Program Synopsis

The 2026 Faculty Opportunity Awards Program (FOA) is intended to help facilitate initial studies to support funding opportunities for research and creative activities. The current call for proposals will open to all disciplines and will be into the following categories:

  • Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
  • STEM
  • Health

The goal in each area is to expand innovative research and scholarly/creative projects that secure funding from extramural agencies, private foundations, and industry partners. This seed funding is intended to strengthen the development of competitive external funding proposals.

For example, mid-career faculty may propose FOAs to support new research directions or to pivot into emerging areas aligned with evolving funding priorities. New faculty may request support to advance NIH-related research, positioning them to compete successfully for an R01 award. Funding may also be used to generate preliminary data for proposals such as the NSF CAREER award, helping establish a strong foundation for sustained, long-term external support.

Proposals may be submitted by individual investigators or collaborative teams. Teams may include participants from multiple UNLV colleges or schools and may also involve external collaborators.

All FOA opportunities are designed to establish or expand areas of expertise that will lead to sustainable, externally funded research and creative activity.


Up to $350,000 will be available to support this round of FOAs. Applications are to submitted online through the UNLV InfoReady Opportunities Portal.

Eligibility

The program supports individuals or teams seeking to develop projects that generate research, scholarship, and/or creative activities aligned with specific external funding opportunities.

Individual applicants may be junior (pre-tenure) or senior (post-tenure) faculty. Junior faculty applicants must identify one or more senior mentors for their projects; mentors may be internal or external to UNLV. Senior faculty are similarly encouraged to mentor junior faculty on projects that align with the research or creative activities outlined in the proposal.

Team proposals are also encouraged and may include both internal and external collaborators. However, award funds are restricted to UNLV-related expenditures. Teams may be single-discipline or interdisciplinary in nature. Interdisciplinary proposals must include at least two collaborators—a Principal Investigator (PI) and one or more Co-Principal Investigators (Co-PIs)—representing different UNLV colleges or schools. The PI will serve as the lead contact, responsible for receiving official communications and submitting required reports, and must meet UNLV’s eligibility requirements for serving as a PI (including faculty-in-residence).

There is no limit to the number of collaborators; however, full-time UNLV faculty are expected to form the core of each team. Faculty who have previously received an FOA award may participate as team members but may not serve as PI.

Award Information

Maximum award amounts are:

  • Up to $20,000 for individual projects
  • Up to $30,000 for team projects

Final award amounts may vary depending on the number of participants and the scope and nature of the proposed research or creative activity.

Projects are expected to use the award to refine research or creative directions, identify appropriate external funding sources, and submit grant proposals within the 24-month project performance period.

Funding is open to all disciplines at UNLV. Proposals representing diverse fields—including the sciences, humanities, arts, education, and interdisciplinary areas—are strongly encouraged.

Note: Faculty who have received a FOA award previously are eligible to participate on a team but may not serve as the PI. View historic FOA awardees at Past Awards.

The award ceilings for individuals and team awards are set Up to $20,000 and $35,000, respectively. The amount of funding per award will vary based on number of participants, the area of research or creative activity proposed. The awards will be utilized to identify research and creative activities that allow the development, identification of funding source(s), and applications for grant(s) within the 24-month project performance period. Project funding is intended for an inclusive range of disciplines at UNLV and projects representing diverse disciplines (e.g., sciences, humanities, arts, education) and approaches to research/scholarship/creative activities are strongly encouraged.

Performance Period

Awards start July 1st and are for 24-months. No extensions will be approved.

Application Details

The intent of the FOA award is to provide resources to plan for specified federal, foundation, and industry funding proposals by the end of the 24-month FOA award. 

The primary deliverable from this award is the submission of two or more grant proposals for funding from external sources which can include foundational or corporate support, within the 24-month project performance period. The proposal should help to catalyze a funded programs for new and existing faculty, and stimulate development of new opportunities.  Ideally, the individual or team would describe a grant making/funding trajectory that is appropriate for the nature of the work. Other planned outcomes, such as manuscripts or creative works, should be included as secondary deliverables if appropriate. 

Successful applications will clearly demonstrate that the proposal has high potential for subsequent external funding from specific agencies or sources. Successful applications will:

  • Outline the problem, issue, or topic around which the proposals would be developed. Individual proposals should distinguish if the proposal is foundational (e.g. NSF CAREER) to build a robust path for success or transitional (e.g. A pivot to explore new ideas, pathways to new funding such as in support of an R01). The team proposals can be for a new team or an existing team that is interested in developing new projects or directions for their work. Teams should note if the proposed teams/work aligns with any of the current interdisciplinary research development areas (iRDAs).
  • Describe the activities planned for the FOA period and how the planned activities contribute to the development of capacity to address the proposal topic. Activities supported by this FOA can be diverse (pilot project, grant writing support, knowledge building, etc.) but should show clear alignment to the goals of the FOA.
  • Provide a rationale/evidence for why this topic area is positioned to be successful for extramural funding. Specifically describe the expertise and relevance to areas of strength at UNLV or the need to develop them with respect to current funding priorities and trends. This may include recent calls for proposals from funding agencies; market forecasts; industry trends; or other reports related to social, environmental, or financial challenges or problems.
  • Each application should clearly identify the funding agencies or sources that will be targeted with the research results obtained during the FOA. When possible, the actual funding opportunities should be provided.
  • A discussion of the budget and how the funds will be utilized to support the efforts described in the proposal should be included.

Budget

College/School Support:  Applicants are strongly encouraged to seek support from their deans to help develop and support the proposal. Preference will be given to proposals that have direct support from departments, colleges, or schools. Support may include direct funding, release time for faculty, travel support, or other types of support. If secured, support should be detailed in letters of support from Deans that are submitted as part of the application. 

Please note: Funds must be spent within 24 months.  Extensions will not be granted after the period of performance. If progress is not demonstrated within an initial 12-month period the activities may be reconsidered for support. An annual report will be required to assess progress for all funded FOAs.

In the Application Packet section replace with: 

Assemble the FOA application packet in a single PDF (single-space, 1-inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font). Use exact section headers, sub headers, etc. as indicated in all forms and instructions.

  1. Cover Page Form (Signed by single PIs, team PIs, any Co-PI(s), Chair/Unit Head, Dean)
  2. Required Sections 
    1.  
    2. Project Summary (1 page maximum)
    3. Project Narrative (5 pages maximum)
    4. Timeline for Activities and Deliverables for the 24 month period of performance (1 page maximum)
    5. Budget Plan (2 pages maximum)  
    6. For all proposals a list of participants, roles, and biosketch (use a format common to federal funding agencies, such as, SCIenv.)
    7. Curriculum Vitae (2 pages maximum or length specified by potential future funding agency, e.g., four pages maximum for NIH)
    8. Current and Pending Support for participants (If none, you should nevertheless include and reference this section as “Not applicable to this proposal.”  
    9. Letter of Support (up to two-pages formal letter of support). If proposing use of facilities or equipment not owned by the proposer with the letter to come from the Dean. Support of any form should be also documented in the letters.
    10. Three UNLV Potential Reviewers

Application Packet

Assemble the FOA application packet in a single PDF.

The application packet PDF must include the following:

  1. Cover Page
  2. Table of Contents
  3. Project Summary (1 page maximum)
  4. Project Narrative (5 pages maximum)
  5. Timeline for Activities and Deliverables for the 24 month period of performance (1 page maximum)
  6. Budget Plan (2 pages maximum)
  7. List of team members, roles, and biosketch (use format common to federal funding agencies, such as, SciENcv.
  8. Curriculum Vitae (2 pages maximum or length specified by potential future funding agency, e.g., four pages maximum for NIH)
  9. Current and Pending Support for both Principal Investigators
  10. Letter of Support (up to two-pages formal letter of support). If proposing use of facilities or equipment not owned by proposers letter needs to come from Dean. Support of any form should be also documented in the letters.
  11. Three UNLV Potential Reviewers

Online Submission Portal

All materials must be compiled into a single PDF file and submitted online through the UNLV InfoReady Opportunities Portal. No late submissions will be considered. The Principal Investigator will receive an automatic notification when the application packet has been received.

Evaluation Process and Criteria

Faculty Opportunity Award (FOA) proposals will be evaluated by confidential peer-review panels comprised of UNLV faculty representing a variety of academic disciplines, faculty ranks, ethnicities, and gender. The panel’s confidential comments and recommendations will be reviewed by the Vice President for Research, the Associate Vice President for Research, and the Assistant Vice President for Business and Finance. Based on feedback, the Vice President for Research will make the final approval.

In the Evaluation Criteria - add this 4th bullet point at the end:

  • The proposal’s conformity to the stipulated requirements on formatting, budget, and deadlines.

Post-Award Assessment of Progress

The lead PI of the FOA will be required to submit an interim report documenting the status of the FOA at twelve months. The format for this report will be provided to each FOA lead PI. Similarly, the lead PI of all successful awards will be required to submit a final report that will be due 30 days after the project end date. The content and format will be relayed to the PI in the Notice of Award letter and acceptance agreement.

Additionally, the award account balance will be monitored at the one year interval to ensure expenditures are being made at a pace that indicates sufficient progress towards timely completion.

Deliverables

Principal Investigators of successful FOAs are required to submit a final report within 30 days after the project end date.  Within the 24 months of the project performance period, all teams are required to submit at least two proposals to a peer-reviewed, competitive grant program. Documentation of the success or failure of the proposal(s) must be noted in the interim and final reports. The format and delivery of these reports will be provided to the PI in the Notice of Award letter. A yearly follow-up survey will be sent each year for up to three years.

Funding Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the Faculty Opportunity Awards funding from the Division of Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Announcements of the awardees will occur in June. All funds will start July 1st.

Announcements of the awardees will occur in June. All funds will start July 1st.

No. There is no expectation that proposals will be related to these areas. This FOA is intended to help identify and support an inclusive range of interdisciplinary teams on campus. The question is asked as part of the proposal process only to help develop a more complete picture of the interdisciplinary work and expertise existing on campus.

Instructions are available on the Public Lands Permits page.

Instructions are available on the Office of Research Infrastructure page.

The funding cannot be used to employ personnel and students from other universities. However, funds may be used to pay for faculty from other universities who serve as consultants with a clear discussion of their role within the budget discussion.

This is a professional contract called “Letter of Appointment” (LOA). Be sure that the FTE does not exceed 47.5 % (19 hrs per week). At 0.50 FTE, this contract type becomes an LOB (with benefits) and thus health insurance and retirement are automatically applied, which if not properly calculated and added to the budget plan, can often exhaust the total amount of the award. Standard fringe benefits need to be budgeted. Consult the Office of Sponsored Programs for current rates.

A Graduate Assistant (GA) is a salaried employee – paid a stipend set at established amounts for masters and doctoral students – and must be hired either for an entire semester or academic year, with job duties totaling no more than 20 hours per week.  A GA is processed through the Graduate College, and the student must be entered into the Grad Rebel Gateway in order to be awarded the Assistantship.  The GA is subject to additional rules and regulations, such as minimum credit-load requirements, tuition and fringe benefits. This type of GA support is NOT allowed on these FOAs.

A graduate student on wages is hired as an hourly employee and can be employed for as little as a month with no expectation of paid tuition or fees.  When hiring a graduate student on wages, the PI must include fringe benefits in the proposal budget in addition to the hourly rate of pay. This type of graduate student support (hourly wages) IS allowed on these FOAs. See the question below for information on hourly pay and fringe benefit rates.

A: There is no mandated rate of pay for students paid on hourly wages.  A typical rate for undergraduates is $10-13 per hour; a typical rate for graduate students is $13-16 per hour, with the top end reserved for stellar students.  Fringe benefits must be added any time a salary is paid; the rate is 2.1% for student hourly wages in FY2027.

Only personnel on non-numbered positions (wages and LOAs) can be supported on these awards.

No. Only personnel on non-numbered positions (wages and LOAs) can be supported on these awards.

Only domestic travel will be allowed as specified in the allowable costs portion of the call.

A:  If a particular form of technology is essential to the research project, then it should be justified in the Budget Plan section of the proposal.

Yes. As long as the cost of the database is under $5,000 and should be included under “Materials and Supplies”.

Yes. It should be included under “Materials and Supplies” and should be essential to the research project.

Yes. Fees for using core facilities and labs may be included under “Operating Costs” in the budget plan. Please provide justification for use of external facilities.

No. IRB requirements must be noted on the cover page form, but the faculty member does not need to secure IRB approvals (if required for the project) unless they are selected to receive a Faculty Opportunity Award. However, the IRB approval letter must be submitted to the Office of Sponsored Programs before an award account will be established.

contact

Althea Sheets

Associate Director of Research Engagement
702-895-1880
althea.sheets@unlv.edu