RCA Funding Opportunities

RCA invites proposals for the Small Equipment Program, which provides up to $50,000 for the acquisition of shared or single-investigator research equipment that will advance research activities at NDSU. This program is designed to strengthen research capacity, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and position investigators for future external funding. Equipment should be installed and operational by June 30, 2026. Proposals are due by 5pm on Friday, February 6, 2026.

The Research and Creative Activity Office has a small pool of funds available to provide match to researchers for equipment repair that can be completed by May 31st, 2026. Researchers are eligible to receive one award (one piece of equipment) per fiscal year. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and will be processed in the order received. Awards will be made until all funds are allocated.

Application Deadline: December 12, 2025

RCA has renewed a program to stimulate new research and creative endeavors in the humanities and the arts: The Bison Arts, Humanities and Social Science Fund. The arts and humanities are vital to the human condition, with importance for civic engagement, cross-cultural understanding, and the development of critical and creative thinking skills, for example.

Faculty are encouraged to submit a proposal for up to $6,000 that can be used for early-to late-stage arts, humanities, or humanistic social science projects. Emphasis for funding will be on projects that directly support career progression. Projects with strong potential to bring positive national attention to NDSU faculty and/or which can be leveraged for future funding are especially of interest.

Projects relating to the NDSU Research Emerging Area: Stewarding the Stories, Places, and People of North Dakota are of interest. Refer to the NDSU Research Emerging Areas for more details on the theme.

Application Deadline: December 12, 2025

RCA is soliciting proposals for pilot projects for scientific and/or technical research in areas that support NASA’s strategic research and technology development priorities with the goal of ensuring a competitive submission to a NASA funding opportunity. All proposals should emphasize and clearly articulate how the pilot project develops capabilities to compete for funds from NASA, and should target high-priority NASA research and technology development as determined by mission directorates.

NASA Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) establishes partnerships with government, higher education, and industry that are designed to effect lasting improvements in a state or region’s research infrastructure, research and development capacity, and its national research and development competitiveness.

Proposals for this fiscal year can ask for a maximum of $42,500. The aim is to fund up to three proposals. All proposals should emphasize and clearly articulate how the pilot project develops capabilities to compete for funds from NASA.

Nomination Packet Deadline: Friday, January 17, 2025

These pilot planning grants will provide up to $75,000 to build capacity for demonstrating readiness to submit competitive large, federal center-level proposals led by NDSU PIs. A planning grant consists of a series of activities that are designed to ramp up to the submission of a large, center-level project, including but not limited to networking, building and working as a team, proofs of concept, preliminary research, enhancing broader impacts, and developing and/or deepening relationships with industry partners. PIs must be at the Associate Professor rank or above and have a prior funding track record as a PI from the agency where submission is intended. These projects require a reduction in PI workload the equivalent of a 3-credit course (or administrative or other release equivalent to a 3-credit course) during the planning phase.

Application Deadline: Monday, November 4, 2024

These seed projects will provide up to $100,000 to support ideas that pursue innovative, ambitious solutions to impactful research questions that fit within NDSU’s strategic priorities and/or the ND Science and Technology Plan. The purpose of the program is to support activities such as pilot studies or gathering preliminary data that will allow teams to advance ideas for the development of competitive proposals in pursuit of significant external funding, including NSF EPSCoR and EPSCoR-like programs (e.g. NIH COBRE). For this call, proposals must be for projects within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields as defined by the National Science Foundation and/or the National Institutes of Health. This includes the social, behavioral, economic and science of STEM education fields. PIs must be at the Associate Professor rank or above and have a prior funding track record as a PI from the agency where submission is intended.

Application Deadline: Monday, November 4, 2024

This planning grant program awards up to $10,000 to initiate early-stage project development to help catalyze collaborative, interdisciplinary teams among diverse disciplines in order to pursue innovative, ambitious solutions to impactful research questions that fit within NDSU’s strategic priorities, or align with prior and/or existing research investments at NDSU. Team composition should be reflective of the nature of the proposed research and the team’s approach should rely on the perspective and expertise of multiple disciplines. This program is intended to help teams develop collaborations and prepare to pursue external sponsored research support for the proposed project. Full time tenured and tenure-track faculty are eligible to apply. Professors of Practice who have research as part of their appointment are also eligible to apply.

Application Deadline: Monday, November 4, 2024

The Infrastructure Program will provide up to $50,000 for improvement of infrastructure in support of research and economic development goals that fit within NDSU’s strategic priorities or align with prior and/or existing research investments at NDSU. This program can be used for acquisition of research instrumentation, equipment, and related installation services. Full-time faculty and research staff at NDSU are eligible to apply.

Application Deadline: Monday, November 4, 2024

The Infrastructure Program will provide up to $50,000 for improvement of infrastructure in support of research and economic development goals that fit within NDSU’s strategic priorities or align with prior and/or existing research investments at NDSU. This program can be used for acquisition of research instrumentation, equipment, and related installation services. Full-time faculty and research staff at NDSU are eligible to apply.

Application period closed - funds expended for FY25

Research Development Travel and Conference Support Awards are intended to help cover expenses for travel to a national-level conference to present research or creative work and/or registration fees for a virtual conference to present research or creative work. Virtual conference – up to $500 in registration costs will be considered. On-site conference – up to $1,000 in eligible expenses will be considered. Travel must be completed by Friday, May 30, 2025.

The RCA Conference Development Support award is intended to help cover up to $3,000 in expenses for hosting and developing a regional conference that brings recognition to NDSU faculty. This support can include: Funding for event room and event reservation costs; Funding for food and meals served during the conference; Funding for materials to be used in support of the event (i.e., flyers, pens, paper, registration booth items, etc.). Applications will be processed in the order received, and awards will be made until all funds are allocated. The conference must be completed by Friday, May 30, 2025.