Internal Funding
Catalyst Research Planning and Implementation Grants
Award Cycle: Quarterly
Limit on Proposals per PI: An individual may participate as PI on one Catalyst Workshop Planning and Implementation proposal per academic year.
Limit on Awards per PI: An individual may not have more than two active ORP awards at a given time.
Proposal Due Dates: First University of Arizona business Wednesday of July, October, January, and April.
Earliest Start Date: Three weeks after quarterly due date.
Award Period: Nine months from award date.
Applications: Accepted through Arizona Cultivate.
Description: The Catalyst Research Planning and Implementation program supports workshops, conferences, and symposia that bring experts and research collaborators together to discuss recent research or education findings to support the long-term planning of interdisciplinary, team science programs. Ultimately, these activities should enable the future submission of a high-quality and relevant research proposal to an external sponsor. ORP is particularly interested in funding workshops to further the University of Arizona’s Strategic Imperatives and Strategic Research Initiatives.
Shared support by partner institutions is encouraged. Proposals should generally be submitted at six months in advance of the scheduled date. Activities must be accessible and welcoming to diverse audiences (see the University of Arizona UA DRC event planning guidance).
The Catalyst for Research Planning and Implementation program is open to faculty of any rank, postdocs and graduate students. Postdocs and graduate students must include a faculty as a co-investigator and a Letter of Support from their supervisor/academic advisor and the department head.
Applicants may request up to $15,000 in support of an activity held in Tucson.
- Special Priority: Applicants should consider how and whether they can support cross-campus and partner engagement on the following topics and through engagement with the initiative leads:
- Space Science, Technology, and National Security
- Promise of Fusion Energy
- AI-driven Health Innovation
- Future of Sustainable Mining and Critical Minerals
- Arid Lands Agriculture and Water
Funding is supported by the TRIF Initiatives, including Water, Energy and Environmental Solutions; Space, Engineering, and Optical Sciences; National Security Systems; and Improving Health.
Each of these topics has the opportunity to include cross-disciplinary teams of physical scientists, engineers, social scientists, natural scientists, humanists, arts scholars, and more. Consider building an interdisciplinary team to apply.
Proposal preparation, submission, and processing information is available in the ORP Proposal Preparation Guide (PPG) v10, which is downloadable in Arizona Cultivate. The PPG includes requirements for the project narrative and supplemental documents; it is strongly encouraged that interested applicants read the PPG in full as proposals that do not match the PPG will be returned without review.
Please note the budget approval process which utilizes an applicant driven routing step after submission. Applicants will input the email address of their business officer or award/research administrator when prompted at the end of the application prior to submission. The email address should be for the person who has authority to create, review, and approve the budget. The system will send a link for approval via the email listed to the business officer or award/research administrator where they may confirm they reviewed and approved the submitted budget. This approval step is required before an application is accepted for compliance checks and formal review. The deadline for business officer or award/research administrator is the Friday following the deadline at 5:00 pm MST. ORP recommends the investigator alert their budget officer/research administrator of this process in advance of their submission.
Solicitation Specific Requirements Superseding the PPG:
Proposal Preparation:
- Narrative: the two-page narrative should include statements on the need for such an activity and the list of topics to be discussed, the overall impact of the event, the societal impact of the event, significance or intellectual merit of the event, and the potential return on investment. In addition, the narrative should include why U of A is well positioned to be a leader in the proposed area as well as an analysis of recent workshops or events at other institutions.
- Supplemental Documents: (Please upload as one combined PDF)
- No more than one-page table including the names and organizational affiliations of the organizing committee and invited participants.
- No more than one-page on how the meeting will be organized (including a draft agenda)