     • Sponsor Guidelines,
     • Call for Proposals, and
     • Opportunity ID.
   • 4-6 weeks minimum lead time is preferred.
3. Manager of Research Operations will arrange a time to discuss specifics for the funding opportunity, primarily the budget.
   • PI will provide a basis for their budget; the MRO will draft the budget and request feedback.
   • In collaboration with the PI, the MRO will finalize the budget.
4.  While the Manager of Research Operations is preparing the budget, the Principal Investigator will prepare all other required materials for submission, such as:
   • JACSW Grant Proposal Form,
   • Budget Justification,
   • Project Narrative,
   • Any additional materials required by the sponsor, such as:
     • Letters of Support and/or
     • Biosketches
5. Support for the above development step including proposal writing, editing, proofing, obtaining letters of support, obtaining boilerplate language for proposal sections, etc. are available from the Office of Research Support. Please contact Amber Lewis, Proposal Development Specialist, at alewis59@uic.edu.
6. At least two weeks prior to submission, the Manager of Research Operations will work to finalize the materials for submission to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP).
7. Once all documentation is finalized, the Manager of Research Operations will route the proposal for JACSW approval via MyProposals. Approvers consist of:
   • Dean Hairston,
   • Associate Dean Dagres,
   • Principal Investigator, and
   • Co-Principal Investigator (if applicable).
8. The Office of Sponsored Programs requires submissions of proposals at least one week prior to the sponsor’s deadline.  Submission occurs once all JACSW approvals are confirmed.
9. Depending on the sponsor’s guidelines, the proposal will either be submitted by UIC or the Principal Investigator.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Jeanne Santamaria, JACSW Manager of Research Operations, at (312) 413-2304 or jsanta6@uic.edu.

Download a PDF version of the Summary Timeline.

Click on any of the following links for information on the NIH application process and forms. (Links will open in a new  tab):

• NIH Grants and Funding: https://grants.nih.gov/
• Grant Application Basics: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/grant_basics.htm
• How to Apply – Application Guide: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide.htm
• Application Preparation and Submission Presentations: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide/resources/application-submission.htm
• How to Apply Video Tutorials: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide/video/index.htm#part2
• Virtual NIH Grants Conference and Events: https://grants.nih.gov/learning-center/conference

Use these documents as-is or with modifications for NIH and other types of proposals with commonly needed sections such as Facilities and Resources.

UIC Facilities and Resources (2023-2024)

JACSW Advancing Racial Equity Strategic Plan

JACSW Statement on Advancing Racial Equity Strategic Plan: Dean’s Summary

Following are a number of biosketches that were submitted with NIH proposals. Note that NIH seems to change the format of these frequently so please carefully check the current format for any NIH or other funder to which you are submitting to make sure you are using the correct format.

Swartz – Sample Biosketch

Mackesy-Amiti – Sample Biosketch

NIH Sample Biosketch (non-Fellowship)

Below are sample proposals that were submitted to NIH.  Note that time has passed since these applications were submitted so the samples might not reflect the latest application format and rules. Therefore, always follow your funding opportunity’s instructions for application format. New samples will be posted as we obtain them.

CDC Opioid Overdose Prevention R01 Proposal
Note this CDC proposal had a longer research development section (20 pages) than is usually allowed for R01 proposals (12 pages).

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Men Who Have Sex with Men R01 Proposal
This proposal was a full re-submission draft and shows all sections of an NIH R01 proposal. Note that the forms have changed since this was submitted. Always be sure you are using the most recent, approved NIH submission forms.

A Life Course Perspective Model of HIV Risk and Substance Use Patterns among MSM R03 Proposal

The Role of Mid-Life Psychosocial Stressors, Social Resources, and Physiological Dysregulation in Understanding Race Differences in Cognitive Decline R21 Proposal
This R21 proposal was kindly provided to JACSW to use as a sample by Dr. Uchechi Mitchell who is in the UIC School of Public Health.

NIH K-Award Sample Proposals
The NIH supports Research Training and Career Development programs to help prepare individuals for careers in biomedical, behavioral, social, and clinical research. This page offers samples of several K mechanisms from mentored awards for new investigators to awards intended for mid-career, non-mentored individuals. This page provides sample proposals as well as a training video tutorial.

Below are proposals obtained from the NIJ Guidance for Applicants and Awardees web site page:

Safe Transitions for Teens: Assessing the Impact of Intimate Partner Transitional Housing on Adolescent Residents

Joyce Foundation Sample Proposals

Proposal to conduct a survivor-centered examination of processes and outcomes associated with homicide investigations in Chicago.

This proposal was successfully submitted by Dr. Bocanegra to the Joyce Foundation which awarded the project $175,000 over two years.

Russell Sage Foundation Sample Proposals
The Russell Sage Foundation was established by Margaret Olivia Sage in 1907 for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” It dedicates itself to strengthening the methods, data, and theoretical core of the social sciences in order to better understand societal problems and develop informed responses. The foundation supports visiting scholars in residence and publishes books and a journal under its own imprint. It also funds researchers at other institutions and supports programs intended to develop new generations of social scientists.

RSF funds research projects in four principal programs—Behavioral Economics; the Future of Work; Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration; and Social, Political, and Economic Inequality—and in a number of special initiatives. RSF also hosts working groups that develop and cultivate original social science research in new or understudied fields.

The linked page provides multiple sample proposals and letters of intent as well as video tutorials on proposal best practices.

Lucille Packard Foundation – Awarded Grants
The Lucille Packard Foundation funds programs and projects that contribute to improving systems of care for children with special health care needs and their families. Browse our online database of active and completed grants. The link provides information on awarded grants and contact information for the PI’s, who might be willing to share their proposals on inquiry.

Adaptation of a Paper Analytic Device for Use as a Drug-Checking Technology for Street Drugs to Reduce Opioid Overdoses and Related Fatalities

This proposal was submitted to CCTS for the Pilot Grant Program and was awarded funding for two years. The document includes the proposal narrative sections, biosketches, budget, and budget justification. A separate document contains the letter of support provided by Dean Hairston.

There are typically two types of letters provided with a proposal: support and commitment. A letter of support is from an agency or individual that is not working directly with the proposed project but whose work nevertheless intersects with the project. An example would be the Illinois Department of Public Health supporting a project studying an intervention for reducing HIV or other public health issue. This type of letter does not need to be specific about a commitment of time and/or resources to the project but does have to detail the intersection between the interests and work of the organization or individual and the project purpose.

A letter of commitment is from an organization or individual who will be working on the project and committing time and/or resources. Examples would be a Co-Investigator or Consultant with time allocated to the project or an organization from where participants will be recruited. A letter of commitment should clearly acknowledge the time and/or resources that will be provided to the project. This is so the proposal reviewers can assess the feasibility of the proposed project.

Sample Letters of Support/Commitment

Download a PDF version of the FY 2024 Benefit Rates.

Information Technology@UIC: one-stop shopping for computing services and free software downloads

Advanced Cyberinfrastructure for Education and Research (ACER): high performance computing

Webstore: discounted software for University faculty, staff, and students

REDCap a secure, HIPAA-compliant, web-based application for building and managing online surveys and databases

Qualtrics a web-based survey platform for creating, publishing, and analyzing survey data available to support teaching and academic research.

Box University Box file sharing accounts are available to current UIC students, faculty, and staff (external affiliates are not eligible).

Box Health Data Folders Individuals in a covered component of the University of Illinois Covered Entity may request a Box Health Data Folder (BHDF) that is capable of securely storing protected health information.

Advanced Cyberinfrastructure for Education and Research (ACER) provides access to high-performance computing clusters, big data analytics clusters, collaborative research data storage, high-performance networking, and secure research environments. In addition to providing resources, ACER provides consulting services to researchers to support their broad range of research aims. From building advanced computing architectures and systems, setting up platforms to securely receive and analyze data from environment sensors, to software defined networking projects, ACER is committed to furthering UIC’s research ambitions.

UIC Research Guide: NIH Data Management and Sharing Comprehensive guide with resources, examples, tutorials, and more

All of Us Data and Tools (UIC has an institutional agreement for access)

Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) (resource for data sets for secondary analysis projects)

Chicago Health Atlas

National COVID Cohort Collaborative N3C (NIH NCATS)

Public Health Data and Statistics Guide – UIC Library 

UIC Library has recently acquired the entire Sage Research Methods database, located in the A-Z database listing of the UIC Library’s website. SRM has various content types, including eBooks, journal articles, reference works, case studies, datasets, and video and how-to guides, which can assist in teaching and learning research methods at every level. With this recent acquisition, faculty can now embed/assign content to use in the curriculum with no additional cost to students. For any questions, please reach out to Lee Sutherlin, the Sage Engagement Senior Faculty Partner, at lee.sutherlin@sagepub.com.