Announcements
- ORSP will be closed on Monday, January 19 in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
- Research.gov has begun preventing uploads of biosketches and CPoS forms without the latest certification for research security training. To ensure your personnel documents are up to date, you must redownload them from SciENcv. See NSF No. 149 for more details.
- Learn more about the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and its funding priorities through the DARPAConnect Pop-up in St. Louis, MO on February 19. A free virtual attendance option is also available. Click here to register.
- The Alliance of Women Philanthropists has reopened the annual Giving Circle grants program. Proposals are due to ORSP by February 20. See details in the External Funding Opportunities section below.
- New internal funding opportunity! The UTC Journey Health Foundation Research Center (JHFRC) has launched an internal grant competition entitled, REACH Fund: Research for Evidence-Based Action in Community Health. Applications are due March 30. A virtual info session will be held on January 28 at 2pm. Seethe Internal Grant Competition section below for more details.
Expected Funding Opportunity Trends for 2026
2025 saw an abundance of new federal regulations and requirements for sponsored projects. Here are a few things we expect for 2026 based on recent sponsor announcements:
- Fewer individual program solicitations – We may see more consolidated, BAA-style funding opportunities with rolling or multiple deadlines per year. It is also possible that more opportunities will require preliminary proposals or abstracts as a first step. In the case of NSF, this may mean that more program-specific solicitations may be archived in the coming months to make way for these broader opportunity announcements.
- More intensive scrutiny for proposal compliance prior to panel review – This consideration is two-fold:
- With less funding and personnel reductions, we expect federal sponsors to leverage non-compliance as an easy way to reduce the number of proposals sent for review. This means there will likely be fewer opportunities to correct proposals after submission, with higher instances of non-compliant proposals being returned without review. See the recent NIH notice and supplement to the NSF PAPPG.
- Federal sponsors are using AI detection tools to screen proposals for plagiarism, and many non-profit sponsors also require disclosure of AI use during research ideation and proposal preparation. Submitting a proposal prepared even in part by AI without the appropriate citation may not only result in the proposal being returned without review but may also result in research misconduct allegations. See the recent NIH notice and supplement to the NSF PAPPG.
- Less detailed reviewer comments – Many federal agencies, including NSF and NIH, have drastically revised the requirements and processes for merit reviews. We expect this will result in shorter, high-level reviewer comments.
What does this mean for researchers?
- Double check that the program you’re interested in is still active and has not been rolled into a larger solicitation.
- Be strategic about the funding opportunities you pursue and ensure you have enough time to dedicate to preparing a competitive proposal. Submitting proposals “just to get reviews” may not be an effective approach moving forward.
- Engage with program officers early in the process to ensure your research idea aligns with priorities.
- Follow all checklists and resource guides that the ORSP Grants Specialists prepare for you. They are tailored to each funding opportunity and include critical steps and documentation required not only by the sponsor but also by UT policy.
- To the extent feasible, refrain from using AI-based tools to develop your research ideas and prepare your proposals. If you do use AI, make sure to comply with UT policy and fully disclose the nature of AI use to the sponsor. Note that NSF has revised its research misconduct policy to include the use of AI and AI-related tools. This responsibility lies solely with the PI and project team.
Internal Grant Competitions
| Program | Deadline | Limitations or Special Considerations |
| Journey Health Foundation Research Center REACH Fund | March 30, 2026 | PIs are limited to full-time UTC faculty or staff. An individual is limited to 1 proposal as lead PI. Contact [email protected] with questions. Click here to join a virtual info session on January 28 at 2pm. |
| FY26 Open Publishing Support Fund | Rolling through 6/30/26 | Lead authors/applicants are limited to 1 award per fiscal year. |
External Funding Opportunities
ORSP has standardized the process for proposal notification, development, and submission. Click here to learn more and view required internal deadlines.
Looking for research development assistance? Learn more about ORSP’s Research Development services and request support here.
| Sponsor/Program | Deadline | Limitations or Special Considerations |
| NSF Trailblazer Engineering Impact Award | LOI: January 20, 2026 | A letter of intent is required. An eligible PI is limited to 1 proposal. See solicitation for PI eligibility details. |
| NASA Research and Development of Initiatives of Advanced New Technologies | NOI: January 26, 2026 | A notice of intent is required. Proposed tools and methods must be TRL 5 or higher. |
| NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities | January 29, 2026 | See solicitation for graduate student eligibility and research priority areas. The faculty mentor must serve as PI. |
| NSF Growing Convergence Research | February 9, 2026 | See solicitation for participation limitations and requirements. Sign up here for program office hours in January. |
| Alliance of Women Philanthropists Giving Circle Grants | February 20, 2026 | Any full-time faculty or staff may serve as PI. Deadline for proposal documents to be submitted to ORSP for review and Cayuse entry. Contact [email protected] if you are interested in applying. |
| NSF Emerging Mathematics in Biology | March 2, 2026 | No participation limitations or restrictions. |
| EPA Environmental Education Grant Program | March 3, 2026 | Projects must meet the educational and environmental priority prescribed in this NOFO. Multiple subawards and cost share are required. |
| DARPA Information Innovation Office Broad Agency Announcement | Rolling until November 1, 2026 | See BAA for key thrust areas and preliminary proposal requirements. |
| US Army Engineer Research and Development Center BAA | Rolling until January 1, 2027 | See webpage for each ERDC Laboratory’s areas of interest. Preproposals are the first step. |
Sponsored Projects Policy Spotlight: Policy on Artificial Intelligence
UT Policy BT0035 outlines the University’s policy regarding the use of AI technology. While the policy is intended to govern the use of AI for instructional and assignment purposes, the data protection clauses within this policy also apply sponsored research.
Any use of AI technology to prepare documentation for sponsored projects, including proposals, project reports, and manuscripts, must be fully disclosed to the sponsor and follow the acceptable use policy specified above. Data that is confidential, contains sensitive information, or is subject to specific legal or ethical requirements (e.g., human subjects’ data) may not be put into any generative AI without proper anonymization and evaluation of potential risks, as well as express written consent from any other necessary parties.