RAISE - Researcher Assistance Initiative for Supporting Emergencies

The RAISE program is designed to mitigate the impacts faced by principal investigators (PIs) that have received an unexpected and formal termination of funding or stop-work order from a federal funder. The program has emphasis on assisting early stage researchers so that they can continue to progress along their career path. Further emphasis is on providing short-term funding for continued student, postdoc, and research staff employment. The program is operated through the Research and Innovation Office (RIO) in partnership with the Office of the Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations (EVPFO) and the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost (EVPP).
 

Program Overview

RAISE is available to PIs system wide. It is designed to assist the ongoing research or creative activity efforts for a period of three months to one year. Due to the timing of the program, funding may fall across two fiscal years. The program applies only to projects that:

  1. Have previously been supported by a federal funder.
  2. Have been terminated prematurely for reasons beyond the control of the PI.
  3. Had more than 30 days remaining at the time of termination or suspension. Projects with less time remaining are generally expected to complete the funder-approved closeout process. However, if the funder denies or halts that process, the project may still be eligible for RAISE support.

RAISE does not apply to new, previously unsupported projects and cannot be used to augment an external award. 

RAISE will provide one-time funding of up to $80,000, including matching funds. For the first $20,000, there is no match required. For the additional request up to $60,000, one-third will be covered by RAISE and the remaining two-thirds should be covered by the other unit(s): from non-sponsored accounts held and managed by individuals, departments, institutes or centers, campuses, schools or colleges. For example: An application may have a budget of $80,000 total including the $40,000 match from other sources. Another application may have a budget of $50,000 total including the $20,000 match from other sources.

PIs supported through this program should still seek alternative funding over the RAISE-funded period so we can continue to provide opportunities for others in need of institutional support. Depending upon the funds available, renewal proposals may be considered in the future.

Each request will need to meet the eligibility requirements listed on this program page and describe the total allowable expenses. Requests over $20,000 must include a letter of support from the Dean, Research Associate Dean or similar unit leader describing the importance of the proposed activity and confirming the availability of 2/3 matching funds. Requests requiring a match must also be reviewed and approved by the Chief Financial Manager (CFM) / Finance Lead of the appropriate unit.

Funds are available per project, not per PI. Each project that is terminated or has a stop work order can be submitted for funding.

Requests will be reviewed and approved by a team of central leaders led by the Vice President for Research and Innovation, with input from the EVPFO and EVPP. Funding commitments will be tracked by RIO, the Budget Office and the Executive Rapid Response Team and will be reported to the President.
 

Funding Cycle

The RAISE program will start on May 7, 2025, and is expected to remain active until June 30, 2025, based on need and availability of funds. Requests will be accepted continually and evaluated once per week. Requests must be initiated by the PI listed on the current award (including incoming subawards) via the process described below. In the new fiscal year, we will reevaluate the available funds and if possible reopen the program for new submissions.
 

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted by the PI listed on the terminated award using the RAISE Funding Request Form. Key elements in the request include:

  1. Terminated grant information such as contract number (CON#), project title, original funding source, project’s original start and end dates, and stop-work or termination date.
  2. Maximum of one-page narrative using this provided template that describes:
    1. Summary of the disruption. Describe potential impacts on personnel, human research participants, research infrastructure, data integrity, timelines, and/or outcomes if support is not received.
    2. What will be accomplished during RAISE funding. Provide clear focus area and expected outcome.
    3. A budget that shows how the requested RAISE funds will be spent and alignment with the proposed work. Please see the “Allowable Expenditures” section.
  3. If the budget is > $20,000, a letter of support and commitment for the required matching funds from the Dean, Associate Dean for Research or equivalent unit leader.
  4. Statement from the unit’s Chief Financial Manager (CFM) confirming that the matching funds are available and listing the actual sources.
     

Eligibility Requirements

  • Request is in support of a grant that is A) subject to a formal termination of funding or permanent stop-work order from a federal funder, and B) is included on SPA’s list of terminated grants and the data intake form that is being used to track terminated and suspended grants.
  • The impacted program had at least 30 days left on the award prior to the termination or suspension of funding, OR the funder has stopped the orderly close out process.
  • Budget is in compliance with the funding requirement - (a) up to $20,000, no matching funds required, (b) between $20,001 - $80,000, with 2/3rd matching funds for those amounts required from non-sponsored accounts held and managed by individuals, departments, institutes or centers, campuses, schools or colleges.  
  • PIs can only request RAISE funding once per year for the same program.
  • Any grant that is terminated or stopped before the program end date (June 30, 2025) is eligible.

Eligibility Notes: 

  • RAISE does not apply to new, previously unsupported projects and cannot be used to augment an external award.
    Proposals from PIs within administrative units (rather than a school or college) are eligible to apply and matching funds are still expected.
     

Allowable Expenditures

  • Funds to continue salary and fringe for students, postdocs, research staff.
  • Material supplies and cost for conducting critical experiments
  • Equipment expenses if they are necessary to protect the health and safety of participants.
  • Travel for field work
  • Data storage and processing
  • Participant costs
  • Pre-clinical costs

Non-Allowable Expenditures

  • RAISE funds cannot be used for non-UMN employees.
  • RAISE funds cannot be used to support costs incurred under outgoing subawards.
  • Faculty salary
  • Capital Equipment
  • International subcontract/site

Note:

  • If funding is reinstated or as soon as other funding sources are secured, the RAISE program expects that the PI will immediately notify RIO. RAISE funds may only be used when sponsor funds are not available. If funds are acquired (through reinstatement, new awards, or from other sources), the program requires that expenses be reallocated to those acquired funds so that the University can redeploy any unspent RAISE funds to other PIs. This will help ensure the University can optimize the number of projects that can benefit from these emergency resources.
  • Funds awarded through the RAISE program will need to be reported as “in-kind” support on principal investigator(s) future “Current and Pending Support” or “Other Support” forms.
     

Review Process & Evaluation Criteria

  1. Information submitted via the RAISE Funding Request Form will be reviewed for completeness and validated for eligibility by RIO’s Research Advancement team.
  2. Eligible requests will be shared immediately with a central leadership team (VPRI, EVPFO, and EVPP) to allow for early consultation if desired (i.e. prior to the weekly meeting in step 3).
  3. The central leadership team will convene weekly to review the newly submitted, eligible requests, and decide on allocation of RAISE funding. Evaluation will take into consideration:
    1. The relevance of proposed research or creative activity to the University’s priorities.
    2. Potential impacts on personnel (students, postdocs, research staff), human research participants, research infrastructure, and data integrity.
    3. Transitioning critical experiments and data preservation
    4. Human subject participants, pre-clinical activities
    5. Relevance to the public health
    6. Assistance for early stage researchers so they can continue on their career trajectory with minimal disruption.
  4. Funding determination will be communicated to the requesting PI, unit leadership (Dean, Associate Dean for Research, Chief Financial Manager), and the University Budget Office by the Research Advancement Office and will include a key contact in the unit Budget office when funding has been approved.
  5. Funding to cover actual allowable expenses will be transferred by the Budget Office, up to the approved amount, at the end of the respective fiscal year to balance out the account.