University of North Texas 
This Incentive Program is independent of whether the grant for which the faculty or staff member applied is ultimately awarded. We wish to reward effort. The program began on a trial basis in the 2021-22 academic year and will continue based on continuing good results and availability of funds.
Eligibility and Requirements
- Open to HPS faculty with appointments in tenure-line, research-line, and clinical positions.
- HPS Faculty Applicants must be the lead PI or sole PI on the project.
- Collaborative projects with other departments or universities are encouraged if appropriate.
- Faculty must submit a competitive grant proposal to an off-campus grant/contract agency within one year of the project's start.
- Changes to this timeframe may be possible but must be discussed with the Associate Dean for Research
- Pre-proposals, letters of intent, non-competitive renewals, and non-competitive contracts/sub-awards are not eligible.
- For sponsors requiring pre-proposal/letter of intent approval before full proposal submission, this approval must be obtained prior to the disbursement of funds.
- The project’s primary aim must be research, as the incentive program is designed to build research resources in the college
Funding and Financial Considerations
- This program is funded by TRIP monies, which by Texas law must be spent on research. Proposals focused on programmatic, service, or teaching are not eligible.
- Priority is given to projects where the funding agency pays 48.5% indirect costs (facilities and administration costs).
- Exceptions: U.S. Department of Education and others, as approved by the Associate Dean for Research.
- For foundation grants with little or no indirect costs, the grant must be TRIP-eligible, i.e., it must provide a minimum of $100,000 in at least one year of the project. For eligibility queries, contact UNT Corporate or Foundation Relations.
The program aims to support high-risk/high-reward projects targeting larger or multi-year
grants. Minimum amounts are intended to represent midsize to large grants from the
respective agencies.
We anticipate that many projects would be collaborations with partners both inside
and outside of UNT. These amounts shown would represent the total grant cost across
all years, and include monies spent at UNT and at collaborating institutions (e.g.
the monies do not need to be spent entirely at UNT)
- NSF grants: $300,000+ (directs + indirect cost total)
- NIH grants: $275,000+ (directs)
- CDMRP/DOD: $500,000+ (directs)
- Other federal or state: $300,000+ (directs)
- Foundations: $100,000+ (directs)
- Other sources: $100,000+ (directs)
- The maximum budget for incentives, data/biospecimen costs, or travel to collect data cannot exceed $5,000. Monies cannot be used for faculty salaries or conference travel.
Incentives Available (please choose one):
New proposals:
- Teaching buyout of one course (email showing approval from your Chair is required with submission).
- 10 hour per week research assistant for one semester.
- Monies for data collection travel, subject incentives, data, or biospecimen purchase and/or analysis.
Resubmissions where preliminary data were requested in the review (copy of review required):
- 10 hour per week research assistant for one semester.
- Monies for data collection travel, subject incentives, data, or biospecimen purchase and/or analysis.
Due Dates
- Applications are due May 1st.
Faculty Obligations
- Faculty will submit the grant to the sponsor within a year of the start of the seed funding period. Any later RFA deadlines should occur in consultation with the Associate Dean for Research (ADR).
- A No-Cost Extension (NCE) may be granted following discussion with the ADR. A NCE must be submitted to the ADR via email by April 30th of the second year following the receipt of the incentive grant.
- When an awardee is unable to submit an external grant proposal within the one-year timeframe (or one-year plus the extended NCE period), but has already utilized the grant incentive, the expectation is that the awardee will take on an additional course beyond the regular teaching load. The timing of this additional course will be determined in consultation with the department chair to ensure it aligns with departmental needs.
- Faculty member(s) whose proposal is not funded by the external sponsor is expected to revise and resubmit the proposal for the sponsor’s next deadline date. Only one re-submit is required under this program.
- Faculty member(s) receiving the incentive funds may be invited to serve on in-house review committees to review external grant proposals.
- If funded, all applicants will be required to present proof of extramural submission.
Evaluation
All feasible projects are encouraged and will be considered, although new projects will be prioritized. Priority will be given to:
- Applicants whose promotion or tenure would be most advanced by securing an external grant.
- Larger projects, because those take the greatest faculty time and effort.
- Projects that support UNT's goal of achieving NRUF status, including career training grants such as NSF Career awards and NIH K grants.
Budgets will be critically reviewed. RFAs that have already been released, rather than forecasted opportunities, are strongly preferred.
Guidelines for Incentive Program Proposal
Description of the Proposed Project: Briefly describe the proposed project using the topics below (i.e., a document of no more than three pages, single-spaced Word document). Use language that can be understood by a colleague who is not an expert in the discipline.
- Purpose and Significance – A summary of the scholarly importance of the program or research project.
- Funding Agency – Describe your targeted funding mechanism, including the agency or foundation. Explain why this is the most suitable external funding source for your project.
- Objectives – Describe the research objectives, questions, or hypotheses, as appropriate.
- Methods, Specific Aims or Project Tasks) – A summary of how the project will be implemented, including a description of the approaches, research methodologies, frameworks, data-gathering techniques, and resources required (e.g., faculty, staff, students, graduate assistants, etc.).
- Collaborators – List any co-investigators, collaborators, consultants, etc., from UNT or other institutions, and briefly describe their role(s) in the project.
- Pre-submission Reviewers – List at least three potential experienced researchers who can serve as your pre-submission reviewers. Include their affiliations and contact information.
- Grant Writing Training – a plan to attend any UNT or Funding Agency’s grant writing workshops, trainings, etc.
- A 1-year Project Timeline- Use a timetable to specify the timing of the following tasks:
- IRB and Preliminary data collection (if applicable)
- Submission of the concept paper/one-pager to the sponsor (if needed)
- Attending Grant writing training/workshops
- Completion of the first draft of your proposal
- Time to receive feedback from your pre-submission reviewers
- Time to revise your proposal based on feedback from the pre-submission reviewers
- Working with the HPS pre-award team
- Submission of your proposal
- Any additional tasks to complete
- Resubmission – If the proposal is not funded, please provide the sponsor’s next deadline for resubmission and briefly discuss how you might improve your proposal.