Limited Submissions
The Office of Research Development facilitates the University’s selection process for Limited Submissions grants and awards. When a sponsoring agency limits the number of proposals that the University can submit for a funding opportunity, those opportunities are limited submissions. Many of these grants and awards are prestigious and winning them can bring high visibility to researchers and scholars. Likewise, winning these opportunities enhances the reputation of the University’s faculty and its research portfolio.
Limited Submissions, Awards and Internal Funding Database
The Limited Submissions process is available via the Limited Submissions and Awards Management System (Onyen protected).
What are limited submission grants and awards?
A limited submissions grant is given to an individual or a team to fund a particular project or body of work. Agencies accept a limited number of proposals from each institution and the University must determine which proposals are submitted. Applications are submitted to the ORD, which coordinates the University’s formal submission to the grant agency. For proposals that are not funded, the grant agencies often provide substantive feedback on strategies to improve proposals for resubmission.
A limited submissions award is given to an individual as an acknowledgment of their academic or professional achievement. Faculty are nominated by a department chair, dean, or program head. ORD coordinates an internal review of candidates to determine the University’s official nominee. These awards frequently target junior faculty who have demonstrated significant contributions early in their careers. Many corporate entities and private foundations will award individual faculty as acknowledgment of their academic or professional achievements. Foundations will invite academic institutions to nominate promising investigators—often junior faculty—with a high likelihood of making significant contributions in a particular area of research and/or scholarship.
Upcoming Submissions Opportunities
The upcoming Limited Submissions opportunities are available via LAMSeS, the Limited Awards Management-Support Enterprise System (Onyen protected).
When are recurring limited submission awards announced?
Below is a list of limited submissions awards sponsored by corporate entities and private foundations. The University has competed for these awards historically and we expect to continue to participate in the annual competitions. All dates are approximate and are contingent upon official invitation from the sponsoring agency.
What is the limited submission and review process?
Limited Submission Selection Principle:
Researchers planning to apply to a limited submission opportunity should notify ORD and submit a pre-proposal application as soon as possible.
If the number of applicants exceeds the available submission allowance, each application will enter an internal competition. The internal competition will consist of a peer review team which evaluates the pre-applications and recommends faculty teams to be cleared for submission. If fewer than the maximum available submission slots are submitted prior to the deadline, we do not host an internal competition, and faculty teams are cleared to submit on a first-come, first-served basis.
Limited Submission 45-day Principle:
Any limited submission that is not on the calendar above and has less than 45-days before the first due date will be approved to submit on a first-come, first-served basis. Please contact [email protected] to verify.
Limited Submission Renewal Principle:
Priority is granted to teams seeking to renew a proposal for a limited submission. Please contact [email protected] to confirm renewal.
Limited Submission Selection by School Principle:
For limited submission opportunities in which the limit on the number of allowable applications is placed on individual schools (i.e. School of Medicine), each individual school is required to facilitate a selection process and internal competition of its own.
Resubmission Principle:
Going forward, ORD will prioritize teams seeking to re-submit applications for initial funding consideration if they are able to provide evidence of a competitive reviewer score and/or comments, evidence of addressing reviewer feedback, and/or other salient factors that provide data for a competitive resubmission.
What is typically included in an internal application?
Standard application materials include:
- Biosketch or CV of PI
- Brief Project Description (4 pages unless award specifies differently)
- List of potential collaborators (internal and external to UNC)
- Names of three internal (to UNC) faculty who could speak knowledgeably about the project, in the event of an internal review. Faculty named on the project, chairs or deans, direct reports or others who have a conflict of interest cannot serve on the internal review committee.
- Other materials specific to the requirements of the sponsoring agency
What do internal reviewers need to know?
ORD facilitates the University’s Limited Submissions process, which prominently features peer reviews. The internal review process for proposals at UNC Chapel Hill mirrors the guidelines of foundations and federal sponsors. The Limited Submissions and Awards team makes every effort to organize internal reviews based on the proposer’s suggested reviewers. When this is not possible, they select a technically conversant, neutral faculty reviewer.
How did I get chosen as a reviewer?
As a peer review process, reviewers are chosen by the grant applicants. The applicants select UNC faculty peers to review their work. They submit three names of faculty members who can speak knowledgeably about the area of proposed research. From among this list, ORD chooses a faculty member to observe the internal review process for the proposal.
What are my responsibilities as a reviewer?
Reviewers are responsible for reading the information packet sent to them by ORD one week prior to the review. Once reviewers are familiar with the candidate’s proposals (usually only 1-3 pages long), CVs, and grant criteria, the committee will meet. During the review, the faculty members confer and select the University nominee from the group of confirmed candidates put forward for the grant.
Guide to internal submissions processes:
- Foundations: Carefully review prior UNC winners, Foundation selection criteria, boards of directors if available, and eligibility.
- Federal Sponsors: Carefully review sponsor mission, solicitation priorities, and any special review criteria.
Peer Review Quick Information
- Review committees are composed only of faculty members who have expertise in the research being reviewed (faculty are identified by candidates under review).
- University nominees are chosen by the faculty committee.
- The ORD Director facilitates reviews.
- General Reviewer feedback (with reviewer consent) is provided to all faculty candidates as well as the nominees to assist in improving future outcomes.