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Internal Funding Administered by ORD

Update April 2025:
All ORD-managed internal grant programs are fully subscribed for the remainder of the fiscal year. Eligible UNC faculty are welcome to submit new Idea Seed grant applications for FY26, however we cannot confirm a timeline for when we will be able to return funding decisions.

The Office of Research Development coordinates funding opportunities sponsored by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research. These funding opportunities support faculty’s foundational research, creative practice, publication expenditures, and offset travel costs related to visiting extramural sponsors.

As of Fall 2018, the OVCR has restructured the URC Small Grants program offered in prior years. The current internal funding opportunities are listed below.

On this page:

UNC Idea Grant

The UNC Idea Grant is a pilot funding program that encourages researchers to develop novel ideas that address important problems or roadblocks to a current line of inquiry. This competition is open to any field of research and/or scholarship conducted by UNC-CH researchers. Proposers must demonstrate how their proposed research project will have impact by addressing an important problem in their research field. The goal of this program is to provide initial support to projects so that researchers will be more competitive for additional external or large-scale internal funding. This funding program will not serve as bridge funding or to supplement existing funding.

This program is part of the Vice Chancellor for Research’s university-wide pilot funding portfolio, with the goal of furthering the University’s pre-eminence as a national and world-renowned leader in foundational research, creative practice, and the translation of research into social settings.

Creativity Hubs

Creativity Hubs are evolving virtual research networks that concentrate talent and resources on bold ideas for defined periods of time. Launched by the Vice Chancellor for Research in Fall 2017, Creativity Hubs Creativity Hubs will create an environment where investigators can leverage advances to keep Carolina at the forefront of creativity and innovation.

Arts and Humanities Research Grants

The Arts and Humanities Research Grant provides support to scholarly, creative, or artistic pursuits and research projects led by individuals or teams. The program is part of UNC-Chapel Hill’s strategic plan and the Vice Chancellor for Research’s University-wide pilot funding portfolio, furthering the University’s pre-eminence as a national and world-renowned leader in foundational research, creative practice, and the translation of research into social settings.

The program is co-funded by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Institute for the Arts and Humanities.

Competitions for the Arts and Humanities Research Grant will be held once annually. Proposal applications will be due May 20, 2024, to the Office of Research Development. Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on the due date. Applications received after the deadline will be de-prioritized during the review period.”

ORD Publication Grants

Beginning in late 2020, ORD and the Institute for the Arts and Humanities (IAH) began co-funding the Publication Support Grant program. IAH is the primary administrator for the program and welcomes requests for support on a rolling basis. Complete application information may be found on the IAH Grants and Awards Page.