OVPRI Internal Funding Opportunities

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation (OVPRI) offers support for faculty research and scholarship across all disciplines. These programs are designed to support and foster the research enterprise at UO. 

The internal award programs seed new research initiatives and collaborations, help translate research innovation into commercial success, support creative endeavors and scholarly projects in disciplines with limited external funding opportunities, and provide other support to further our research mission.

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Interdisciplinary Research Programs

  • Incubating Interdisciplinary Initiatives

Individual Research Programs

  • Faculty Research Awards
  • New Junior Faculty Research Awards Program

Other Programs

  • Bridge Funding
  • Funding to Support Grant Proposals
  • Outstanding Research Awards
  • Research Instrumentation and Equipment Program for Research Core Facilities (RIEP)
  • Translational Opportunity Fund
  • UO Sustainability Award

Departmental Programs

Undergrad Research Programs

  • Humanities Undergraduate Research Fellowship
  • Knight Campus Undergraduate Scholars
  • Mini-Grants
  • O'Day Fellowship
  • P-Chem
  • Presidential Undergrad Research Scholars
  • VPRI Fellowship

Types of Research (Definitions for internal grants)

Archived Programs

Interdisciplinary Seed Funding Programs

Incubating Interdisciplinary Initiatives (I3)

The Incubating Interdisciplinary Initiatives (I3) award program fosters new interdisciplinary research projects at UO. I3 partnerships should emerge from shared research interests and needs and be developed in light of external funding opportunities, UO’s institutional strengths, academic priorities, and institutional history. Partnerships may include external institutions of strategic importance. Learn more about I3 Funding.

Individual Research Programs

Faculty Research Award

Faculty Research Awards are made annually through the Office of the Vice President for Research & Innovation to UO faculty from all disciplinary backgrounds. Learn more about FRA Funding.

New Junior Faculty Research Awards Program

This award provides up to $3,000 to support research expenses for all eligible faculty members in the first year of their appointment. No application is required. Learn more about the NJFR award.

Other Internal Funding

Bridge Funding Support for Research

The competitiveness of the federal funding climate presents unique challenges to principal investigators, especially as unanticipated gaps in funding have negative effects on the continuation of active research programs. The Bridge Funding Support program provides interim resources to mitigate a challenging federal climate and to facilitate the ongoing viability of federally funded research projects. Learn more about Bridge Funding.

Funding to Strengthen Grant Proposal

RDS has funding to help make your proposal content stronger. We can help coordinate and help pay for external review of proposals by content experts in your field or provide funding for visualization and graphic design for proposals. Learn more about Proposal Funding.

Outstanding Research Award

The Vice President for Research and Innovation, the Office of the Provost, and the Graduate School annually host and sponsor the Outstanding Research Awards. 

Awardees receive commendations from the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation. The awards include $1,000 (or $2,500 for a team) in research support, a recognition memento, and a highlight of their work in internal and external communications. Learn more about the Outstanding Research Awards.

Research Instrumentation and Equipment Program for Research Core Facilities (RIEP)

This program helps Research Core Facilities acquire new and repair, upgrade or replace existing instrumentation critical to UO’s research infrastructure. Learn more about RIEP Funding.

Emergency funds for Core Facilities do not follow the above deadline. Please use this form to apply for emergency funds on a rolling basis.

Translational Opportunity Fund

This internal grant program provides funds to UO innovators for services, tools, and other resources needed to successfully translate their research and launch new UO research-based startup companies. Learn more about the Translational Opportunity Fund.

UO Sustainability Award

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation is seeking nominations for individuals or research teams for the UO Sustainability Awards. This award program aims to recognize individuals whose contributions deepen our culture of environmental sustainability across a range of institutional activities. The OVPRI sponsors two of the Sustainability Awards: one for research and scholarship, and one for innovation and impact. Award recipients will receive $500 in research funds ($1000 will be provided to a team), and will also be featured in a video produced by the Office of Sustainability. 

The nomination should contain a one-paragraph description of the nominee’s contributions to sustainability in research and scholarship or innovation and impact, along with the nominee’s CV.  If nominating a research team, please include CVs for all faculty team members. Preference is given to interdisciplinary environmental projects for the research and scholarship award. Though the award is not limited to faculty, a student is unlikely to be competitive as an individual nominee.

Nominations (self-nominations are welcome and encouraged) via the online nomination form. The deadline for submission is February 27, 2023.

The OVPRI executive team will review the nominations and select award recipients. The awards will be presented in a ceremony hosted by the Office of Sustainability - time and format to be announced.

If you have any questions, please email RDS.

UO Departmental Support Programs

Below is a selection of departmental funding programs, and a button to take you to Pivot for a more comprehensive list of UO's internal funding programs.

Pivot List of Internal Awards

    Undergraduate Research Internal Funding

    Humanities Undergraduate Research Fellowship

    This program is designed to increase the research opportunities for UO undergraduate students in the academic disciplines associated with the humanities. The program immerses a cohort of students in sixteen weeks of research during the winter and spring terms. Learn more about HURF.

    Knight Campus Undergraduate Scholars

    This program is a comprehensive research experience designed to develop the next generation of leading researchers. The program immerses a cohort of students in a full year of research in a Knight Campus-affiliated lab from January to December each year. Learn more about KC Scholars.

    Mini-Grants

    This program provides up to $1000.00 of support to undergraduate students that are conducting research or creative scholarship under the guidance of a University of Oregon faculty member. Learn more about Mini-Grants.

    O'Day Fellowship

    The Peter O’Day Fellowship in Biological Sciences supports an undergraduate student partnering with a graduate student to conduct summer research. The fellowship is awarded to four pairs of students each summer that are conducting authentic research in the University of Oregon’s many diverse research laboratories. Learn more about O'Day Fellowships.

    P-Chem Fellowship

    This program provides students with an opportunity to conduct research full-time during the summer in a physical chemistry lab at the University of Oregon. The fellowship was created through funding provided by the Physical Chemistry Division in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Learn more about P-Chem Fellowship.

    Presidential Undergraduate Research Scholars

    The Presidential Undergraduate Research Scholars (PURS) program provides undergraduate students in the fields of chemistry, physics, earth sciences, mathematics, and computer science with an opportunity to conduct research during the academic year under the guidance of a UO faculty mentor. The program emphasizes engaging students in research that are from populations underrepresented in these fields. Learn more about PURS.

    VPRI Fellowship

    The Vice President for Research and Innovation (VPRI) Undergraduate Fellowship awards fellowships to students who conduct research, have creative scholarship, or complete work on an innovative project full-time during the summer. Learn more about VPRI Fellowships.

    Type of Research

    We track the types of research being conducted through internal OVPRI awards. Below are the definitions of the three types of research categories:

    Basic Research

    This is experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new general knowledge and understanding of nature and its laws, without thought of application or practical ends. Also called “fundamental research”. Basic Research can include research that builds on previous knowledge and seeks to expand or deepen our knowledge and understanding.

    Examples:

    • USDE award to study early childhood academic needs.
    • PI receives an NIH R01 (Research Project Grant) to study stress response in humans.
    • NSF funding to explore an area and improve our fundamental understanding of that area.

    Applied Research

    Systematic inquiry involves the practical application of science. It accesses and uses some part of the research community’s accumulated theories, knowledge, methods, and techniques, for a specific, often state-, business-, or client-driven purpose, usually resulting in the creation of new products or processes or improvements to existing products or processes. Expanding on previous knowledge with the intent to expand or deepen our knowledge is not Applied Research.

    Examples:

    • Development of an iPad-based app to enhance reading skills in underprivileged school districts.
    • After learning inflammation is a primary stress response, PI leverages existing studies to advance new theories in biomarker identification of inflammatory response and proposes developing a device to aid in active monitoring and treatment.

    Experimental Development

    The systematic application of knowledge or understanding, directed toward the production of useful materials, devices, and systems or methods, including the design, development, and improvement of prototypes and new processes to meet specific requirements.

    Examples:

    • Testing the iPad-based app with children and enhancing it before releasing it to the public or K-12 schools.
    • PI receives an NIH RC2 award and invents prototype biomarker biomedical devices for doctors to test and actively monitor, target, and treat inflammation. The device is improved, patented, and goes into market production.

    OVPRI Internal Programs (not active)