What is a limited submission funding opportunity?
A limited submission funding opportunity is a grant offered by a funder/sponsor (federal or foundation) that only allows an institution to submit a limited number of applications.
Why do we need to apply to RIO before submitting an application to a limited submission funding opportunity?
Funders offering limited submission opportunities assume institutions have a rigorous selection procedure to ensure the strongest proposals are ultimately submitted. The goal of RIO’s Limited Submission program is to provide a fair and transparent process for making a decision on which UMN applicant(s) should be chosen to submit to the funder, and giving all interested UMN researchers across the university the opportunity to be the selected candidate.
It is also important to ensure that the number of proposals submitted from UMN do not exceed the funder’s allowed number of applications. If PI's from an institution submit more applications than the funder allows, any additional proposals could be sent back un-reviewed. In fact, some funders state if more proposals are submitted than allowed, all proposals from that institution will be disqualified.
What is the UMN limited submission process?
The Research Advancement team searches out and publishes current opportunities on the RIO website. Care is taken to publish funding opportunities as far ahead of the funder deadline as possible. An internal deadline is determined - a minimum of 6-8 weeks before the funder deadline.
If more applications are received than the amount allowed, an internal competition will be held. A review panel made up of ad hoc faculty, past award winners, and/or RIO committee members will review and score each application. A review panel meeting may be held to discuss scores and submissions.
The review panel recommendations are sent to the vice president for research and innovation who makes the final determinations on proposal nominations, considering the review panel recommendations and the University's strategic mission and research goals. All applicants are notified of the decision, and given copies of any reviewer critiques.
The nominated applicant(s) then works with their school/college/institute and their representative at SPA to put together a competitive proposal for submission to the funder.
How do I know if it is a limited submission opportunity?
Generally, the eligibility section of a funding opportunity will have a subsection or separate paragraph detailing the number of proposals or applications allowed per institution. If after checking the eligibility section, you still are unclear whether or not an opportunity is a limited submission opportunity, you can contact the funder directly or contact our office for further clarification.
I want to apply for a limited submission opportunity, but it is not on the RIO website. What do I do?
The RIO Research Advancement team does its best to identify and publish limited submission opportunities from our sources. However, there may be additional opportunities discovered by faculty or staff that were missed in our searches. If a faculty or staff member comes across an opportunity that is not listed on our website, please notify the Research Advancement Team at [email protected] as soon as possible.
The opportunity will be posted on the RIO Limited Extramural Funding website. If there is enough time and interest, an internal competition may need to be held.
If there is not enough time (under 6-8 weeks), the opportunity will be treated as first come/ first served. Regardless, proposals should not be submitted to any limited submission opportunities without approval from RIO.
What happens if a proposal is submitted to a limited submission opportunity without going through the UMN limited submission process?
Funders offering limited submission opportunities are very strict about the number of proposals an institution is allowed to submit. If there are more submissions than the allowed number, proposals may be returned without review, or all submissions may be disqualified. A proposal submitted without permission may supersede an officially nominated proposal. It is important to always go through RIO.
What is an internal competition? What happens when there are more applications than spots available?
When a posted opportunity receives more applications than allowed proposal numbers, RIO will hold an internal competition. The submissions will be reviewed by an ad hoc committee of faculty members, past award winners, and/or RIO committee members. Scores and reviews will be sent to the vice president for research and innovation who will determine UMN's nominations according to committee reviews and proposal alignment with UMN strategic research initiatives.
Do I have to submit a new proposal in the case of an internal competition?
No. The review panels will evaluate the initial submissions.
What if I was selected as a nominee, but decide I cannot submit a proposal to the funder?
If you decide you cannot submit a proposal after you were nominated by UMN, you must let the Research Advancement team know as soon as possible. If you were selected through an internal competition, the next ranking applicant will become the official nominee and will need time to prepare and work on their proposal.
Failure to notify the Research Advancement team if you do not submit a proposal may result in ineligibility to participate in future limited submission opportunities.
I submitted a proposal that wasn't selected as the University nomination. Can I re-submit my proposal in a future funding period?
Yes, you can re-submit your proposal. Re-submitted proposals will be treated the same as initial proposals. It is a good idea to look at any comments you received from reviewers of your initial proposal and make any changes accordingly.
If your proposal becomes part of an internal review, the review committee will not have access to your previous scores or comments.
I am submitting a competitive renewal to a limited submission funding opportunity. Is there anything different I need to do?
Make sure that your cover letter states that your submission is a competitive renewal. Priority?
What do the following statuses mean?
- Open: Accepting proposals/submissions
- In Review: The internal deadline has passed and submitted proposals are going through the review process. No new internal submissions will be accepted.
- PI(s) Selected: The proposals submitted have gone through the review process and the PI(s) have been selected to submit full proposals to the funder. No new internal submissions will be accepted.
- Contact Us: The internal deadline has passed, and either we have not received any internal submissions, or there are fewer internal submissions than funder slots. Contact us if you would like to submit a proposal. These are handled on a first come / first served basis.
Are there any resources available for help on writing proposals or finding collaborators?
[email protected] is a great place to start to find collaborators. For a list of grant writing resources, please see the Limited Submissions website.